Maltas Cart Ruts

Impressive Cart Ruts – Was there a mysterious tramway in Malta?

On Malta and Gozo you will find many furrows running in pairs. They were carved into the rock. They are sometimes connected over long distances. Are Malta’s Cart Ruts the inspiration for London’s Clapham Junction? The track width and the depression are similar to trams or tramways all over the world.

What are Malta’s Cart Ruts?

Thousands of years ago, in addition to their buildings and temples, people laid a track-like network in the rocky surface of Malta. They did not move around at random, but were sedentary. The Cart Ruts routes run through valleys, over passes, to settlements and sometimes disappear into the sea. They seem to connect villages, temples, tombs and fields. These ruts appear like a transport system. The crossings resemble an old-fashioned railway station in a large city or the tracks of modern marshalling yards. It was probably for this reason that the Maltese Cart Ruts were given the nickname Clapham Junction of the London railway station. The Maltese nobleman Gian Frangisk Abela had the Cart Ruts explored for the first time in 1647.

Cart rides are an almost unknown attraction in Malta.

Who was Gian Frangisk Abela?

The nobleman Giovanni Francesco Abela (1582-1655) A.G.F. Abele is the author of the book ‘description of Malta, island in the Sicilian sea, with its antiquities, and other information’. In it he described Malta with its antiquities and other information’. Giovanni Francesco Abela was one of the few Maltese who became knights of the Order of Malta.

Born in Valletta, the son of Marco Abela and Benarda Vella is an ancestor of the Barone di Pietra Lunga, a member of the Spanish royal family. This family ruled Malta for a time. Giovanni Francesco Abela is considered one of the greatest personalities in Maltese history. Abele studied civil and canon law in Bologna. In October 1626, the Order’s Council unanimously appointed him Vice-Chancellor. In 1631, he led the preparations for the convocation of the Order’s General Chapter. A.G.F. Abele was a member of the triumvirate for the election of Grand Master Lascaris in 1936. Under Grand Master Lascaris, the famous defence towers on Malta were built. During his term of office, Abele founded Malta’s first notarial archives.

Nobleman Giovanni Francesco Abela died on 4 May 1655 and was buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos (now the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament) at St. John’s Conventual Church. There has been an active historical society in his honour since 1950.

What are the dimensions of the Cart Ruts and how deep are they?

The cart slides are between a few centimetres and an astonishing 0.60 metres deep and between 15 and 25 centimetres wide. What explains the difference in depth? According to Maltese amateur archaeologist and retired school teacher J. S. Ellul, the unevenness means that a small depression does not require such a deep track. According to his records from 90 years ago, the builders levelled out the unevenness in the terrain. The parallel cart tracks are about 120 centimetres apart. In forks and bends, the track is widened to 140 centimetres. A few cart ruts that have been found have a length of up to 3 kilometres.

Who was J. S. Ellul?

Born in 1920, Joseph. S. Ellul, born in 1920, spent his life studying Malta’s temples, prehistoric monuments and the Cart Ruts. The teacher, who lived in Zurrieq, was regarded as one of the outstanding specialists for Maltese megalithic sites. Ellul’s family was entrusted with the management of the nearby ruins of Hagar Qim. He shares with many scholars that the collapse of a land bridge between Gibraltar and Morocco created the Mediterranean Basin.

How old are the cart rides in Malta?

There is little evidence for a time estimate. Many rational and some less rational theories have been put forward. None found general acceptance.

The cart ruts are interrupted by burial shafts. These graves are attributed to the Punic colonisation period.
These traces run towards some Neolithic temples.
The Romans built their roads 2000 years ago with a foundation of smaller stones and stone slabs on top.
Some traces are in the sea. It is possible that the Mediterranean was less extensive 4500 years ago.
They are millions of years old, before humanity was wiped out by a tidal wave.

The quote that not all roads lead to Rome is true for this prehistoric ‘tramway’. These cart tracks and cart ruts were most probably created before Roman times. Many archaeologists estimate the period between 2300 and 1000 BC. Malta was re-colonised during this period. Prehistoric hand tools from the Bronze Age have been found in a few places. The material cannot be found on Malta. Experts therefore assume that the tools were introduced to Malta at this time. Wheels were first created in the Mesopotamian city of Uruk at this time. Mystery upon mystery: Were wheels invented at the same time all over the world? Or are the Cart Ruts one to 23 million years old, as the Russian geologist Dr Alexander Koltypin researched? He believed that mankind was wiped out for the first time millions of years ago by a kilometre-high tidal wave. This would explain the cart ruts leading to nowhere. The EU funding programme CULTURE 2000 on the Cart Ruts at universities in Malta, Spain and Italy did not provide any clarity.

