made to hold the base of the cult-object, whether it was a baetyl or an
idol. This, however, is a mere conjecture. In the passage just outside
the door of this room are two small circular pits about 6 inches in
diameter and the same distance apart. They connect with one another
below, and are closed with tightly fitting limestone plugs. In one of
them was found a cow's horn. Their purpose is unknown, but similar pairs
of pits occur elsewhere at Halsaflieni.

In two of the largest chambers in the hypogeum the roof and walls are
still decorated with designs in red paint. The patterns consist of
graceful combinations of curved lines and spirals. Many other rooms,
including the circular chamber, were originally painted with designs in
red, which have now almost wholly disappeared.

Many of the chambers are extremely small, too small for an adult even to
stand upright in them, and their entrances are merely windows, perhaps
a foot square and well above the ground.

What then was the purpose of this wonderful complex of rooms? Before
attempting to answer this question we must consider what has been found
in them. When the museum authorities first took over the hypogeum
practically all the chambers were filled to within a short distance of
their roofs with a mass of reddish soil, which proved to contain the
remains of thousands of human skeletons. In other words, Halsaflieni was
used as a burial place, though this may not have been its original
purpose. The bones lay for the most part in disorder, and so thickly
that in a space of about 4 cubic yards lay the remains of no less than
120 individuals. One skeleton, however, was found intact, lying on the
right side in the crouched position, i.e. with arms and knees bent up.