About the Work

This summer, Smithsonian Channel brings back SACRED SITES to explore even more enigmatic religious sites found around the world. Featuring advanced scientific discoveries and archaeological research, new episodes will bring viewers to sanctified and historical locations stretching from Europe to North Africa, through the Mayan civilization in the Americas, across the path of the Camino de Santiago and more.


While unraveling the unsolved mysteries hidden within these sacred sites, each episode will grant extraordinary new insights into the lives, culture and symbolic sites that left their marks on civilizations of the past and show how their societal impacts continue to reverberate today.


The Mediterranean island of Malta and her sister island Gozo are home to some of the oldest sacred sites in the world. Built over 5,000 years ago, they were created by a sophisticated civilization known as the Temple Culture, which flourished for over a thousand years before vanishing. Now, a team of archaeologists and scientists are exploring these ancient sites to see if the Temple People may have left behind clues explaining their disappearance and what implications–if any–their collapse has on modern society.

Director: Stephen Rooke | Production Company: Tile Films | Composer: Giles Packham