[3] Of particular interest at this site is the rich and intricate stonework, which includes depictions of domestic animals carved in relief, altars, and screens decorated with spiral designs and other patterns.

Demonstrative of the skill of the builders is a chamber set into the thickness of the wall between the South and Central temples and containing a relief showing a bull and a sow.

The site was initially reported by the tenant of the land, Lorenzo Despott, who complained of frequently encountering large blocks of stone just beneath the surface while plowing his field.

[4] Suspecting that the stones he was encountering may have some archaeological value, Despott contacted the director of the National Museum, Themistocles Zammit, who instructed him to dig a trial trench in 1913.

By 1920, Zammit had identified and carried out restoration work on four prehistoric structures, all yielding a remarkable collection of artifacts, including the famous colossal statue, the largest human (although seemingly genderless) representation from the Neolithic found to date.

At the same time, Themistocles' thorough scientific approach to excavation introduced Malta to a proper archaeological investigation rather than the rough and swift antiquarian method of digging.