Imagine a place and time when men worshipped goddesses, when there were no weapons or warfare and when big, fat, womanly curves were the body ideal. Where could such a utopia exist? Traces of it are there for the finding, albeit 6000 years too late, deep in the navel of the Mediterranean in the tiny group of islands known collectively by the name of the largest, Malta.

Its strategic position between Europe, Africa and Asia has made this arid but starkly pretty group of rocky islands the subject of much squabbling throughout history. Yet these days, Malta is in no way thought of as a world player. In fact, most people know little about it, other than those with a Maltese heritage or an interest in ancient history and archaeology.

Which is where this island republic comes into its own. Though most of us might imagine the Pyramids or Stonehenge are the world's oldest human-built structures, in fact the Neolithic temples found on Malta win hands down in the antiquity stakes. Who built them and why -- and how they managed it -- remain a mystery, though some information has been gathered and interpreted over time. While there are huge gaps in the archaeological records and no written history until later in the piece, linguistic research tells us people in ancient times moved around a lot, and quite far, trading and no doubt looking for greener pastures. It's generally agreed that Malta was settled around 5200 BC by people from Sicily.

The "temple culture" seems to have begun around 4000 BC, developing a style and iconography unlike anything seen elsewhere from the same period, although certain motifs are found throughout Europe, particularly the spiral. The temple features and the artifacts found inside or near them strongly suggest a goddess/priestess or fertility cult was practised by these people, and geological records indicate they were a farming society.

For around 1500 years, it seems, the "temple people" lived in peace and harmony with each other and their environment. Among the surviving artifacts and implements of daily life, and the ruins of the buildings, nothing has been found that could be considered a weapon or a defensive structure, leading to the belief they were a peace-loving people.

Around 2500 BC, it all came to an abrupt end and the temple/goddess culture disappeared for reasons unknown. Over the next several millennia the still-impressive structures virtually returned to nature, their roofs falling in, many of the stones that made up their walls pillaged by local peasants for other uses, weeds sprouting in and around the stonework.

One theory about why there were so many temples in the first place (more than 30) could also explain the demise of the culture. In his acclaimed (and roundly criticised) book The White Goddess, Robert Graves suggested that as militaristic, patriarchal societies moved in on the sedentary, agricultural communities that worshipped the Mother Goddess, the priestesses migrated to sacred caves and secret islands like Malta, Crete, the Cyclades, Cyprus, Ireland and even Iceland, taking their icons and practices with them. Perhaps the Maltese temple people disappeared so suddenly because they were ultimately found and destroyed by aggressive, armed invaders.

Others suggest drought or other climatic change caused by volcanic eruptions led to a decline in food supplies for these essentially agricultural people. Or perhaps they were wiped out by some epidemic. In the absence of any clear evidence, we can only speculate.