GEOLOGICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, TECTONIC & ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF QAWRA

GEOLOGICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, TECTONIC & ECOLOGICAL ASPECTSOF QAWRA

Qawra Peninsula is a just a small part of theMaltese islands. In spite of this its Physical Geography,its Geology, Teutonic features, Weather systems, seaCurrents, Environment, and weather systems (wind,currents) are quite intriguing and particular. Tounderstand them we must take a generalized view of theMediterranean Sea as a whole, and then take a look inparticular to these coast surroundings.

Geology – Mediterranean Sea - General

The Mediterranean region is made up of differentrock formations, of which only a few of the top layerscan be seen today. We can infer a lot about what isburied beneath through ground breaking in-depth analysisof the Earth’s crust, taken up by the Oil Industry.Simply speaking, rock formations can be distinguishedinto three basic rock groups: Igneous, Sedimentary andMetamorphic1. The process is ever repeating itself withIgneous being reduced to dust by erosion, this eventuallysettling in layers on the bottom of the sea, solidifyingthrough pressure or else through the effects of heat(metamorphic) into different rock strata.

The Igneous2 rock is formed through volcanicactivity; magna issues forth as lava to the surfacesolidifying to become rock. Weathering and erosionproduce the effects necessary for the break down of therock formation into minute particles that are eventuallydistributed by wind, rain and other atmospheric agents tothe bottom of the oceans, seas, rivers or a lakes.Through pressure and other factors these layers solidify1 Edward J. Tarbuck, Fredrick K. Lutgens, EARTH: An Introduction to Physical Geology, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 20058. 2 Ibid. p.138-181

into Sedimentary3 rocks. When immense heat and pressure isapplied to sedimentary rock formations, an impressivechange occurs in that they turn to metamorphic rock. Thisis not a one off, and the process repeats itself over andover again through the millennia.

Metamorphic4 rocks are an important component of manymountain ranges. It also forms part of the bed-rock onwhich sedimentary rocks are formed.

Around the Mediterranean basin one encounters allthree types of rock formation but this is not the casewith the Maltese Archipelago which is composed of thesedimentary elements5.

Apart from their formation, Strata are distinguishedaccording to their Era, Period and their epoch. Thosethat interest our region [of Malta] come from theOligocene [ 33.7 – 23.8 million years ago] and Miocene[23.8 - 5.3 million years ago] Epochs, within theTertiary Period [65.6 – 1.8 million years ago ] 6. TheTertiary Period comes from the Cenozoic Era7.

Geology - Maltese Islands - General

3 Ibid. p.4 Ibid. p.244-2695 Martyn Pedley – Clarke Michael Hughes, Limestone Isles in a Crystal Sea, the Geology of the Maltese islands, and Pauline Galea on Earthquakes around Malta, San Gwann [Malta] 2002a. p.6 E.J. Tarbuck – F.K. Lutgens. 20058 p.2927 Ibid. p.293 - The Geological Time Frame: The mayor units of the time scale were delineated during the 19th Century by Geology workers in Western Europe and especially Great Britain. Radiometric dating was not available at the time; dates were largely guess work. Through radiometric dating, from the latter part of the 20th Century, numerical dating [in Millions of years] could be added to the Eras, Periods and Epochs.

The surface layers that today make up the MalteseArchipelago come from two distinct Epochs, within theTertiary Period: The oldest being the Oligocene and themore recent Miocene8. Strata within the Oligocene andMiocene deposits were created in underwater condition;some strata reveal the presence of shallow waterconditions, others shallow or deep sea conditions, whileother strata preserve evidence of deeper Oceanicconditions9. These sedimentary marine deposits may attimes be several hundreds of metres deep or at othertimes a mere few centimetres thick10.

The elimination of later deposited layers, from thePliocene Epoch [5.3 to 1.8 million years ago] may give usan idea to the massiveness of the chemical erosion factorexercised on this exposed land formation; sedimentformations that are known from elsewhere in theMediterranean are missing here.

For this sediment to become rock strata massivepressure [Compaction] has to be exerted on it11. In naturefor this to occur thousands of metres of sediment has topile up on it. Thus the surface rock we see today musthave been buried for ions underground, at least 2,000 –4,000 metres deep. That today it stands at ground levelshows the power of erosion all around us.

