The changing Maltese soil environment: evidence from the ancient cart-tracks at San Pawl tat-tarġa, Naxxar

Derek Mottershead, Paul Farres, Alastair Pearson

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

    Abstract

    The historic cart ruts of Malta are incised into the underlying bedrock topography. Anomalous relationships between their routeways and the uneven terrain beneath suggest that they originated on a land surface different from that of today. An exposure close to a cart-rut location near Naxxar reveals evidence of limestone terrain development and its role in the evolution of the cart-rut patterns. Specifically, it reveals that cart trackways were most probably superimposed from a soil cover onto an underlying bedrock surface topographically different from the former soil surface. A model is developed demonstrating likely relationships between human activity, soil erosion and trackway evolution leading to the incision of the trackways into the bedrock
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationLimestone in the Built Environment: Present-Day Challenges for the Preservation of the Past
    EditorsB. Smith, M. Gomez-Heras, H. Viles, J. Cassar
    Place of PublicationLondon
    PublisherGeological Society of London
    Pages219-229
    Number of pages11
    Edition331
    ISBN (Print)9781862392946
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

    Publication series

    NameGSL Special Publication
    PublisherGeological Society, London
    Number331

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The changing Maltese soil environment: evidence from the ancient cart-tracks at San Pawl tat-tarġa, Naxxar'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this