Malta's Underwater "Cart Tracks": Rewriting Prehistory?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the underwater "cart tracks" in Malta and their implications for understanding human civilization and historical flood events. Participants explore the potential age of these tracks, their geological context, and the relationship between sea level changes and historical flooding.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the underwater cart tracks may indicate human civilization existing thousands of years earlier than previously thought, possibly linked to significant flood events.
  • Others question the feasibility of cart tracks existing from such an ancient period, noting that any massive flood event would likely bury or destroy such tracks.
  • One participant mentions the historical context of ice ages and sea level rise, proposing that the tracks could have been made before the last major flood around 10,000 years ago.
  • Another participant introduces the idea that flooding narratives may stem from various local catastrophes rather than a singular global flood, referencing multiple historical flood events and geological phenomena.
  • There is a mention of Malta's geological changes, with one participant stating that the eastern shores have subsided, while another challenges this by citing a sedimentology expert who claims that Malta is not subsiding and attributes the submergence of the tracks to sea level rise over the last 2000 years.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the age and implications of the cart tracks, the nature of historical flood events, and the geological changes in Malta. No consensus is reached on these points, and multiple competing views remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various geological and historical factors, including the effects of ice ages, local flood events, and the subsidence of land. There are unresolved questions regarding the specific timeline and mechanisms behind the submergence of the cart tracks.

wolram
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Andre, mentioned floods in another thread, my interest has been kindled by a
program on tv about Malta and under water ,"cart tracks", that may date
human civilization 1000s of years older than is previously thought, giving
some weight to a massive flood event in pre history, what are your thoughts ?
 
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you mean like the biblical Red Sea stuff? or other events?
 
we had an ice age
once the ice melted about 10 k years ago
the sea level came up 400 or so feet

don't know about carts that far back
 
ray b said:
we had an ice age
once the ice melted about 10 k years ago
the sea level came up 400 or so feet

don't know about carts that far back

I should have said ruts or parallel indentation resembling cart tracks, there
are several on Malta, some under water, if the last major flood was 10k yrs
ago then these ruts must have been made well before the date given for the
ancient construction on the island.
 
Any "massive flood event" would most likely bury or destroy cart tracks in soft sediment.

Can you provide a link to any information on these ruts?
 
Amice, Sorry to be late to appear in your thread. The cart tracks could be interesting as could be the Cuban city.. However sea level rises may have been gradual (or not) and the flooding stories may have other roots.

About those megafloods, a sensitive favorite creationism hobby since there were many many flood stories from around the world, so the creationistic great flood seem to get a little support indeed.

But it's no evidence at all for a simultaneous world flood. That simply could not and has not happened. Instead there were numerous local catastrophes, tsunamis, perhaps catastrophic ice dam breaches in North America, the Lake Missoula floodings and perhaps the http://cgrg.geog.uvic.ca/abstracts/ClarkePaleohydraulicsDuring.html apart from the http://www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/ax/frame.html.

However it could also have been massive Storegga slide tsunamis or prolongued dramatic increase in rainfall as is shown in the ice cores.
 
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The story of why the cart-ruts today lie underwater is explained by Malta’s geology. During the last five millenia, the eastern shores have subsided by about 1.5 metres, so the sunken cart-ruts once rested on dry land.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2001/1028/opinion.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ah, so simple, thanks guys.
 
  • #10
I double checked with my sedimentology teacher who has done a lot of work in Malta and knows the area well. He tells me that to the best of his knowledge Malta is not subsiding. He's reasonably familiar with the cart ruts, and says that sea level rise within the last 2000 years accounts for their submergence.
 

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