8 Geologica, 2010. p.50-51 This PERIOD is known as the Tertiary Period,extending from 65 million years to 1.8 million years. This Period is divided into numerous other EPOCHS. Those relevant for our geologicalappreciation are the Oligocene (34-23 million years old) and the Miocene (23 to 5.3 million years)9 Martyn Pedley – Clarke Michael Hughes, Limestone Isles in a Crystal Sea, the Geology of the Maltese islands, and Pauline Galea on Earthquakes around Malta, San Gwann [Malta] [ISBN 99909-0-318-2] 2002a. 1710 Martyn Pedley – Michael Hughes Clarke, Geological Itineraries in Malta and Gozo, PEG, 2002b. p.45-4711 Edward J. Tarbuck, Fredrick K. Lutgens, EARTH: An Introduction to Physical Geology, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 20058. 212-216

Deposits or stratifications may contain massiveconglomerates of intertwined fossilized vertebrae andtraces of marine sea life; revealing a possible shallowsea teaming with life scenario. At other times thelimestone deposit is completely barren; revealing acompletely lifeless sea or lake ambience, while at othertimes these layers may be composed of millions ofmicroscopic fossilized planktonic life forms (GlobigerinaLimestone is composed of these).12

The Maltese islands are made up of four majorformation members. These are divided as follows13:

The Lower Coralline Limestone Formation: is the oldest unitof rock formation on the island which is still visibleabove sea level. These make up the main part of thetowering sea cliffs that bound the western coasts of thearchipelago. It is made up of fossil coral and othermarine calcareous algae. These strata can be over 140metres thick.

The Globigerina Limestone Formation: a soft yellowfine grained layer. It is formed of microscopically smalllimestone shells. This layer may vary in thicknessbetween 20 to over 200 metres.

The Blue Clay Formation: is a very soft layer of abluish/grey colour. It forms part of the rolling lowsloops, and may be generally seen at steep hill-sides andcliffs, otherwise normally hidden beneath soil layers invalleys. This layer ranges between 20 and 70 metres inthickness.

The Upper Caroline Limestone Formation: This is the topmostlayer. It is a hard and made up of corals and corallinealgal fossils. It is normally of a pale grey hew. These

12 Martyn Pedley, 2002a. 48-4913 Idem. p.35

strata vary from a few centimetres up to 150 metres inthickness.

These limestone Formations have been particularlyuseful to the local building industry through thecenturies, compensating for a chronic lack of woodsources.

Geology – Maltese Islands - Qawra:

In this context we may immediately identify theFormations that make up the Qawra Peninsula. Twoparticular formations are evident: The GlobigerinaFormation and the Lower Coralline Limestone Member.

Each Formation in turn is made up of other “beds”and “members” within them, so even the Geological Map14

defines the geology of the Qawra region as complex15. Thesurface layers that today are still visible in theregion, reveal traumatic and severe upheavals thatcharacterized the formation of this peninsula. Just tomention one aspect; practically all the formations foundat Dingli cliffs are missing here: The Upper CorollinaLimestone Formation and The Blue Clay Formation. Thesehave been eroded away; over 200+ metres of rock.

Qawra is composed of Globigerina and the older LowerCoraline Limestone Formations, the different strata ofwhich these members are formed may not always be uniform;there are thick beds and theere are thinner strata. Onefinds conglomerate strata; made of millions ofintertwined fossil elements, and one finds “pure” strataof white or cream dust, cemented together without even atrace of life.Other strata, whether Globigerina Limestoneor Lower Coralline Limestone, bear more fossil evidenceor at times sparse traces.. All these different types of14 Geological Map of the Maltese Islands: Sheet 1, Scale 1:25,000 [Oil Exploration Directorate,Office of the Primeminister], Valletta 199315 Dr. JoAnn Cassar – private conversation 04.05.2011

strata reveal the ambience; Ocean, deep sea, shallowcoastal waters, river or lake bottoms, where the originalsediment [made of dirt, dust, plancton, or accumilationdeposits of dead sea creatures or even larger fish ormammals] had been deposited eons ago. These strata revealwhether there was life [fossil remains] or whether it wasa sterile ambience.

