The Quaternary environment of Malta was dramatically different from that which we see today. During this time, Malta was connected to both Europe and Africa by a land bridge. The part of the land-bridge connection Malta to Africa was the first to disappear. The land-bridge connecting Malta to Europe disappeared later. Fossils of animals dating back to 250,000 B.C. have been found in the cave known as "Ghar Dalam" (the cave of darkness.)which include those of dwarf elephants, bears, wolves, hippopotamus and hyenas. At this time the Mediterranean was a vast pastureland with large trees, bushes and marshland grass in which birds and other large winged creatures, freshwater tortoises, elephants, hippopotamus, and many other vertebrates roamed about in search of food.
Excavations in the grotto of Ghar Dalam, which is about 90 meters long, resulted in the discovery of an impressive quantity of the remains of animals of all sorts - herbivora such as antelopes, carnivora such as bears, wolves, and hyenas, and above all elephant and hippopotamus. The two last-named species of mammal are distinguished by the fact that they are dwarves; the smallest is no bigger than a Saint Bernard dog . On the other hand, a swan of gigantic size was also found.
These astounding discoveries, which are specific to Malta, proved that 250,000 years ago the island was still connected to Sicily but cut off from North Africa. The remainder of Europe was covered with an ice cap, and in retreating towards warmer regions the animals had been trapped in this dead-end. Being unable to reach the further shore, they degenerated for a large number of generations before becoming finally extinct. It should not be forgotten that there were elephants in North Africa in Roman times and lions in the Atlas mountains at the end of the last century.
For along time it was believed that there was proof of the presence on the island of Neanderthal man, who lived about 100,000 years ago, since human teeth characteristic of prehistoric man were found in the grotto. Unfortunately, one day a dentist extract ed a tooth froma local inhabitant and found it was exactly the same! The doubts which then arose were later confirmed by modern scientific methods of analysis.
Nonetheless, it was the grotto of Ghar Dalam which furnished the first irrefutable evidence of human presence. About 3800 B.C. shepherds, probably from Sicily, arrived; at all events, their pottery is very similar to that found at Stentinello near Syracus e. On the other hand, the decoration is very similar to that used for the pottery of Dalmatia and the eastern Mediterranean. It is believed that these first inhabitants were also fishers. Their first homes were the natural grottoes in which this chalky co untry abounds.
While Ghar Dhalam was excavated some time ago the discovery and examination of Quaternary depsoits is a field with great potential. We will visit several Quaternary deposits, and their examination, mapping and description would form the basis of an excellent project.
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