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Ninety seconds on Xagħra Circle
No. Access to the Circle and the ground around it is uneven and highly hazardous for visitors with mobility issues. The warning covers the approach as well as the burial site itself.
On Triq tal-Qaċċa in Xagħra, on the island of Gozo. It lies southwest of Ġgantija on the same plateau that holds the temples, so the two sites are easy to pair on one outing.
Some are shown at the Ġgantija Interpretation Centre, beside the temples. One Gozo guide lists statuettes, pottery and tools from the Circle on display there.
A hollow in the rock on the Xagħra plateau held the burial ground of Gozo's Neolithic communities. You see it on a small supervised visit booked with Heritage Malta, a short walk from Ġgantija.
The Xagħra Circle is a Neolithic burial site on the Xagħra plateau, the same rise of ground that holds the Ġgantija temples. What you see today is a large open hollow in the rock.
It began as a cluster of natural caves, adapted to hold the burials of entire generations, unlike the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, which was cut into solid rock. The local rock is friable, and the cave roofs collapsed into the hollow that is visible now.
Excavation turned up human remains from successive burials and a large haul of grave goods: pottery, tools, ornaments and miniature statuettes. Many of these show the human form in different ways.
Older books call it the Brochtorff Circle or the Gozo Stone Circle.
Book through Heritage Malta's website before you travel: the Circle opens only by appointment, and the booking option sits on its page there.
The site is on Triq tal-Qaċċa in Xagħra. By bus, routes 307 and 322 call at the Tempji stop, and the closest stop is about five minutes on foot.
Each visit is limited to a group of up to ten, with supervising staff on site, and their safety instructions must be followed throughout. Afterwards, walk on to Ġgantija on the same plateau.
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