The Globigerina Limestone is divided into different“beds”, mainly The Lower Main Phosphorite Conglomeratebed, The Middle Globigerina Limestone, The Upper MainPhosphorite Conglomerate bed The Upper GlobigerinaLimestone16.

The Lower Coralline Limestone is made out of these“beds”:

The transition between the Globigerina Limestone andthe Lower Coralline Limestone is marked by a rapidtransition from cross-stratified [Globigerina] XlendiMember composed of coarse grained limestone to brownishcream, finer grained [Coralline] limestone17. The XlendiMember is missing from Qawra18.

Practically the youngest rock-formations at Qawrapoint may date to circa 1.5 Million years ago. This meansthat all other strata and Formations that came later wereeroded away.

Physical Geography – Mediterranean Sea - General

The formation of the Mediterranean Sea, as we knowit today, knows its origins to a catastrophic, but

16 Martyn Pedley – Michael Hughes Clarke, Geological Itineraries in Malta and Gozo, PEG, 2002b. p.44-4617? Ibid. p.4618 Geological Map of the Maltese Islands: Sheet 1, Scale 1:25,000 [Oil Exploration Directorate,Office of the Primeminister], Valletta 1993

singularly important event that took place some 5,200,000Million years ago; the collapse of the Gibraltar / NorthAfrican land bridge that had kept the Atlantic Ocean fromentering this region19.

Up to then the whole Mediterranean Depression was adesperately desolate excessively hot and dry region,similar to the Dead Sea20 region today. The main featurein this desolation were massive plains composed ofmultiple layers of colourful salt patches, soconcentrated that when submerged by the expanding seathese did not melt. Today they form thick layer in thedeepest recesses (Abyss) of the same Mediterranean Sea.These salt concentrations were broken here and there byhigh plateaus and exposed land masses from a long agodried up Ocean [Tethys Sea].

It would take around 4,000 years for the AtlanticOcean to fill this immense depression21; firstly fillingin the Western region, then overflowing the CentralSicilian - Malta - Tunisian Plateau/ridge, into thedeeper Ionian Abyssal Plain of the Eastern region.

Indeed the process of creation of these land massesand sea had started a long time before this singularevent; indeed Millions of years before that. What we seeexposed as rock in the Central Mediterranean Ridge datesback to sediment deposited between 24,000,000 and1,500,000 years ago. In other words the limestone we useso profusely was formed between those two periods;pressed together into solid rock out of sea bottomdeposits. This also shows the immense erosion that hastaken place; the youngest rock in Malta is circa5,200,000 ,5 years old. Complete strata of later

19 Geologica: Earth’s Dynamic Forces, ed. Robert R. Coenraads – John I. Koivula, [ISBN 978-1-921209-72-7] Millenium edition, 2010. 462-46320 Geologica: Earth’s Dynamic Forces, 2010. 118-11921 Atlas: Uncovering Earth – The Mediterranean, Discovery Channel, 2011 – [Bar-code1018713547149]

sedimentary rock have been wiped out through erosion andatmospheric agents. Proof that over 1,500 to 2,000 metresof rock existed on top of the present surface come fromthe pressure needed to create limestone; it does notsimply form and solidify at the bottom of the sea, theprocess is immensely more complex

Meanwhile Millennia of land subsidence and re-emergence of land features through volcanic and tectonicactions, and drastic changes in sea-level, would createthe physical geography, of which the Maltese archipelagowould be a central feature, located between the largerisland of Sicily and North Africa.

Another significant event that would determine thesize and shape of the Mediterranean Sea, as we know ittoday, would be that end of the Ice-Age, that had coveredthe whole of Europe with an ice-sheet, in places, overone kilometre thick, for more than 110,000 years22. Themelting of the ice and the glaciers, around 10,000 yearsago, would refill the Mediterranean Sea, drowningmountains ranges (including Malta), creating theinnumerable islands that characterise this Sea. Thiswould be the event that would help mankind emerge fromhis hunter gatherer status, into agriculture andcivilization23.

