Water management strategies and the cave-dwelling phenomenon in Late-Medieval Malta

Abstract

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 atten- tion. 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.