Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum & Tarxien Temples

The Hypogeum was discovered by accident in 1902, when workers cutting cisterns for new houses broke through its roof, damaging the upper level. Excavations were led first by Manuel Magri and then by Themistocles Zammit, and the site was in use for burial over a long period in prehistory; Heritage Malta dates its use to roughly 4000 to 1500 BC. UNESCO estimates that it originally held the remains of around 7,000 people, and finds include the figurine known as the Sleeping Lady, now displayed at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980.

The Tarxien Temples were found in 1913 by a farmer who struck large stone blocks while ploughing, and Zammit excavated them between 1915 and 1919. Heritage Malta dates the complex to between 3600 and 2500 BC. The temples form part of the UNESCO-listed Megalithic Temples of Malta, and protective shelters were completed over them in 2015.

Both sites lie in densely built residential areas south of the Grand Harbour, and part of their fascination is how ancient remains sit beneath and between everyday homes. Paola is also home to the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque, Malta's only officially recognised purpose-built mosque, which stands on Corradino Hill.