Physical Geography – Maltese Islands - General:

The Malta archipelago is a platform/plateau feature,rising up to 253 metres above sea level at its highestpoint. In its origin this plateau was fairly levelledout. In time a moderate tilt towards the North eastdeveloped. This tilted terrain favours run-off water tocreate deep V-shaped valleys, we see around us, through aprocess of erosion.22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_glacial_period - 23 Ice Age.......

The wide upper rims of the Valleys reveal that arelatively wide, shallow and sluggish moving river systemflowed across a flat plain. These river systems were atsea level at a time when a catastrophic modification inclimate; a fast receding sea-level, caused them to beelevated as high plateaus. This elevation and exposure tomore land mass caused the rivers to flow faster and thuserode the river bed at a faster rate, creating the V-shaped valley system we know as Wadi (Arabic) or Wied (Maltese)more. Still while the “new” streams were in theirinfancy, the sea-levels surged up again, submerging theV-shaped valleys. This process would have taken thousandsof years to evolve and may relate to the extensive periodof cold weather known as the Great Ice Age covering over110,000 years..

Most of the surface consists of an irregularlimestone plateau, with ridges rising to around 350metres along the west facing cliffs, which in placesfalls steeply 253 metres to the sea24. The tilting of theterrain or plateau from the south west, towards the northeast, have eroded their way through the sediment25. Theshape, width and depth of these valleys26 (wadi (arb.) / wied(Malt.) depends also on the resistance and strength of therock strata through which the water was flowing27. Thatthis valley (wadi) systems did form part of a larger24 F.J.Monkhouse, Europe; A Geographical Survey, Longman, Aberdeen 19713. 210-21325 Martyn Pedley – Clarke Michael Hughes, Limestone Isles in a Crystal Sea, the Geology of the Maltese islands, and Pauline Galea on Earthquakes around Malta, San Gwann [Malta] [ISBN 99909-0-318-2] 2002a. 21 26 Wadi [technical term]: deep/high sided canyon type of valley system, commonly found in Malta and Gozo. The term “Wied” in Maltese or “wadi” in Arabic is generally used for ephemeral river channels in desert regions. A Wied (Wadi) flows only occasionally, and sometimes discontinuously. Wadi tend to convey torrents of heavily silted waterdown to the lower lands or sea, creating flat plateaus and marshlandswithin areas not easily accessible to the Sea. Burmarrad (San Pawl il-Bahar) is such an example. (E.P.Teuma)27 The Dictionary of Physical Geography, 2000. p.513

river system may be inferred by the presence ofsubstantial traces of such a valley system under the sea-level running across the Malta Plateau, leading to theSicily-Malta Escarpment28. The Qawra Peninsula separatestwo of the larger and wider river/valley systems; SanPawl il-Bahar and Burmarrad; one of which is a drownedvalley, the other is silted up. This would mean that theMaltese islands had a larger land-front, and that thesea-level was between 200-460 metres lower forconsiderable period.

Typical to limestone strata, there were fast flowingunderground river systems as well. Surviving traces areto be found at Ghar Hasan at Dingli Cliffs, Ghar Dalam atBirzebbugia, and Wied il-Kbir at Mosta. These traces are allthat remains of a very large29 and fast flowingunderground river system; today only a few hundred metresare accessible. The Ghar Hasan complex is presently anopen cavity on the cliff face drop of a 200+ metre. . Thewidth, height and shape of the “tunnel” show that this isonly a small fraction of a river system that could bekilometres long.

Along with the underground “river” systems,limestone tends to create caves and large caverns. Thesemay be immense, and for this reason can collapsecatastrophically. The “Tal-Maqluba” depression is typicallya case of such a large cavern collapsing. This eventhappened within written memory. Id-Dwejra in Gozo is a mucholder happening. Other similar collapses happened a longtime ago, and can be detected onlybecause of large

Valley Meanders: Dury (1977) has shown that valley meanders were produced during periods of higher run-off and higher peak discharges before stream shrinkage which led to contemporary under fit streams.28 M. Pedley, 2002a. p. 9529 Possibly running for hundreds of kilometres in the general direction of Tunisia.

circular depressions filled with fields, within alimestone feature; such as the circular fields at Bahrija30.

