The under-investigated ‘High Place’ in Gozo

At the Ta’ Cenc and Is-Sanap heights in south Gozo, the Jesuit archaeologist Fr Emmanuel Magri drew the attention of Bavarian Dr Albert Mayr to the “High Place” in 1897-8, mentioned as having been discovered by Magri in the Annual Report of the Museum for 1905-6 (Evans 1971:171).

In more recent years, Dr David Trump presented a detailed description of the site, and it is described by Professor Anthony Bonanno, in his An Illustrated Guide to Prehistoric Gozo, 2002: 31-32 with detailed plan (after Mayr).

A recent map of these heights, now available at the Ta’ Cenc Hotel reception area, delineates a vast area towards the east of the hotel, consisting of two separate sets of cart ruts, and countless megaliths strewn about, apart from the ruined and anomalous early temple of ‘Il-Borg ta’ l-Im ramma’. The 130-metre high Ta’ Cenc cliffs lie to their south.

This temple is now difficult to locate with any certainty, lying as it does between two dirt roads. Yet the whole area is of undoubted archaeological and geographical interest.

It turns its back on Gozo’s hinterland to the north, and instead faces Malta across the channel to the southeast with wide views.

At least two dolmens, and a possible gallery grave, are featured in this area.

This is, and not only in my opinion, an under-investigated and under-valued archaeological area of our islands.

The area is rocky and interspersed with garigue, much of it being barren, bare and arid.

The vast Ta’ Cenc / Is-Sanap sites merit modern more detailed investigation.