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The Kordin Temples are a group of megalithic temples on Corradino Heights in Paola. Originally there were three temple complexes, but two of these have been destroyed, and only the site of Kordin III survives. The Kordin III complex consists of two temples. The larger one has a standard 3-apse plan, typical of Ġgantija phase design. The temple has a concave facade, with the forecourt and entrance passage to the central court being stone-paved. This stone paving is unique to Kordin III, as this has not been found in any other temples of Malta. Behind the temple are some small rooms, which were possibly used as storerooms but could have also been an irregular minor temple. The first part of the temple is believed to have been built in around 3700 BC, during the Mġarr phase. Most of the structure dates back to the Ġgantija phase, and the complex was still in use during the Tarxien phase, when the facade was rebuilt. The site is believed to have been abandoned in around 2500 BC.
The site was cleared from debris by Cesare Vassallo in the 1870s. Antonio Annetto Caruana discovered further clusters of megalithic monuments in the area in 1882, and the site was properly excavated by Thomas Ashby and Thomas Eric Peet in 1909. Other excavations were undertaken by John Davies Evans in 1953 and by David Trump in 1961.
A walled enclosure was built around the temple in 1925, and it is kept locked to give it maximum protection. Like Kordin I and II, the temple was also damaged in World War II, but its remains were not built over after the war and can still be seen today.
Although in poor condition, the temple is one of the most complete of the minor temples. In 2009, the viability of extending the World Heritage listing to Kordin III was examined.
References:Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.
The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).