Malta – Northern Region – Cart Ruts (Xemxija)

I went back today to complete the Xemxija Heritage Walk that I started on the first day that I visited Malta. Although going to look at cart ruts might not sound interesting, they are a mystery for historians. They date from the prehistoric period, but it’s entirely unclear what they were used for and how they were created.

There are cart ruts located across the Maltese islands with these ones stretching for 275 metres. It’d make sense for these cart ruts to be linked to the construction of the temples on the islands, but unfortunately the ruts don’t coincide with those locations. They do though coincide with where early settlements were located, but it’s unknown whether they were created by humans or through the use of carts being towed by animals.

The cart ruts are also of different widths, so if they were pre-planned, it was a slightly sloppy effort.

Stretching into the now built on area, these type of cart ruts have also been discovered going into the sea and also off the edges of cliffs. An intriguing mystery….