The ancient cart ruts mystery in Malta may be closer to a solution. A new study suggests that thousands of grooves worn into the island’s limestone landscape formed through centuries of wheeled traffic, particularly during the Phoenician and Roman periods. Researchers believe the tracks were part of an extensive road network connecting farms, settlements, quarries and ports.
The research, led by Joel Grima, challenges theories that Malta’s cart ruts originated primarily in prehistoric times. It offers new evidence that many developed during the Classical period, when agriculture, trade and settlement expanded across the island.
Archaeological evidence links Malta’s cart ruts to ancient roads
The cart ruts consist of parallel grooves running across exposed limestone. Some intersect, while others disappear beneath later structures. Their origins have long fueled debate about Malta’s ancient archaeological landscape. Grima examined 228 archaeological sites using drone photography, digital mapping, satellite imagery and excavation records. The study identified 2,628 tracks stretching nearly 50 kilometers (31 miles).
Malta’s mysterious ancient cart ruts may finally have an explanation!
A new study suggests the grooves carved into limestone were part of a vast transport network used during Phoenician and Roman times, challenging theories about their prehistoric origins. pic.twitter.com/6SSKpa4ZiQ— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) October 19, 2026
At the Domus Romana site near Mdina, researchers documented grooves running through an ancient street beneath successive Roman road surfaces. The findings indicate that the tracks date to the Roman period at the latest.
Historical records from Marsa provide further evidence. They describe cart ruts connecting a Roman warehouse with a nearby harbor. Grooves worn directly into the warehouse’s stone thresholds suggest that wheeled vehicles transported goods between the buildings and waterfront.
Cart tracks connected quarries, farms and burial grounds
The study identified 112 instances where ancient quarries cut across existing tracks and 17 where grooves were worn into quarry floors. These findings suggest that quarrying and transportation developed alongside each other. Some abandoned routes may have provided suitable locations for extracting stone, while nearby roads remained in use.
Grima also analyzed 1,690 ancient burial features. About 34% were located within 50 meters (164 feet) of known cart tracks, supporting the possibility that many served as roads alongside which communities buried their dead. The findings offer another example of how ancient Roman road networks supported movement and trade. Similar wheel-worn grooves survive in the ancient streets of Pompeii.
Grima suggests that repeated traffic from heavy carts, potentially equipped with metal-rimmed wheels, gradually wore grooves into limestone. Earlier research also indicates that soil erosion exposed the underlying rock, allowing wheels to leave deeper marks.
Exact origins of Malta’s cart ruts remain uncertain
Grima proposes that the road network expanded following Phoenician settlement and likely reached its greatest extent under Roman rule. However, the study does not rule out prehistoric origins for some tracks. It also questions earlier arguments that submerged grooves or soil erosion necessarily prove prehistoric dates.
Further excavation and scientific dating could help establish when individual routes first appeared and how long they remained in use.
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