One element of archaeological Malta that may--or may not--have something to do with the famous Malta Temples is the huge network of what appear to be cart ruts cut into limestone outcrops all over Malta and Gozo. Archival texts indicate that they once were far more extensive than they are today, but exposure to the elements, quarrying, construction, and tourists, have led to their decline.
The paired ruts themselves are etched into the limestone at depths between 2-67.5 cm deep (1-26 in). Some ruts vary between 14-35 cm over a distance of 200 m. The ruts vary in cross-section but are generally wider at the top, and then narrowing to a U- or V-shaped profile. Upper widths vary between 8-53 cm, basal widths between 6-14 cm.
The gauge of the paired ruts averages about 1.4 m (~4.5 ft) apart. At Naxxar, the gauge varies between 130-152 cm; at Buskett-Dingli, measures range from 137-160 cm. At Msirah Ghar il-Kbir (a.k.a. Clapham Junction), the rut clusters range between 137-141 cm.
Some of the tracks are parallel, others converge at acute angles or are superimposed or show passing loops. Some are submerged off shore, others discontinous along the coastal and inland cliffs, perhaps the result of geological disturbance.
What Created the Ruts?
Perhaps obviously, most scholars believe that the ruts were created by a cart carrying heavy things in the same location over and over again. Some scholars have argued that at least some of the ruts were cut by hand. One cart path that leads between Hagar Qim and Mnajdra appears to have been pecked or chiseled.
Could the carts have had wheels? Possibly. Wheels first appeared in Europe by 2500 BC, and wheeled sledges existed in Mesopotamia by 3200 BC.
If they were wheels, they would have had to have been large diameter with a high axle. Sledges have been suggested as unlikely because of sudden changes in the direction of some of the tracks. Slide-cars (or travois) were succesfully tested by Gracie, who argued that the ruts are too deep to have been cut by wheeled carts.
Were they pulled or pushed, by humans or beasts? A high density of tracks are in located in some pretty rough terrain, suggesting to some scholars that the sledges were drawn by people. People traction seems plausible, since there are no animal tracks which would might been worn into the limestone when the sledges pased.
What was transported? Water? Construction projects associated with agricultural terracing and leveling of the earth? Transport of salt or seaweed or fish? Large blocks of limestone? Recent experimental archaeology reported by Mottershead and colleagues suggests that it didn't necessarily take heavy cargo to make the ruts. Whatever it was, the cart ruts are a persistent record of the purposeful mobilization of some unknown cargo.
Were the Cart Ruts Related to the Temples?
Unfortunately, we can't really say. Currently, there is no way of dating them. But it is intriguing, don't you think?
Sources and Further Information
One intriguing possibility has been brought up on our bulletin board by reader Hans Hunsink, who wonders if the ruts might have been used to guide pairs of big stone balls under limestone blocks, using the balls as ball bearings.
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com Dictionary of Archaeology. See the Photo Essay called The Temples of Malta for further information,
Hughes KJ. 1999. Persistent Features from a Palaeo-Landscape: The Ancient Tracks of the Maltese Islands. The Geographical Journal 165(1):62-78.
Mottershead D, Pearson A, and Schaefer M. 2008. The cart ruts of Malta: An applied geomorphology approach. Antiquity 82(318):1065-1079.
Sagona C. 2004. Land Use In Prehistoric Malta. A Re-Examination of the Maltese ‘cart Ruts’. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 23(1):45–60.
