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This is what I love about Gozo. Just wandering along enjoying the spectacular view in the December sunshine, I come across this. No signs, no fences, no explanation, it's just there. Sitting high on the cliffs at the remote south-west tip of Gozo is Ras il-Wardija, a Phoenecian-Punic sanctuary and religious complex, dating from 400-300BC. Perched some 160m up on the edge of the cliff, the site commands a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea, 'wardija' translates as 'lookout-post', 'ras' is Maltese for 'head'.
The sanctuary was excavated in the 1960's, it contains a rectangular chamber cut deep into the limestone, a well and water reservoir and an outside altar. That people would go to the lengths of digging a well and reservoir out of solid rock suggests that is was either inhabited or well-used. The deity venerated here in Punic times is unknown, but cruciform figures carved into the walls of the chamber seem to confirm the site was used into the Roman period after Christianity came to Malta.
The sanctuary was excavated in the 1960's, it contains a rectangular chamber cut deep into the limestone, a well and water reservoir and an outside altar. That people would go to the lengths of digging a well and reservoir out of solid rock suggests that is was either inhabited or well-used. The deity venerated here in Punic times is unknown, but cruciform figures carved into the walls of the chamber seem to confirm the site was used into the Roman period after Christianity came to Malta.
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The scenic beauty of the site drew people as far back as the Bronze Ages, cart ruts carved out of the stone through regular usage date from around 1500BC, it's possible it was also used as a troglodytic dwelling in the Middle Ages. A tad breezy in the winter, but what a view.