Set the scene.
The council derives Tarxien from tirxa, a word associated with rock. This is its stated explanation of the village name.
Here’s the twist.
The name belongs to the village, not a word recovered from the prehistoric temple builders. Their own name for this place is unknown.
Why it still matters.
That distinction keeps two timelines apart. Archaeological remains can be thousands of years older than the surviving language used to label the landscape around them.
🧠 One to think about +
What does this story change about the way you see Malta today? Pick one detail you’d tell a friend — then check its source below.