The surface of the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Maltese archipelago are known for the
hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of parallel lines that appear to have been carved deep
into the country’s stony ground.
These ancient Maltese tracks – or what some refer to as “cart ruts” – have been
found in obvious locations as well as the most unusual places – be it under the sea,
off the coast, or at cliff edges.
This has led many to believe that the grooves in Malta’s bedrock are of prehistoric origin.
These cart tracks are also deemed to be unique, and they continue to be an enigma to this
very day, as they have not been satisfactorily explained by those who have extensively studied
them.
(Brief Information on the Cart Ruts Found in Malta)
Cart ruts are man-made dual channels or parallel tracks and grooves sunken in rock.
The ruts themselves can vary greatly in their size – some can be very deep and narrow,
others can be shallow and wide, and the rest could be anything in between.
They are carved in both smooth and rough rocky surface.
And like in the case of the cart ruts found on the surface of the islands of Malta, these
parallel grooves can be etched into a limestone bedrock.
In Malta, the cart ruts appear to be in single pairs or in groups, and they are typically
perfectly parallel.
These ancient channels have an approximate depth of 8 to 15 centimeters, but in some
places, they could be as deep as about 60 centimeters.
The ruts have a standard gauge of around 1.4 meters, but this can also vary by several
centimeters.
Some of the tracks cross each other while others branch out to form junctions, which
creates an illusion that resembles a large railway switching yard.
These grooves run through the island’s valleys but they have also been found on the hills,
while some have disappeared into the Mediterranean Sea.
While the cart ruts on Malta are impressive structures, they do not exclusively exist
in this country.
In fact, similar formations can also be found in Sicily, Sardinia, Italy, Greece, Southern
France and Cyrenaica.
However, not all of these dual channels in different parts of Europe are of the same
origin, neither do they all fulfill the same purpose.
(Examples of the Maltese Cart-Ruts)
In Malta itself, there are potentially as many as 150 sites that have cart ruts, including
the ones found in St. Paul’s Bay, Naxxar, San Gwann and Bidnija.
However, the most well-known site in the archipelago is the Misrah Ghar il-Kbir, which is more
popularly referred to as the “Clapham Junction.”
The Clapham Junction is located on the southern side of the Maltese island and features an
enormous number of tracks, making it the largest concentration of cart ruts in the country.
The site was given the nickname “Clapham Junction” because the network of overlapping
cart tracks on the surface resembled the busy rail station of the same name in London.
The sunken grooves at the site have varying gauges, depths and widths.
They are also shaped differently, with some narrowing at the bottom, while others remain
flat.
(Theories on the Purpose of Malta’s Cart Ruts)
Many different theories have been presented in attempt to provide the most plausible answers
to the mysterious questions of when these car ruts on Malta were created, how they were
created, and why they were created in the first place.
[Possible Dates When the Cart Ruts in Malta Were Created]
Some researchers have connected the mysterious tracks to the temple sites found in the islands
of Malta and Gozo.
More than 30 stone temple complexes as well as other ancient structures on the Maltese
island were dated to have been built from 5500 to 2500 BC, making them some of the oldest
free-standing monuments on the planet that we currently know about.
It is even believed that the cart ruts might turn out to be the proof some experts have
been looking for in answering the puzzle of how these ancient temples were built during
what was supposed to be a primitive time.
It is also hypothesized that these manmade dual channels were created by settlers who
arrived in Malta from Sicily sometime in the beginning of the country’s Bronze Age, or
around 2000 B.C.
However, Maltese archaeologist Anthony Bonanno has also presented an alternative theory about
the date of the cart ruts on the island, suggesting that the tracks could be Phoenician constructions
that were made more recently, possibly in the 7th century B.C.
[How the Cart Ruts in Malta Were Created]
As to how the ruts in Malta were made or created, some archaeologists assumed that they were
inadvertently carved by using some form of vehicles that were possibly wheeled.
