Għar Dalam Cave : a review of the sediments on the cave floor stratigraphy

Abstract

The Ghar Dalam cave floor excavations conducted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have identified a number of stratigraphical divisions containing several fossil animal remains. The original excavation reports are reviewed and correlated to the presently existing floor sample pillar and wall, and the stalagmite structure situated at about 115 feet from the cave entrance. The study confirms the definite presence of eight stratigraphical layers making up four definite faunal stages and a sterile layer. The oldest faunal stages - Eliomys (Maltamys) sp. (=Leithia cartei) stage and Pitymys melitensis stage - have been dated to the Upper Pleistocene by absolute and relative dating techniques specifically to the Riss-Wurm interglacial and the Wurm glacial. The uppermost two faunal stages - Apodemus sylvaticus stage and Rattus rattus stage - have been assigned to the Holocene period.