Misrah Ghar il-Kbir (informally known as Clapham Junction) is a prehistoric site in
Siġġiewi
Siġġiewi ( mt, Is-Siġġiewi, ), also called by its title Città Ferdinand, is a city and a local council in the Southern Region of Malta. It is the third largest council in Malta by surface area, after Rabat and Mellieħa respectively. It i ...
, in the south of the
Island of Malta, near the
Dingli Cliffs. It is best known for its "cart ruts", a complex network of tracks carved in the rock. The age and purpose of the tracks is uncertain with estimates of their origins ranging from the Neolithic to Medieval times and all points in-between. Several researchers have suggested they may have been used in different periods perhaps even for different activities. It appears the ruts could only have been made no later than c.700BC with several examples pointing to a Temple Period date c. 3800-2500BC.
[https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/20900/1/LAND%20USE%20IN%20PREHISTORIC%20MALTA.%20A%20RE-EXAMINATION%20OF.pdf]
It is reported that the "Clapham Junction" nickname was given by an Englishman, who later reported that it reminded him of the busy railway station
Clapham Junction
Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea.
Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
.
Origin of the tracks
Similar tracks (known and signposted in Malta as Cart Ruts) can be found in a number of sites on both the major islands.
Busewdien in
St Paul's Bay,
Naxxar
Naxxar ( mt, In-Naxxar) is a small city in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 14,891 people as of March 2014. The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The annual village feast is celebrated on 8 September. Nax ...
,
San Gwann and
Bidnija
Bidnija is a rural hamlet between Mosta, St. Paul's Bay and Mġarr. It is located in the northern region of Malta and is home to roughly 308 people per 2008, the second least populated habitable zone on the Maltese islands after Mdina (306 peo ...
are good examples on the main Island.
Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...
's best are on the Ta’ Ċenċ plateau,
Sannat
Sannat ( mt, Ta' Sannat) is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo, with a population of 2,117 people (March 2014). Ta' Sannat is in the south of Gozo, popular for its very high cliffs, ancient cart ruts, temples and dolmens, and ...
.
Those at Misraћ Gћar il-Kbir are up to deep and have an average distance between them of . Some cross while others form junctions, creating the illusion of a great railway station switching yard.
Research published in 2008 describes them as caused by wooden-wheeled carts eroding soft limestone. An analysis was made of the stresses that would have been caused by a cart which would fit the ruts. Professor Mottershead of Portsmouth University said "The underlying rock in Malta is weak and when it’s wet it loses about 80 percent of its strength. The carts would have first made tracks in the soil but when that eroded, the cartwheels ran directly on the bedrock, making it easier for other carts to follow the same tracks."
[Mottershead, Derek; Alastair Pearson & Martin Schaefer
]
"The cart ruts of Malta: an applied geomorphology approach" (Abstract + References)
''Antiquity'' Vol 82:318, 2008 pp 1065-1079
References
External links
*
* http://www.gozo.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=747
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misrah Ghar il-Kbir
Archaeological sites in Malta
History of Malta
Siġġiewi
Out-of-place artifacts
hu:Keréknyomok (Málta)