Under a field near the village of Mġarr, in the north-west of Malta, lie the layers of a farming settlement that is older than the island's famous temples. Skorba was excavated in the 1960s by the archaeologist David Trump, who found the remains of houses from about 4500 BC, built by the island's first farmers, and above them the foundations of two small temples from the later centuries, when Malta's builders began to put up great buildings of stone. It is part of the group of Megalithic Temples of Malta that UNESCO lists as among the oldest free-standing monuments in the world.
The site is small, tended by Heritage Malta, with a low wall around it, and nothing to compare with the bigger temples at Ħaġar Qim or Ġgantija. What it offers is a chance to see how the story started: a village of farmers growing wheat and barley, keeping sheep and goats, and slowly developing the ideas that led to temple building. Look for the signs of the earlier huts, and the curved walls of the temples, with the characteristic trefoil plan.
Malta is small, crowded and busy, and riding here has its own rules. Traffic drives on the left, a legacy of British rule, and the roads can be congested and potholed, with little patience from other drivers. In the north-west, the roads are quieter, running between stone-walled fields and prickly pear, with views of the sea and the island of Gozo. Golden Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa are nearby, with sandy beaches that fill in summer. The cliffs between them are good for a walk.
Fuel is easy to find. Mellieħa, five kilometres away, has six thousand people and several stations, and Imġarr, a village of three thousand, has bakeries and bars. Try a pastizz, a flaky pastry filled with ricotta or peas, and a glass of Kinnie, a bitter-sweet orange drink that is the island's own.
Valletta, the capital, is on the same ride, and is a different kind of monument, a baroque city built by the Knights of St John after the Great Siege of 1565. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit, while summer is very hot.