Ghar Dalam (traditionally more accurate pronunciation is Ar Dalam ), Malta. Għar Dalam , letters. “Cave of darkness” - a cave in Malta , in which several layers of bones of animals that died out at the end of the last glaciation were found , as well as traces of the earliest human stay in Malta about 7400 years ago (this period is called the stage or phase, Ghar -Dalam).
The bones of animals date back to different times: if the dwarf hippo became extinct about 180,000 years ago, the dwarf deer - much later, about 18,000 years ago.
The first scientific study of the cave was conducted in 1885, but the cave remained closed until 1933, and during the Second World War it was used as a bomb shelter. Here, in the second half of the 20th century, a museum was founded, from which important exhibits were stolen in 1980 - the remains of dwarf elephants and the skull of a Neolithic child.
A detailed study of the cave was conducted in 1987 under the guidance of Emmanuel Anati , professor of paleontology at the University of Salento . A group of Italian archaeologists discovered in the cave samples of art, presumably from the Paleolithic era , depicting human hands, anthropozoomorphic figures and several images of animals in the lower part of stalagmites . Some drawings depict elephants extinct in Malta during the Pleistocene era. Most of the images found were later destroyed by vandals.
The depth of the cave is 144 meters, but only the first 50 meters are open for visitors. At the entrance to the cave is a museum where the most important finds are presented.
Stratigraphy
The cave consists of 6 layers. [one]
- Layer of pets (about 74 cm). In this layer, mainly animals of agricultural importance were found - cows, horses, sheep and goats. Also found in the layer are human remains, flints, ceramics, other tools and jewelry.
- Limestone layer (about 0.6 cm).
- A layer of deer (about 175 cm). The dwarf deer found in this layer comes from the European red deer , Cervus elaphus . In the same layer, few predators were found, namely a brown bear, a red fox and a wolf, as well as swans, giant turtles and mouse voles.
- A layer of pebbles (about 35 cm). It consists solely of small pellets and pebbles left over from a river flowing through a cave. The flow was strong enough, as evidenced by the large size of the pellets.
- A layer of hippos (about 120 cm). This layer consists mainly of the remains of Hippopotamus melitensis . Other animals found in this layer are the dwarf elephant and the giant dormouse , Leithia cartei .
- Clay layer without bones (about 125 cm). No bones were found in this layer; there are only imprints of plants.
Links
Notes
- ↑ George Zammit Maempel, 1989. Għar Dalam Cave and Deposits