The First Eden
Synopsis
Sir David Attenborough turned 60 on Gozo and fewer spent it filming a BBC documentary at the Azure Window.
The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man is a four-part BBC documentary series written and presented by Attenborough, filmed in 1986 and first broadcast on BBC Two in April 1987. It traces the relationship between human civilisation and the natural world across the Mediterranean, from the sea’s geological origins some 5.5 million years ago through to the environmental pressures of the modern age.
The series opens at the Dead Sea before moving through the rise of early Mediterranean cultures: the Minoans, the Ancient Egyptians, the Romans. The bull threads through all of it as a symbol of how human societies first revered the natural world, then exploited it. Later episodes turn darker, examining deforestation, the damming of the Nile, the mass shooting of migratory birds, and the slow degradation of Mediterranean coastlines.
Gozo and Malta feature in episodes one and three. Attenborough filmed at Għar Dalam, where he examined fossil teeth from the dwarf elephants that once roamed these islands, and at Dwejra, where Fungus Rock provided the backdrop for a look at the islands’ unique flora. The Azure Window, still standing in 1986, appears behind him in photographs from the shoot. Before leaving, he described the south of Malta and Gozo as “among the most beautiful in the world.”
Can’t say we disagree with him.
Production Info
Released
1987
Writer
David Attenborough
Presenter
David Attenborough
The First Eden Scenes on Gozo
Sir David Attenborough at Dwejra Bay. Exploring Malta’s caves.
Trailer for The First Eden
The First Eden Locations Map
Did you Know
Gozo has a surprisingly deep prehistoric back catalogue. The dwarf elephants that Attenborough examines in episode one were real inhabitants of the Maltese islands, their small stature the result of thousands of years of island isolation — a process known as insular dwarfism. Large mammals stranded on islands tend to shrink over generations, as smaller body size becomes an advantage when food sources are limited. Malta and Gozo were home to at least two species of dwarf elephant, alongside dwarf hippopotamuses and giant dormice. Attenborough used the Maltese fossil record to illustrate this principle to a global BBC audience, decades before most visitors to Gozo had any idea the island had a prehistoric story worth telling.
🎬 Explore Gozo’s Film Locations in One Day
Loved this production? My new Gozo in a Day: Film & TV Location Guide helps you turn Gozo’s screen history into a real day out, with a practical route through Victoria, Dwejra and Mġarr Harbour, plus colour photos, maps and useful stop-by-stop notes.