Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni: Encyclopedia II - Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - Second Level

Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - Second Level

The level shows magnificent skill in stonework. One can see several important rooms, such as the Main Room, the Holy of Holies, and the Oracle Room.

Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - The Main Chamber

This chamber is roughly circular and carved out from rock. A number of trilithon entrances are represented, some blind, and others leading to another chamber. Most of the wall surface has received a red wash of ochre. It was from this room that the statuettes of the sleeping lady were recovered. Nowadays these figurines are held in the Museum of Archaeology, in Valletta, Malta.

Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - The Oracle Room

The Oracle Room is roughly rectangular and one of the smallest side chambers has the pecularity of producing a powerful echo. A man's voice echoes, whereas a woman's voice does not echo. This room has an elaborately painted ceiling, consisting of spirals in red ochre with circular blobs.

Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - The Snake Pit

The second level contains a 2 m deep pit which could have been used for either keeping snakes or collecting alms.

Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni - Holy of Holies

The focal point of this room is a porthole within a trilithon, which is in turn framed within a larger trilithon and yet another large trilithon.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Second Level", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki