Water Management Strategies and the Cave-Dwelling Phenomenon in Late-medieval Malta

Abstract

NEW, NON-INVASIVE FIELD SURVEY suggests, for the first time, that farmers in W. Malta created extensive networks of underground water galleries for irrigation of the terraced field systems found in proximity to cave-settlements. Although none of the components of this landscape is scientifically dated, comparative research suggests that this sophisticated water-management system is similar to the qanat technology of the Islamic and Roman world. We have to consider seriously that this could be part of a new horticultural and technological package introduced during the Muslim and post-Muslim period between the 11th-13th centuries a.d. Overall, the paper is an attempt to gain an insight into Maltese exploitation of the perched aquifer before the late-19th-century discovery of an alternative water source led to a dramatic shift in water management and production policies on the island. The associated evidence for cave-settlement is also reviewed. Many of the observations have an application to other parts of the island of Malta that possess a similar geological stratification.In the arid Maltese archipelago, farmers have been almost exclusively dependent on the annual rainfall, aided by irrigation where the geology permits. The archaeological significance and relevance of narrow rock-cut tunnels tapping the perched aquifer had until my study of the medieval and early modern cave-settlements and water galleries in NW. Malta, south-west of the Great Fault (Fig. 1), 1 and further fieldwork since 2002, escaped scholarly attention. The geology of Malta enables cave-settlement as well as the availability of trapped underground water in some parts of the island. This paper describes the evidence for the cave-dwelling phenomenon in Malta, the underground galleries that exploited this water source, and their likely relationship. But first, some understanding is required of the local geology and hydrology.

Monitoring of Groundwater in a Limestone Island Aquifer Using Ambient Seismic Noise

“…As can be observed from Figure 2, a W-E divide in geological outcrops exists, distinguished by GL in the south of Malta and the UCL/BC in the west and north of Malta. Groundwater resources in the Maltese islands are of two typologies: the perched aquifer and the mean sea-level aquifer (MSLA) [34,83,[90][91][92][93][94]. The perched aquifer occurs where the BC formation, acting as an aquiclude, is present in the rock strata, which coincides with where UCL can be observed in the geological outcrop map in Figure 2.…”

Quantifying 450 years of limestone weathering induced by salt crystallization on fortifications in Malta and Gozo

“…LIST OF FIGURES et al 1961and Buhagiar 2007, in Cassar 2010; adapted also from the geological map available at continentalshelf.gov.mt).…”

Evolution of water extraction technology (spring tunnels) in the Southern Levant during the last three millennia

“…STs were constructed in other regions of the world as well, for example, in Greece (Betsey A. Robinson, 2013; Blegen et al, 1930, p. 48, pl. 5), Sicily (Bouffier, 2020; Walthall et al, 2020), Cyprus (Kambanellas, 2012, p. 306), Italy (Castellani & Dragoni, 1997; Damiani et al, 2012; Parise et al, 2013, 2015), Malta (Buhagiar, 2007), Spain (Ubierna, 1998), and in the Indian subcontinent (Crook et al, 2015). Yet, the Southern Levant's earliest STs predate the appearance of the STs in the regions mentioned above.…”