The brittle sedimentary limestone tends to break upinto fault-lines; of which the Maltese archipelago isparticularly full31. The present land surface of theisland is made up of these sedimentary layers, formed atthe bottom of the sea tens of millions of years agobefore the actual creation of the Mediterranean. Thesesediment layers were laterally compressed by massiveforces that caused the sediment strata to fold; much likea table cloth tends to bunch up into folds when pushedacross a surface32. This folding of the terrain occurs onstrata that are deeply buried under other massive layersof semi solid sediment strata. This complicated processof folding is acquired through great pressure beingapplied for long periods of time33. That these layers aretoday located at the surface (observable especially weredeep trenches were hewn into the live rock; such astheValletta ditch and at Rabat (Malta)

One particular geographical feature worth mentioningare termed wave cut platforms34; located on top of cliffs,circa 15 metres (40 feet) above sea level. Theseplatforms could only be formed by direct wave action on abeach front; indeed they are ancient beaches now raisedup to the tops of ridges and cliff face. The large andvery level platforms; some of the largest are located onthe West coast of Gozo, are backed by “cliff” or verticalrock formations. This would go to show that the islandwas submerged for a very long time, but then through agradual or catastrophic events the sea receeded.

30 M. Pedley, 2000a. 75-7731 M. Pedley, 2000a. 3832 Physical Geography: a landscape Appreciation, ed. Tom L. McKnight – Darrel Hess, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 62000 . p.410-41133 T.L. McKnight, 2000. p.40934 F.J. Monkhouse, Principles of Physical Geography, Hodden & Stoughton, London 19888. 288-289

At present the island of Malta is 245 sq/km with 136km of coastline, while the sister island of Gozo is 67sq/km with 42 km of coastline35.

Physical Geography – Maltese Islands - Qawra

Qawra is at present a peninsula or outcrop, locatedbetween two massive basins; St. Paul’s Bay feature andthe Burmarrad “in-land Sea” and marshland (“Marg” Malt.). Thephysical geography of this area is directly related towater action; be it spring, river or a rising sea level.strata. Both immersion and re-emergence of the area intothe Mediterranean quickened the process of erosion. SanPawl il-Bahar is particularly prone to under-cutting –which means that solid rock tends to break [fissures] offin large chunks (dghabin (Malt.) because of the thick BlueClay layer underneath the Upper Caroline Limestone thatforms the ridges (Wardija, Xemxija, Manikata). . The BlueClay strata, while present in the San Pawl il-Bahar,Xemxija and Wardija Highland region, is missing at theQawra Point; being completely eroded away a long timebefore man came to the island.

While this erosion process is particularly active onthe San Pawl il-Bahar Bay area, the same action has beenlargely neutralized, through the silting up, on theBurmarrad “inland sea”. Within the Burmarrad region wefind that continuous (year in year out) inundations haveincreased the fertile soil level by at least a metresince the 1960s36.

Similar to other limestone regions, Qawra has itsfair share of large cave systems; similar to Ghar Hasan.These are located below sea level and are only accessible35 Mediterranean Islands: A unique and comprehensive guide to the islands and islets of the Mediterranean, ed. Charles Arnold, Mediterrnean Islands 2008. p.312-31336 conversations with the Burmarrad farmers during 2011 (E.P.Teuma)

to professional divers, even though in their origin theywere above sea-level. Stalactite and stalagmite caveswould form part of this galley or tunnel systems37. Somemayor cave features in the area may be encountered at adepth of circa 30 to 60 metres below present sea level.

The primary factor that formed the region is waterand erosion. Qawra is a peninsula between two valleysystems. Recent research38 seems to have identified theBurmarrad estuary and flood plain, as a ria39, similar toothers found on the coasts of Spain and south westIreland40. The submergence of a valley system is the mainfactor contributing to the formation of a ria coastline.

The Burmarrad catchment area is 38.5 km2 rain water isbrought to the area through three large valley systems;mainly Wied l-Ghasel, Wied Ghajn Rihana and Wied Qannotta.Seasonal rains or flush flood events bring water from asfar away as Dingli and Rabat highland areas41.

