Għar Dalam
Malta · Europe
About
Għar Dalam (Maltese pronunciation: [ɐˤːr ˈdɐlɐm]; "Cave of Dalam", Dalam being a fifteenth-century family name)[A] is a 144-metre long phreatic tube and cave, located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta. The cave contains the bones of animals that lived on Malta during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory, and is viewed as one of Malta's most important national monuments. Pottery similar to that found in Stentinello was found at Għar Dalam, but lacking details such as stamp decorations.
Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, giant swan, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages. The deer species became extinct much later, about 4,000 years ago during the Chalcolithic. Until 2025, Għar Dalam was thought to have the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.