Those visiting the Ggantija Temples in Xagħra are in for a much improved and enhanced visitor experience thanks to a new interactive tool that has just been launched, supported by the Vodafone Malta Foundation.
The Vodafone Ġgantija Interactive DVD-ROM is a virtual tour of Ġgantija – a digitised version of the site with impressive 360 degrees photography. The spectacular high-quality images are accompanied by an audio interpretation where archaeology experts give visitors detailed descriptions and interpretations of each of the areas of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The DVD is played on touch screens, helping users navigate the site virtually, and giving visitors an enhanced experience. The production has been designed to increase the site’s accessibility by providing visitors with detailed information about the temples before entering.
The interactive video is available in six languages − Maltese, English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. It also features flash-based games including jigsaw puzzles and a quiz targeted at a younger audience. The video also allows users with special needs to visit the temples in a virtual environment.
The Vodafone Malta Foundation has already helped install a state-of-the art Environmental Monitoring Station that enables specialists to monitor the temples’ exposure to the environmental elements, as well as gauge the toll that climate takes on the open-air sites such as rates of erosion affecting the prehistoric structures. The Foundation has also funded a CCTV system at the site to enhance security.
Gemma Mifsud Bonnici, chairperson of the Vodafone Malta Foundation said: “We have always supported Heritage Malta, in particular the Ġgantija Temples project, because we firmly believe in the importance of preserving a World Heritage Site for all to enjoy. We think this is a duty we have to present and future Maltese generations as well as foreign visitors to Malta and Gozo.”
The Ġgantija Temples are one of the most important archaeological sites in Malta and their listing on the UNESCO World Heritage List makes them of universal significance. The Temples give priceless evidence of an advanced prehistoric civilisation that flourished on the islands around 5,000 years ago. The Ġgantija Temples date back to between 3600 BC and 3000 BC and consist of two megalithic temples surrounded by a massive common boundary wall. The name of the complex is derived from the Maltese word ġgant meaning giant.