a recess, which led to the hypothesis that this was a ritual ablution station for purification before worshippers entered the complex. The five apses contain various altars. Researchers have found animal bones on the site that suggest the space was used for animal sacrifice. Excavations and recognition Residents and travelers knew about the existence of the temple for a long time. In the late 18th century, before any excavations were carried out, Jean-Pierre Houël drew a plan based on that knowledge, which has been found to be highly accurate. In 1827 Col. John Otto Bayer, the Lieutenant Governor of Gozo, had the site cleared of debris. The soil and remains were lost without having been properly examined. German artist Charles Frederick de Brocktorff had painted a picture of the site within a year or two prior to the removal of the debris, so he made a record of the site before clearance. After the excavations were conducted in 1827, the ruins fell into decay. The remains were included on the Antiquities List of 1925. The land was held privately until 1933, when the Government expropriated it for public benefit. The Museums Department conducted extensive archaeological work in 1933, 1936, 1949, 1956–57 and 1958–59. Its goal was to clear, preserve and research the ruins and their surroundings. The Ġgantija temples were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. In 1992, the Committee decided to expand the listing to include five other megalithic temples located across the islands of Malta and Gozo. The Ġgantija listing was renamed "the Megalithic Temples of Malta" The temple and the surrounding areas were restored or rehabilitated in the 2000s. Lightweight walkways were installed in the temple in 2011, to protect the floor. A heritage park was developed and opened in 2013. Contemporary interpretations Anthropologist Kathryn Rountree has explored how "Malta’s neolithic temples", including Ġgantija, "have been interpreted, contested and appropriated by different local and foreign interest groups: those working in the tourist industry, intellectuals and Maltese nationalists, hunters, archaeologists, artists, and participants in the global Goddess movement." Reportedly, some Goddess tours refer to the two temples at Ġgantija "as the Mother & Daughter Temple." Gallery See also Megalithic Temples of Malta Ħaġar Qim Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni List of megalithic sites Mnajdra Tarxien Temples References External links National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Heritage Malta's Ġgantija page Ġgantija Temple on Google