Tectonics – Mediterranean Sea - General

The Mediterranean is at the centre of one of themost powerful constructive and destructive features ofcontinent building; Plate Tectonics42. The Tectonic forcesthat are at work within the Mediterranean Region may be37 LAROUSSE Desk Reference ENCYCLOPEDIA, Larousse, London 1995. 6738 Nick Marriner, Timothy Gambin, Morteza Djamali, Christophe Morhange, Mevrick Spiteri, Geoarchaeology of the Burmarrad ria and early Holocene human impacts in western Malta in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 339-341 (2012) 52–6539 ria coastline: is produced when submergence affects an upland area where hills and river valleys meet the coastline more or less at right angles. Rias a funnels shaped decreasing in width and depth as they run iland, while into the head of each flows a stream originally responsible for the formation of the valley... - F.J. Monkhouse, Principles of Physical Geography, Hodden & Stoughton, London 19888. p.30440 F.J. Monkhouse, Principles of Physical Geography, Hodden & Stoughton, London 19888. 304-30541 N. Marriner, T. Gambin, M. Djamali, C. Morhange, M. Spiteri, 2012. p.52

summarized as: “continental compression” (also known asmountain building or Plate Tectonics were one plateslides beneath another), “continental dilation” (creationof rift valleys through Tectonic plates sliding upwardsor downwards against each other) or “horizontal shifts”(Tectonic plates sliding past/next/against each other)43.

Continental compressions are areas were volcanoes,volcanic activity, violent earthquakes and frequent earthtremors occur (eg. Italy, Sicily, Greece, Turkey). Thereare two major active “mountain creating” zones that passthrough the Mediterranean Region; through Northern Italyextending to Turkey, and another moving South throughSicily, Greece and Turkey. The main feature of thisactivity is that one Tectonic Plate is literally slidingunderneath another44. One of the major features is locatedin a deep sea trench to the North West of Malta, close toSardinia45.This process creates the continuous string of volcanoesthat we find along the North Sicilian coast[Stromboli, ], through Sicily [Etna], and Italy[Vesuvius] and the Ionian Sea, North of Crete[Santorini].

42 What was originally known as “Seafloor-Spread Hypothesis” was advance inthe 1960s by Harry Hess of Princeton University. During the same period Geophysicists were starting to accept the concept that over periods of hundreds of thousands of years, Earth’s magnatic field periodically reversed polarity [North magnetic pole would become the South magnetic pole]. Magma on the sea-bed solidified preserving the existing magnetic North at the time of the eruption. Plate Tectonics became an established science when J.Tuzo Wilson reformulated the theory by dividing Earth’s outer shells into several “rigid plates”. These plates are moving apart at oceanic ridges [Mid-Atlantic ridge] while the deep trenches [Malta Trench] is were the plates are crashing together; one plate subsiding under the other.43 Geologica: Earth’s Dynamic Forces, 2010. p.54-5744 Allan Cox – Robert Brian Hart, Plate Tectonics: How it Works, Blackwell Publishing, Victoria [Australia] 1986. p.28-3345 M. Pedley, 2002a. p.13-18

In the continental dilation (rift valley) zones, earthquakes andvolcanic activity are not unknown, but tend to bemilder46; these in the main originate through the effectof large earthquakes / earth tremors in the confining“continental compression” regions. At its origin, millions ofyears ago, a massive magma (liquid lava) source, locateddeep beneath the Teutonic Plates, heated up a basaltic[type of rock] hot spot. The pressure this causes makesthe land rise up or recedes. This hotspot has long sincemoved on to the North, and thus the plate Tectonics ofthe central Mediterranean region have solidified.

A third form of Plate Tectonic exists. Instead ofpulling apart or colliding, the plates, in this case, rubalong each other. These “horizontal shifts” cause massive anddestructive earthquakes, and within the Mediterraneanregion are located to the North of the Italian Peninsula,Greece passing through Turkey, Afghanistan to Iran47.

Circa 1,500,000 years ago the African Teutonic Platewas subsiding and moving beneath the Apulian[Italy/Sicily] and Aegean/Anatolian [Greece/Turkey] Plateat a rate of 2 cm per annum. The speed with which theseplates were moving and the depths into which they werebeing rammed, into the mantle, would see the birth of aline of volcanoes, that still remain active to this day;Etna, Vesuvius, Santorini48.