What were the Cart Ruts needed for?

This question remains unanswered to this day. The cart ruts found so far are heavily worn and are said to be unsuitable for in-depth studies. There are assumptions for irrigation or transport. Two wooden beams or bronze runners and oxen are thought to have been used for transport, either as pole drags or sledges. No traces of ox hooves were discovered in the rock until 2022. This is not surprising, as animal hooves leave no traces in the stone. Archaeologists are not sure whether there was enough wood on Malta. Other unanswered questions: Can hooves be moved in cart ruts? Do they get stuck? The researcher J. S. Ellul found a cart wheel made of lava stone next to the Tarxien temple. He believed 90 years ago that the builders of the cart ruts were already moulding wheels. There is no evidence in favour of an irrigation system today. Two water pipes basically in parallel? Up and down without pumps?

Where can I find the Cart Ruts?

These cart slides exist in over 30 places. A few end at sea cliffs. Did Malta have a different surface area back then? Was Malta directly connected to Europe during its formation? You can find the best-known pairs of tracks in

Birzebugga
Borg l-Imramma
Borġ in-Nadur
Buskett Gardens
Dingli Cliffs
Dwejra Point (formerly Azure Window)
Filfla
Ghar Hassan, Hal Far
Ħaġar Qim
Ix-Xarolla, Zurrieq
Misraħ Ghonoq
Mnajdra
Qala Hill
Ras il-Pellegrin, Gnejna Bay
San-Lawrenz
Skorba
Ta’-Ċenċ-Plateau
Ta’ Tingi, Xewkija
Tal-Baqqari, Zurrieq
Tal-Qadi
Tan-Nemes, Qala, Fliegu ta ‘s Gawdex
Tarxien
Wardija ta’San Ġorġ

Sources: D. Bradley, J. S. Ellul, Airmalta, M. I. Trinkler, own research

Why are cart ruts found in the sea?

It cannot be explained rationally. Many questions remain unanswered. Perhaps the Cart Ruts are much older than the majority of researchers assume? Or is Erich von Daniken’s theory that they were created by extraterrestrials correct? Did parts of Malta fall into the sea at the cliffs?
For the historian D. Bradley, the cart ruts to the cliffs speak against their construction by the Romans. After all, what sense would it have made for the Romans to build roads up to 30 metre or 160 metre high cliffs? The author Josef S. Ellul surmised 90 years ago that the ruts were even created before the Flood. That would make them several thousand years older. Malta may have been connected to Sicily during its formation. On the other hand, it is striking that many cart ruts can be found in the south towards Africa and Gibraltar.

Books about the Cart Ruts

We have found these books and illustrated books about Cart Ruts in Malta.

The Maltese Cart-Ruts by Gordon E Western
The Stone Age temples of Malta and their antediluvian culture by Josef S. Ellul.
Cart-Ruts and their Impact on the Maltese Landscape
Malta Cart Ruts – Photo book
Chariots of the Gods von Erich von Daniken
Paths to nowhere: Cart-Ruts – Enigmatic cart tracks from prehistoric times by Uwe Schneider

FAQ - Do you have questions about card ruts? We give you the answers!

Are the Cart Ruts freely accessible?

The cart slides are freely accessible and not labelled. There are said to be well over 100 places with cart slides in Malta. Cyclists have their problems with cart ruts suddenly appearing on the paths.

Are there any records or cave paintings of the Cart Ruts?

No paintings or written records of the Cart Ruts were found until the 16th century. They were first named in Malta in 1647, and the researcher Uwe Topper named the Cart Ruts in Spanish literature from 1794 onwards.

Are the Card Ruts the work of aliens?

This thesis by Erich von Daniken from his book ‘Chariots of the Gods’ is an outsider’s opinion. It has not been confirmed by any well-known archaeologists or researchers. However, the question arises as to why there are similar traces worldwide.

Are the Cart Ruts in Malta unique in the world?

No, there are cart ruts almost everywhere in the world. The cart ruts on Malta are the best known. They are considered an archaeological mystery. Other sites where cart ruts have been found are: Azerbaijan, China, Germany, Japan, Croatia, Libya, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Mallorca, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and some countries in South America. It is not surprising that few believe in the creation of the Cart Ruts by extraterrestrials.