Għar Dalam
 Entrance to the cave of Għar Dalam | |
  Shown within Malta | |
| Location | Birżebbuġa, Malta |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°50′11.1″N 14°31′40.9″E / 35.836417°N 14.528028°E |
| Type | Cave |
| Length | 144m |
| History | |
| Material | Limestone |
| Founded | c. 5200 BC |
| Periods | Għar Dalam phase |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Government of Malta |
| Management | Heritage Malta |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | heritagemalta |
Għar Dalam (Maltese pronunciation: [ɐˤːr ˈdɐlɐm]; "Cave of Dalam", Dalam being a fifteenth-century family name)[A] is a 144-metre long phreatic tube and cave,[1] located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta. The cave contains the bones of animals that lived on Malta during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory, and is viewed as one of Malta's most important national monuments.[2] Pottery similar to that found in Stentinello was found at Għar Dalam, but lacking details such as stamp decorations.[3]
Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, giant swan, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages. The deer species became extinct much later, about 4,000 years ago during the Chalcolithic.[4] Until 2025, Għar Dalam was thought to have the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago.[5]
Recent history
[edit]
The cave was first investigated for its Neolithic remains in 1865, with excavations by Italian palaeontologist Arturo Issel.[1][6] An excavation was carried out in 1892 by John H. Cooke. The bulk of this material was stored in Malta, while a comparative collection was sent to the British Museum.[1] This material was studied by Forsyth Major in 1902, who isolated a new dwarf species of dwarf hippopotamus, Hippopotamus melitensis, based on these findings.
The cave was included on the Antiquities List of 1925,[7] but was not opened to the public until March 1933.[8] A museum was set up on site by the then-Curator of Natural History, Joseph Baldacchino. Within a year of his appointment as curator in 1935, Baldacchino published a booklet on Għar Dalam, highlighting the main excavations and investigations of the cave.[8] The museum was slowly upgraded, new specimens replacing the old, and a labelling system set in place.[8]
The showcases around the walls of the Għar Dalam museum house the skeletal remains found in the cave.[6] These are organised by species and type. The showcases in the centre of the museum's room contain complete skeletons of modern examples of deer, elephant and other species.[6] These were not found in the cave, but imported as reference specimens for the use of scholars working on the fossil examples.[6]
It was used as an air-raid shelter during World War II. In 1980, the most important and irreplaceable relics—such as four tusks of dwarf elephants and the skull of a Neolithic child—were stolen from the museum.
The cave is some 144 metres (472 ft) deep but only the first 50 metres (160 ft) are accessible to visitors. The museum, which still exhibits a remarkable wealth of finds from animal bones to human artifacts, is the entrance to the whole area.
Għar Dalam Cave and Museum is operated by Heritage Malta. In 2019, a project was announced to improve the physical accessibility between Għar Dalam, Ta’ Kaċċatura, Borġ in-Nadur, and other sites which are in close proximity to one another.[9]
Stratigraphy
[edit]
The cave consists of a number of sequential layers, which have been dated using radiometric techniques.[10]
| Layer number[10] | Layer names[10] | Age[10] | Description[10] | Faunal remains[10] | Notes[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II | Upper domestic animals/pottery layer
cave earth layer |
Holocene (2,700 years ago-recent) | "dark red clay" | Domestic animals (cow, sheep, goat, pig, cat), equine (Equus sp.), possible deer (?Cervus sp) black rat, house mouse, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) shrew (Crocidura russula), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), tortoise (Testudo sp.) lizard (Chalcides ocellatus) frogs and toads (Discoglossus pictus, Bufo viridis) | Also contains pottery, and other human artifacts, as well as human remains |
| III | Lower domestic animals/pottery layer
small stones/pebbles layer |
Holocene (around 7,200 - 2,700 years ago) | "dark grey earth, sub-angular stones and pebbles" | ||
| IV | Upper Red Earth
(Cervus stage) |
