The Autumn Equinox, heralding the start of a new season, will be celebrated with guided tours organised by Heritage Malta at Mnajdra, a megalithic temple complex found in Qrendi, on the 21^st and 22^nd of September.

Opposite the main entrance of the prehistoric temple, a doorway flanked by two large blocks covered in small drilled holes, marks the place where a curious occurrence happens at the start of every new season. As the sun rises on the first day of spring and autumn, which are the Equinoxes, and the first day of summer and winter, known as the Solstices, its rays align perfectly and light up specific parts of the passageway. Though it’s not clear whether these orientations were intentional, they are so systematic that it is highly likely they were.

In prehistoric agricultural societies, observation of the motion of the stars, the moon and the sun was closely related to the changing seasons and times of planting and harvesting crops. On the 21^st and 22^nd of this month, Heritage Malta is inviting you to experience this millennia-old phenomenon first hand, at the megalithic site of Mnajdra, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.