A minor collapse was reported at Hagar Qim around the start of the new year, following the unusually heavy rains of the previous week.

The collapse was made public only yesterday by Heritage Malta.

Three megalithic blocks, which lay horizontally over each other on the western edge of the main building, tipped over sideways, Heritage Malta said. The damage was very contained, because the three blocks formed a structurally independent unit, and they have not in any way destabilised the surrounding structure. Fortunately, the megaliths had a soft landing, because they fell a short distance, and landed on the adjacent topsoil. As a result, no fracturing or surface damage appears to have been sustained by the megaliths.

The incident has been reported to the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, while the Scientific Committee for the Conservation of the Megalithic Temples is studying the damage in order to advise on what remedial and preventive measures should be taken.

The last time that a collapse took place at Hagar Qim was in 1998, when much more extensive damage was sustained around one of the port-hole doorways in the main building, which has since been restored. The most extensive collapse sustained in any of the Maltese megalithic temples in recent decades took place at Mnajdra in 1994, also following unusually heavy rains.

These repetitive incidents underline the urgency and necessity of the protective shelters which are being manufactured at present to protect Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. The shelters, which are being financed by European Union Structural Funds, will be in place before the next rainy season, and are expected to drastically reduce such damage.

At present, both Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples are closed to the public and will only re-open once the temporary shelters would have been installed.