Late Pleistocene (after 116,300/103,800 years ago for onset of deposition, before 80,100 years ago for onset of deposition of sublayer IVc, and between 80,100 and 23-20,000 years ago for deposition of sublayer IVb)[a] | "deep vegetable soil with alternating brown-red and white layers. 5+ divisions by stalagmitic plates/torba floors" | Deer (likely 3 endemic species of Cervus[10]) bovine (Bos sp.) equine (Equus sp.) vole (Pitymys melitensis) shrew (Crocidura sp.), bats, turtle (Emys orbicularis), toad (Bufo bufo), birds | Remains much less mineralised and worn than those of the breccia/Hippopotamus layer. |
| V | Lower Red Earth
(Carnivora Stage) |
late Middle Pleistocene (167,300 to 151,200 years ago) | Dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis and/or Palaeoloxodon sp[11]) Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus pentlandi) deer (Cervus cf. elaphus and Cervus cf. barbarus) red fox (Vulpes vulpes), wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus cf. arctos), vole (Pitymys melitensis), shrew (Crocidura sp.) bats, turtle (Emys orbicularis), toad (Bufo bufo), birds | ||
| VI | Pebble layer | Middle Pleistocene (prior to 165,900 years ago) | "rolled pebbles in red clay" | None | |
| VII | Bone breccia layer
Hippopotamus layer |
Middle Pleistocene (prior to 165,900 years ago) | "light green to brown clay, consolidated to breccia in outer regions" | Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus pentlandi, Hippopotamus melitensis)
Dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis and/orPalaeoloxodon sp[11]), deer (Cervus cf. elaphus)[10] possible equine (Equus sp?) shrew (cf. Crocidura russula) dormice (Maltamys/Eliomys) bats, birds including Cygnus falconeri |
Bones strongly mineralised and dark in colour and heavily water worn/rolled, so that they resemble pebbles. |
| VIII | Detritral Clay layer
Sterile layer |
Early-Middle Pleistocene (prior to 167,000 years ago) | "plastic laminated clay, yellowish blue colour" | None |
Notes
[edit]- [A].^ Buhagiar (2007) notes that the name Għar Dalam does not mean the 'Cave of Darkness', as would be the case in Arabic, but the 'Cave of Dalam,' or 'of the Dalam family.'[12] The surname Dalam is attested in 15th century records.[12]
- ^ Layer IVa was deposited after 20,000 years ago and is more similar in faunal composition to the overlying layers III and II than to other red earth layers
References
[edit]- ^ a b c van der Geer, Alexandra; Lyras, George; de Vos, John; Dermitzakis, Michael (2010). Evolution of island mammals: Adaptation and extinction of placental mammals on islands. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 92–102. doi:10.1002/9781444323986. ISBN 9781405190091. S2CID 86821557.
- ^ Nadia, Fabri (2007). Għar Dalam: The Cave, the Museum, and the Garden: Birżebbuġa. Malta: Heritage Books. ISBN 978-9993271444.
- ^ Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen; Gadd, Cyril John; Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lempriere (1970). The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 726. ISBN 0521086914.
- ^ J.D. Evans The Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands p. 241
- ^ Zammit, Mark Laurence (9 April 2025). "Human life on Malta began at least 1,000 years before first believed". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Ghar Dalam museum". Times of Malta. 25 November 2006. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ^ "Protection of Antiquities Regulations 21st November, 1932 Government Notice 402 of 1932, as Amended by Government Notices 127 of 1935 and 338 of 1939". Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Sagona, Claudia; Vella Gregory, Isabelle; Bugeja, Anton (2006). Punic Antiquities of Malta and Other Ancient Artefacts Held in Ecclesiastic and Private Collections. Vol. 2. Peeters Publishers. pp. 27–28. ISBN 9042917032.
- ^ Agius, Monique (6 February 2019). "Prehistoric bones accidentally unearthed at Għar Dalam". Newsbook. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i D'Souza, L. C. An endemic radiation of deer in the Late Pleistocene of Malta 1 Oct 2019 PhD Thesis, University of Bristol pp. 21-27 30, 33, 38-39, 294, 299-305
- ^ a b V.L. Herridge Dwarf Elephants on Mediterranean Islands: A Natural Experiment in Parallel Evolution. PhD Thesis, Vol 1. p. 135 University College London (2010)
- ^ a b Buhagiar, Mario (2007). The Christianisation of Malta: catacombs, cult centres and churches in Malta to 1530. Archaeopress. p. 97. ISBN 978-1407301099.
External links
[edit]
- National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
- Description of cave
- Għar Dalam Cave and Museum Archived 6 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine - Visit Malta
