HYPOTHESIS | Malta Cart Ruts Transported Water?

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What are these cart ruts I hear some of you ask yourself? Well the cart ruts on malta are deep tracks, or grooves or even channels in the eyes of some in the limestone on the island of Malta.
While I was walking around with her on multiple locations on the Island, looking at these cart ruts I kept thinking to myself that these cart ruts seem incredibly ineffective to be actual cart ruts, it doesn’t make any sense!
The cart ruts are found in the Coralline limestone and the globigerina limestone on the island, they can be found up in the hills and even under the sea.
These cart ruts in Malta are highly unlikely to be actual cart ruts, this is because not only do they differ drastically in height, width, depth, length, distance, shape and size they are also located on the most strange places on the island, like leading straight off of high cliffs and some even led into the sea and there are even ruts discovered on the seabed of the Mediterranean sea.
This leads people to come up with a massive variety of theories that could possibly solve the mystery that is the Maltese Cart Ruts, from Ancient Aliens, to an Ancient Advanced Civilization, although I personally don’t think it’s that grandiose of a mystery.
Mostly because I personally do not believe in ancient aliens and I have a hard time believing in an ancient advanced civilization, I haven’t seen any definitive proof for that.
I think it’s much simpler and much more functional than strangely shaped ancient carts that would leave these tracks.

Music: Adrian von Ziegler

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[DogWalkerBill]

I remember reading that an archeologist became puzzled why the plazas in an Ancient Mayan city (I forget which one) were all tilted. On carful study he/she figured out that all the plazas were tilted to direct rain water to flow to the public cisterns, where it would be saved.
Speculation was, if Los Angeles followed a similar plan it's problems with drought would be almost eliminated.

[bluebird]

I like big ruts and I cannot lie, some historian may deny, that the tracks were laid before bronze was made when the temples were put in place.

[beyondroom]

Having been to Malta many times and studied the sites there I can tell you for a fact that some of these ruts run up and down slopes. So how can that transport water? There are some running off cliffs, why do that? Also there is vast amounts of water underground and literally millions of wells and cisterns have been dug there going back thousands of years. Water is easy enough to find there. The fact that the ruts undulate and some are even on their sides on slopes proves they could not have been for moving water. Also the reason no lakes and ponds in Malta is Evaporation. Sunny hot island. If water was in the ruts most of it would be lost as vapour in no time. There is a video on my channel about the Giant legends of Malta which shows just how strange the ruts are.

Also they are in places like Sardinia and Portugal even next to rivers and lakes. All the best.

[malleusflavus]

Perhaps your theory is right, or perhaps it is wrong, but your most charming trait is your willingness to openly speculate and invite discussion. No one should be made to feel that such speculating or hypothesizing is only the purview of academics or "professionals." When it comes to anthropology, archaeology, and history, all of us are entitled to an opinion, because we are all participants in the process -- your channel is the very archetype of egalitarian social science. You involve people with the subject matter by making it real and human. I very much enjoy listening to your analyses, interpretations, and rationalizations, even when I do not agree. Best part of the show. Keep it up!

[Flastew]

Your theory makes sense even mathematically because using one photo you showed the diameter of a cart wheel that would ride in the rut would not be able to make the turn pictured. Another missing part to the rut theory is where are the ruts that would have been made by the animals or slaves that pulled the carts. The ruts I have seen here in America have a shallow rut or pair of ruts in the middle. Which would be from what ever pulled the cart. So your theory holds "water" a little better than just a cart rut. Thanks for sharing. It is fun to theorize about things from the past.

[elchinator]

There is one open question (or call it a "hole"): why would they create two parallel waterways? Wouldn't one wide one be more efficient? And even if you need two, why make them exactly parallel, when "near to each other" would be sufficient? Why take the hard way, when the easy way is right beside it?!?

The idea of early water management is pretty much on point and there has to be more evidence on that. The people back then wouldn't have survived without. But do the "cart ruts" fit in with the picture? Maybe not. All we know by now is that they are not "cart ruts". They are too deep and take too narrow turns for wheels to work. Carts would get stuck.

