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Għar Dalam (pronounced ''ar dàlam'' in Maltese and meaning "Cave of Darkness") is a prehistorical cul-de-sac located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta containing the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct in Malta at the end of the Ice age. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory. Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages; the hippopotamuses became extinct about 180,000 years ago, whilst the deer species became extinct much later, about 4,000 years ago during the Copper Age.〔J.D. Evans The Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands p. 241〕 It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago, was discovered. ==Recent history== The cave was first scientifically investigated in 1885 but was not opened to the public until 1933. It was used as an air-raid shelter during World War II. A museum was set up on site by the then curator of Natural History Dr J.G. Baldacchino. In 1980, the most important and irreplaceable relics—such as four tusks of dwarf elephants and the skull of a Neolithic child—were stolen from the museum. The cave was investigated in 1987 under the direction of Emmanuel Anati, Professor of paleontology at Lecce University. His team of Italian archaeologists from the Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici discovered Palaeolithic cave art depicting human hands, anthropozoomorphic, and several animal designs from underneath the stalagmatic formations. Some depict elephants which have been extinct in the Maltese region since the Pleistocene. Most of these finds were destroyed due to recent vandalism. The cave is some 144 metres deep but only the first fifty metres are accessible to visitors. The museum, which still exhibits a remarkable wealth of finds from animal bones to human artifacts, is the entrance to the whole area. Għar Dalam Cave and Museum is operated by Heritage Malta. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Għar Dalam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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