The site takes its name from a chapel dedicated to Saint Venera that once stood close to the temple.

[1] Santa Verna was originally a prehistoric village, and the earliest pottery remains date back to around 5000 BC, during the Għar Dalam phase.

[4] The megalithic remains at Santa Verna were found by Nikola Said, a worker at the Public Works Department.

[7] Another excavation was made in 1961 by David H. Trump, when the remains of the village that predates the temple were found.

[8] More extensive excavations funded by the European Research Council in 2015 revealed the five-apsed plan of the temple during the Ġgantija phase, further evidence of the earlier settlement, and recovered samples of ancient animal bones, wheat, barley and legumes.