[robertcurtis]

I love ancient history and unexplained technology. I think your channel os amazing

[Unkl_Bob]

It would be interesting to watch during a rainfall. Lets see if and where all the rainwater is affected by the existence of the "ruts".
Thanks Athena 😘 for another thought provoking video .

[Morpholaf]

Best way to check this hypothesis could maybe simply be to add water. Pouring water in the tracks would show which way the water would flow, and if there were any collection points where the water would gather. This would show whether or not this hypothesis really hold water =)

[sarahcarter]

Hi, there's a chap called Anton Mifsud who co wrote a book with his son called 'Dossier Malta'
It deals with various aspects of the history of the temples, in particular the hypogeium. The first third of the book deals with the geology of Malta and Islands
I would highly recommend it.
It's available as a pdf free online. The book itself I have only seen in Gozo/Malta. For anyone interested it us a fascinating read and very scholarly.
Many thanks for covering this and I find your idea intriguing 😊

[shiijin]

Your guess is as good as any of the others. I would say though that the reason for the "cart tracks" being in the Mediterranean sea is because they were made while it was still dry land. The seas started rising about 14, 000 years ago. If anything it would prove that the people that made the track were there before the Neolithic age.

[secularsunshine]

We have cart ruts in Wyoming (Wagon trails), they look very similar. These ruts were worn into the rocks beginning in the 1840's by settlers headed for California.
There are also cart ruts worn into the ancient Roman roads that look similar. I wonder if these Malta ruts could even be more modern dating to WW2?
Malta was a military fortress during WW2 with a Siege of Malta. Cannons, Heavy-Artillery and supply wagons in the 1940's still used wooden and iron wheels. I own a 1939 model "A" john Deere Tractor that came new from the factory with steel wheels and paddle like steel cleats, and the front wheels being smooth cast iron, no tires (1939). I use it for mowing along the road.

I would also like to see a video explaining how, where and when DNA has been retrieved from Neanderthals and the Denisovans species? I'm curious and am sure it would be very interesting.

Your sister was great too.

[scottbehl]

Thanks Kayleigh ! This was a good one. Makes you think....

[thylacinenv]

Excellent as always. Limestone pavements located in Lancashire and Co. Clare for example also display features which were previously interpreted as "cart tracks", these are grykes formed by water erosion penetrating linear weaknesses in the limestone.

[delgardner]

Upon consideration I have to agree, i am not sure anyone else has ever put this idea forward yet, however after mulling it over it makes sense to me.

[catman]

One of the properties of water that's often overlooked in the situations is how it flows. This is one of the things that experts look for when seeing a channel. If the grooves have a gradient that's too steep, the water doesn't flow properly and becomes more of a problem than a solution. The same can be true if the groove are not steep enough. The ancient city of Petra is a classic example of this. If I remember this right, the ideal slope is about 7 degrees to the horizontal.

[Luke-ckok]

1) Malta - Guza Mifsud the miracle water of Girgenti, (2) Gozo - L-Għajn tal-Ħasselin, (3) Chapel of St. Paul the Hermit Wied il-Għasel, Malta - These are the locations where you can find fresh spring water in Malta & Gozo.

[floydriebe]

hi, Kayleigh! cool topic and, i think you have a valid hypothesis. i suppose, with time, cart ruts could erode to a depth that seems too deep for carts. but, the different widths seems strange. water channels would also eventually deepen, and they wouldn't have to be precisely the same distance apart. hopefully, some new find will shine some light on this.

so, Klee, thanks for about 20 months of watching and thinking about ancient history with you😍😘 here's to many more years of your quality uploads!🤩🥰🙃

[fartraveler]

Your hypothesis makes perfect sense. I made ruts in our long driveway in the earily spring to drain off the winter thaw. Fun when you're a kid. Well done

[johnralph]

The tracks that lead into the sea would have been above sea level during the neolithic. Sea levels rose as the ice retreated towards the poles, aka Doggerland, and elsewhere around the world.