Ghajnsielem

Ghajnsielem

coat of arms	map
Basic data
State :	Malta
Gzejjer :	Gozo and Comino
Distretti :	Gozo and Comino
Area :	7,176,193 km²
Residents :	2931 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	408 inhabitants / km²
ISO 3166-2 :	MT-13
Website :	www.ghajnsielem.com
politics
Mayor :	Francis Cauchi ( PN )

Coordinates: 36 ° 2 ′  N , 14 ° 17 ′  E

View over the port of Għajnsielem to the village

Għajnsielem [ ɐɪ̯nˈsɪːlɛm ] is a municipality in the south-eastern part of the Maltese island of Gozo . It had 2931 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018).

Part of this municipality is Gozo's main port, Mġarr , from which ferries depart for the main island of Malta (not to be confused with Mġarr on the main island of Malta). The islands of Comino and Cominotto ( Maltese Kemmuna , Kemmunett ) in the Gozo Canal , the strait between Malta and Gozo, are also part of the municipality.

Port of Mġarr in Gozo

Entering the port of Mġarr

etymology

The place name is composed of għajn = source and sielem , derived from the Semitic sliem = peace, which can, however, also refer to the personal name Salim , which gives the place the meaning of Salim's source .

Archaeological finds

Għajnsielem is a settlement of the Maltese temple culture on the island of Gozo . It is located west of the junction of the main roads Triq il-Qala and Triq l-Imġarr, which lead from Mġarr and Fort Chambray via Għajnsielem towards Xewkija . In 1988 the spectacular discovery of a differentiated settlement architecture was made here. The excavators found two structures consisting of hollows sunk into the rock. The surrounding, but not completely preserved rock ridges of an oval and a round structure still carried the remains of the original masonry made of mud bricks. The remains of an adobe pillar were found between the two.

The structures belong to the Ġgantija phase of temple culture, when the construction of stone temples was already fully developed. The adobe buildings of Għajnsielem, like those of Skorba, show the connection between this architecture, whose purpose is unknown, and the art of temple architecture (curved floor plans, dispensing with foundations - instead setting up rock hollows as building ground, floors made of Torba (muddy mass) with small stone relining).

The oval

The larger, oval structure, 8 m long and 5 m wide, is sunk approx. 0.4 m into the rock, the surrounding rock ridge is approx. 0.3 m wide. The hollow was lined with stone chippings, which carried three layers of the gate floor. In the center of the structure was a remnant of mud brick pillars that had been preserved up to a height of 0.3 m, which may originally have supported a roof structure in the center.

It is conceivable that the oval structure, like comparable structures in Skorba, had an entrance on the western broadside. The architectural miniature from Ta 'Ħaġrat shows that oval buildings existed not only in adobe but also in megalithic construction.

The circle

The smaller, round structure with a diameter of around 2.5 m has five arches, one on top of the other, showing traces of continuous repairs.

Between the two stood a remnant of mud brick piers set in a rock recess. In the center of its base was a stone cone painted with red ocher (rounded tip; height approx. 6 cm). This object is to be interpreted as sacrosanct.

Parish Church of Mġarr

Buildings

The parish church of the district of Mġarr can be seen from the main island of Malta. It was built in the 20th century in neo-Gothic style. The former church had become too small for the growing parish population. There are also three other church buildings in G Ortajnsielem .

Parish partnership

A partnership has existed between Għajnsielem and the Italian municipality of Tolfa in the metropolitan city of Rome , Lazio region , since 2002.

literature

• Joachim von Freeden: Malta and the architecture of its megalithic temples. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1993, ISBN 3-534-11012-9 , p. 281

Web links

Commons : Għajnsielem  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Għajnsielem (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ StatDB of the National Statistics Office Malta , accessed on August 1, 2020
2. ↑ The Names of the Town and Villages of Gozo core.ac.uk (PDF) p. 84, accessed on December 22, 2019