These carts, sleds or skids could have carried heavy loads, and with people repeatedly using
the same path or route for decades or even centuries, the island’s limestone ground
was inevitably scarred over time as a consequence.
However, some have objected to the hypothesis that all of the ruts on Malta were caused
by wheeled carts or sleds carrying heavy goods.
They argued that some of the tracks appeared to be too perfectly formed as if they might
have been carved by hand using special tools.
One such individual is author and journalist Graham Hancock, and in his book, “Underworld:
The Mysterious Origins of Civilization,” he said:
“It is certain, too, that they were not simply worn away in the tough limestone by
the passage of cart-wheels over periods of centuries, as many have wrongly theorized;
on the contrary, there is no proof whatsoever that cart-wheels ever ran in these ruts - which
were initially carved out of the bedrock with the use of tools.”
[The Purpose Behind the Cart Ruts in Malta]
If the people residing on the island of Malta created and deliberately shaped these enigmatic
ruts, then these channels obviously played a valuable purpose in the lives of these ancient
people.
However, what exactly that role is have been lost with the passage of time, and experts
who have allotted much of their time and a significant portion of their lives to study
these cart ruts have yet to universally agree on what their original purpose could be.
And because these experts have failed to come into an agreement on this matter, alternative
theories have gained popularity in providing more out-of-this-world yet equally-fascinating
answers to this mystery.
One of the wildest speculations of what the cart ruts’ intended purpose could be is
that the they are the tracks of outer space landing craft.
There also those who believe that the scars on Malta’s milestone bedrock might be coded
messages to the gods.
But a more popular yet also far-fetched theory is that archipelago of Malta is actually an
existing part of the legendary lost city of Atlantis.
Of course, there are also other theories that have been presented over the years, which
many people find to be a lot easier to consider and believe.
One theory is that the cart ruts in Malta were constructed for the purpose of transporting
agricultural produce, and that the tracks were designed in such a way that would have
allowed cows pulling these carts to get back home on their own.
Australian archaeologist Claudia Sagona from Birmingham University has a different idea
on what the ancient channels found in this country are for.
Sagona argued that the cart ruts were actually irrigation ditches from the Stone Age.
According to her, in ancient times, torrential rains had washed away the island’s topsoil,
and so, the farmers of that time had no other choice but to invent new ways of tending to
their crops.
She suggested that the Maltese farmers carved this network of trenches into the island’s
limestone bedrock to channel away and conserve rain water, and to protect the soil.
Another likely purpose of the cart ruts is that they transported stones from ancient
quarries across the island.
This theory was suggested by archaeologist Anthony Bonanno, and a few of those who conducted
a detailed survey of the Clapham Junction agreed that many of the channels found on
the Maltese island are associated with the nearby quarries of the time.
Transportation of stones from these quarries via the cart ruts found in different parts
of the island supposedly made the construction of the ancient temples in Malta possible.
This network of tracks is also believed to have been utilized by people for the exportation
of quarried stones to Africa.
Though some of these theories are undeniably appealing and quite popular, none of them
are completely devoid of flaw in their line of reasoning.
And so, until now, there is still no consensus on what the original purpose of the cart ruts
on Malta could be, especially since experts supporting one theory have cleverly presented
arguments casting doubt on the plausibility of another theory, and vice versa.
(Conclusion)
For now, there is no doubt that the enigmatic cart ruts found in Malta will continue to
remain unsolved in the foreseeable future in terms of its true purpose, the exact means
through which they were formed, or the accurate dates of when these tracks were created and
how long they were regularly used by the ancient civilization that once lived there.
And while not many are willing to entertain the idea that the cart ruts on Malta are proof
that a highly advanced ancient civilization once dominated the area, these ancient networks
of parallel trenches and channels are, at the very least, a testament and reminder that
perhaps our ancient ancestors are more advanced and enlightened than we give them credit for.
Besides, even without insisting its archaeological merits, it remains undeniable that these ancient
tracks are truly a fascinating as well as a puzzling sight to behold.