Għar il-Kbir, Siġġiewi

The name refers to the large cave complex that is located there, which incidentally was still inhabited till 1835. In fact, troglodytism, cave-dwelling, was outlawed in Malta and Gozo by the Birtish as it was seen as primitive and unsanitays. The inhabitants at Għar il-Kbir were coerced to relocate to the near-by town of Siggiewi.

Besides the main complex, there are a number of smaller living quarters. Cave-dwelling was very common throughout the Mediterranean;Great Greek writers mentioned these people around 2000 years ago. They wrote about Troglodytes living around the Black Sea. Finds in other parts of the Malta include a number of cave chapels, which shed light on their existence in Malta since at least 5000 years B.C.The 17th century Jesuit scholar, Athanasius Kircher who left a description of the visit. He noted that the cave-dwellers were healthy and refrained from eating meat but sold it instead and had a well-organised living system. Kircher observed that the caves did have common areas, but there were also individual section for each family. The cave ceiling had openings to let light in and smoke out, keeping efficient ventilation, while rain could not penetrate their living area.