At present the African Plate is moving in a Northerndirection, while the Anatolian Plate is moving to thesouthwest. This is producing a marked increase in minorand major earth tremors within the Aegean, Italian andTurkish regions49.

46 Andreas Suchantke , Eco-Geography: What we see when we look at landscapes, trans. By Norman Skillen, Floris Books, Edinburgh [ISBN 0-86315-346-1] 2001. p.220 47 ibid. p.22148 Geologica: Earth’s Dynamic Forces, 2010. 104-107

Tectonics – Maltese Islands - General

In this context the Maltese islands emerge as a horstblock50 feature; pushed up from below by massive pressuresexerted by plate Tectonics and liquid Magma (“dilation”zone). The uplift event of the Maltese plateau may haveoccured some 5,000,000 years ago during the Messenia,when an immense chunk of flat sedimentary rock was pushedto the surface by immense pressure and heat.

Towards the North West of Malta we find “graben51”features. The hot-spot has long since moved on, and forthis reason the Maltese archipelago is rarely affected byearthquakes. On the contrary these are more frequent andregular in neighbouring Sicily, Italy and Greece. On theother hand the “horst” feature caused the multiple faultline features that we find around Malta; the mayor onebeing the “Victoria Lines” fault52. These fault lines arecurrently stabilized (not moving) and occurred millenniaago.

Even though the Maltese peninsula forms part of theAfrican Plate, and thus is outside the earthquake zone,it still suffers the side effects of other earth tremorsand earthquakes in confining zones (Sicily and Greece).It is normal that at least one large earth tremor be felt49 Mediterranean Islands: A unique and comprehensive guide to the islands and islets of the Mediterranean, ed. Charles Arnold, Mediterrnean Islands 2008. 15-1950 Horst Block: An upstanding block of the earth’s crust that is bounded by faults and has been uplifted by tectonic processes. The down-faulted areas which bound horsts are called graben. The Dictionary of Physical Geography, ed. David S.G. Thomas/Andrew Goudie, [ISBN 0-631-20473-3] 2000. p.24851 “Graben” (meaning depression or grave) feature: this is the opposite feature to the “Horst Block” and is the down-faulted areas skirting the horst block. – ibid.52 Fault: A crack or fissure in rock… Normal faults develop under a pattern of stress which is predominantly tensional. A down faulted block is known as a graben, and the up-faulted block is called a horst. ASG. The Dictionary of Physical Geography, 2000. p.197

and even leave some collateral damage once in every onehundred years or so. Most of these earth tremors havebeen recorded, and remain as part of local folklore.

Some of the largest recorded earth tremors tookplace in the 17th and 18th Century respectively. The 1693event damaged the Cathedral at Mdina and St. FrancisChurch at Rabat; both had to be demolished and rebuilt53.Another earthquake registered in 1740 seems to have hadgraver consequences, with numerous Chapels and Churchesin Malta and Gozo suffering structural damage. The 1740event was followed by the collapse of high land ridgesand an avalanche of rock, stone and soil that damagedfields and property54.

The 1693 event was followed by a massive Tsunami55

that hit Gozo on the Dwejra and ta’ Cenc cliff face56.Other earth tremor events were registered [felt] in 1783,1804, 1904, 1972, 1976, 1983.

Tectonics – Maltese Islands - Qawra

The Qawra peninsula is itself part of a horst (Highland)and “graben” (Depression) feature. Fault lines runningparallel on the St. Paul’s Bay side delineate the horstfeature; the raised highland element that created SanPawl il-Bahar and Qawra headland features. This Horst[highland] feature runs from Ghajn Tuffiegh highland along

53 Agius de Soldanis,GHAWDEX; Bil-Grajja Tieghu, Migjub bil-Malti minnDun Guzepp Farrugia, Stamperija tal-Gvern, Malta 1936 [1999]. 11554 Idem. 128 – “1740 .... F’din is-sena wkoll, fil-20 ta’ Frar fil-5 u nofs ta’ wara nofs-in-nhar,inhasset thezziza ma’ Malta u Ghawdex li damet sejra madwar nofs kwarta, bi hsara kbira fiz-zewg gzejjer, l-aktar fil-Knisja ta’ San Gorg, ta’ San Gakbu, tal-Madonna tal-Qala, u f’Malta fil-Knisja ta’ San Gwann tal-Belt, tal-Katidral ta’ l-Imdina u f’hafna knejjes ohra tal-kampanja...”55 Tsunami: immense wave effect, may be 30 metres high, or more, caused by water displacement after large underwater earthquakes measuring more than 7 Richter Scale.56 Ibid 115 – “...Il-bahar tax-Xlendi raga’ lura daqqa ta’ mil u mbghad f’daqqa wahda b’sahha kbira raga’ dahal fil-port tieghu bi hsejjes kbar...”

