Clapham Junction (Malta)

Clapham Junction is a prehistoric site on Malta near the Dingli Cliffs. It is a complex network of tracks gouged in the rock. Its age and purpose are still a mystery of Maltese history. In general, most archeologists presume that the site developed about 2000 BC after new settlers came over from Sicily to start the Bronze Age in Malta. Beside the megalithic temples it is the most mysterious artefact on Malta.

It is reported that the name "Clapham Junction" was given by an Englishman, who later reported that it reminded him of the great and busy railway station Clapham Junction in London.

The tracks

The tracks can be found on all of Malta and on Gozo, but the site Clapham Junction (also known as Misraћ Gћar il-Kbir) near the Dingli Cliffs in the south of the island is probably the most impressive – they form here a real traffic jam.

Also called cart ruts, they are up to 60 cm deep and have an average distance between them of 110 to 140 cm. Some cross while others form junctions. This creates the illusion of a great railway station switching yard.

Theories about the purpose

There are numerous theories about the purpose of these tracks, the most discussed are the following:
* Goods were transported here on sledges which gouged the tracks into the rock.
* The tracks are real cart ruts for transporting goods.
* It is an irrigation system.

The theories of transport systems are the most popular in the discussion. Both have provoked some questions which have not been answered yet. If it were sledges, the goods moved would have been quite heavy to produce such deep tracks, therefore they would have needed a large power source to be moved: Malta is a small island with a relatively small population at that time. To fit, carts with wheels would have had to have wheels with a diameter of 1.4 meters = 4 feet 9 inches at least. Another (similar) theory says that the huge blocks of limestone had been transported along these tracks and used to build the temples. The problem is, that the ruts can be found at many places, not just near the temples.

The irrigation system theory tries to explain the tracks by the fact that the stony soil at that time was quite infertile. It was more and more difficult to provide the population with food, so that an irrigation system became necessary.

Other suppositions

There are also other attempts to explain the tracks:-
*The Maltese archeologist Anthony Bonanno thinks that the ruts are devices of the Phoenicians, which would mean that the tracks were made more recently, in the 7th century BC. But it is known that the activities of the Phoenicians on Malta were quite small.
*Other theories try to prove that Malta is the ancient Atlantis.