Għar Dalam għall-frisk

Heritage Malta is offering an opportunity to experience Għar Dalam and its surroundings at night. No matter how many times you have been to this site, Għar Dalam għall-frisk is a special event for all the family which should not be missed.

The event will be held on Thursday, 7 September at 7pm and will feature presentations in Maltese, as well as a moonlight tour of the site and cave followed by light refreshments.

Għar Dalam’s relevance as a prehistoric site was discovered in the latter half of the 19th century with a series of excavations unearthing animal bones as well as human remains and artefacts. The cave is a highly important site for its palaeontology, archaeology and ecology. The surrounding landscape is characterised by beautiful scenery which is dominated by Wied Dalam which was formed by the action of large amounts of water flowing through the area during the Ice Age when Malta was much wetter than it is today.

Għar Dalam is a protected Natura 2000 site because of the presence of an endemic woodlouse that was discovered in the inner parts of the cave. Due to its rarity and restricted distribution it has been given a priority status for conservation by the European Commission.

The cave holds evidence of the first humans on the island. It was here that the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago, was discovered.

The site consists of a cave, a Victorian style exhibition and a didactic display as well as a garden planted with indigenous plants and trees.

Heritage Malta is planning to hold a similar event in English on 17 November.

Tickets €13 for adults, €10 for seniors, students and children under 12 years of age and €9 for Heritage Malta members are available from all Heritage Malta sites and museums and online. For more information about the agency’s activities visit www.heritagemalta.org