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The Prehistoric Cart Ruts of
Malta |
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by
Frank L Scicluna
Principal - Maltese Language School of Adelaide
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During my
recent journey to Malta I visited the
island's most puzzling archaeological
phenomena the cart-ruts or tracks. They are
a challenge to the imagination of
archaeologists, historians and geographers
alike. On the Maltese archipelago there are
the remains of a number of Neolithic temples
of great historical importance: Hagar Qim,
Mnajdra, Hal Saflieni and Ġgantija. We do
not know where the race that built these
temples came from or why they disappeared so
suddenly leaving such magnificent temples as
evidence of their existence.
The ruts in Malta and Gozo are unique in
scale and nature and are matched nowhere
else in the world. Closely by the Neolithic
temples are the prehistoric cart-tracks that
run for kilometres on the hard rocks ledges
on the highlands, sometimes dropping sheer
into the sea. The era when the cart ruts
were made |
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is more or less
known. It coincides with the building of the temples
and took place well before Punic times.
Proof of this is the small number of Punic graves
laying right across cart tracks. This substantiates
the theory that the ruts had by then lost their
usefulness. Although some ruts appear near some of
the temples (e.g.: at Hal Far where there are
several dolmens and trilithon) but they are absent
from others sites where the building task was
clearly greater.
The temple builders were more than capable of
building the cart ruts when during the same period
we credit them with having in more difficult
circumstances produced an infinitely more complex
design and excavated a Hypogeum with its three
underground levels of meticulous planning. A temple
that was literally built from the inside out and it
has a sound system and a form of air-conditioning.
It was built by a relatively small group of people
as it has a restricted area and not a sprawling one
such as the cart ruts.
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The
mysterious cart ruts appear one kilometre
West of Sliema, and they appear again at
Naxxar Gap, right on a section of the
Victoria lines. They can be seen at Binġemma
Gap, near the Buskett (Rabat), the cave
dwelling of Għar il-Kbir, near the coast of
Birżebbuġa and near the cliff village of
Mtaħleb. Some of them were obliterated by
road making and when modern buildings
appeared near these sites.
One of the most complicated networks of
cart-ruts is found at "Misraħ Għar,
il-Kbir"' limits of Rabat. The site was
nicknamed as "Clapham Junction" by David
Trump after the complex railway tracks of a
London station. The cart-ruts seem to be
present everywhere and run in all different
directions, covering an area of about 8
hectares or more. |
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The exact number of cart ruts in Malta and Gozo is
difficult to determine but must run into the two
hundred figure. Their aggregate length totals well
over ten kilometres, some end abruptly at cliff
edges, others lead to the sea and some even run, for
a considerable distance, along the sea-bed at St,
George's Bay, Birżebbuġa.
What are they, these cart-tracks of Malta?
Prehistoric of course, inexplicable lengths of
parallel tracks that criss-cross certain areas of
the globigerina limestone on the island's plateaux,
deeply incised, and terminating as mysteriously as
they commence, sometimes after only a few metres, at
other times perhaps after a kilometre.
Sir Temi Zammit, a famous Maltese scholar and
archaeologist, found that the cart ruts range, at
the surface, from 20 cm to as much as 45 cm. He
noted that they are of Neolithic origin and that
they were formed by the continuous' passage of heavy
weights deliberately transported along regular
routes, or the ruts would not have been so deep.
Undoubtedly, these are the remains of some
sort of communications (roads) or rock hewn
railways. We must accept the fact that the cart ruts
primitive roads built with the intention of moving
loads from one place to another or they were perhaps
worn in the stone by sledge carts.
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Expert's
opinions are divided on the subject of the
origin and purpose of these curious and
haunting features. These tracks provide
evidence of the theory that Malta was once a
part of the mainland of Europe. It seems
likely that at one time a great earthquake
ravaged the central Mediterranean, splitting
the rock so that the sea gushed between
Sicily and Malta separating the two lands
forever, and perhaps also breaking a land
link with North African coast.
Strange as they are these unique prehistoric
cart ruts are an important part of the
Maltese open-air museum. Let us take care of
our heritage, our unique treasure. Let us
preserve what we have inherited from
previous generations and pass it on to those
who come after us in at least the same
condition as it was received. |
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