Wardija ridge. The other Horst feature is located runningalong the south face of the cliff feature from Manikata,to Xemxija, to Mistra,and Selmun, up to St. Paul’s islands(Selmunett).

The “graben” (depression or rift valley features) runsthrough the Għajn Tuffiegħa and Pwales Valley, and along thedepression that today forms St. Paul’s Bay57. This featureis largely obscured by millennia of sedimentation anderosion that have almost completely obliterated thesalient rift-valley feature, still the elements remain todraw an educated guess to the formation of thisphenomenon.

Environment: Mediterranean Sea - General

After the emergence of the rock formation from thewater environment, weathering takes hold, and soil startsto develop. This begins with the physical and chemicaldisintegration of the rock exposed to the atmosphere andthe action of water percolating down through the surface.The first phase in this development is known as“regolith” (blanket rock); this is a gradation ofparticle sized pieces of pebbles and small stone thatline the surface. Soil58, a layer that forms around and ontop of the “regolith” on the other hand is composedlargely of fragmented mineral particles59. Migratorybirds and their dropping are particularly fundamental inbringing new life to this desolate ground surface; mostseeds and microbial material survive the passage throughthe bird’s or animal’s intestines, and thus bring newplant life to the rocky regions.

57 Pedley, 2002a. p.38-3958 McKnight, 2000. p.326-35959 Mineral particles include an abundance of living plant roots, dead and rotting vegetation, animal and human bones, bird droppings, and microscopic plants

The next phase of this ecological development isknown as the forestation period. In a few centuries,terrain that was completely barren is now covered intrees, scrub and other plants. The roots of these sametrees break deep into the terrain, causing morefragmentation and enriching the soil environment. In theMediterranean region the more favoured plant life wouldbe ever greens: these are capable of withstandingprolonged periods of hot and dry weather, surviving tothe next down pour. Migratory birds and other animalswill start inhabiting the area.

Another phase of development would be the “macchiamediterranea”60 or Maquis type of coastal land front. Exposureto coastal winds and wave action could reduce the forestcover. This same forest may still be healthy and wellreplenished within more protected inland scenarios.

The next “development” definitely belies man’spresence in the region. Plants, trees and other shrub areremoved to serve for heating and as building material.Land is cleared to create agricultural space for man andhis animals. While the soil layer survives, the terrainmay be defined as agricultural, but this deforestationand over consumption of resources easily leads to a

60 “La macchia mediterranea può essere distinta in macchia alta , con alberi ben sviluppati capaci di assicurare ombra e umidità al sottobosco, e in macchia bassa fatta di arbusti e cespugli impenetrabili, chiamata gariga . In questo bioma si trovano alberi sempreverdi a latifoglie e ad aghifoglie che comprendono: leccio, corbezzolo, olivo, alloro, carrubo, pino , ginepro, cipresso e altri. Vi sono poi piante cespugliose come il cisto, il lentisco, il mirto e il rosmarino…”Questo tipo di ambiente è caratterizzato da estati calde e secche e da inverni miti e piovosi. Questo influenza notevolmente la vegetazione, che è quindi caratterizzata da piante basse, legnose, perenni, a struttura di tipo sclerofitico, cioè con foglie piccole e dure adattate a resistere alla siccità estiva. Per questo motivo la macchia mediterranea è chiamata anche “foresta a sclerofille” ( skleros = duro, phyllon = foglia). La piovosità totale annua è di circa 250-500 millimetri e interessa soprattutto i mesi invernali. In estate la temperatura media mensile è spesso superiore ai 20 °C e in questo bioma in inverno il gelo è molto raro…” http://www.iisferraris.it/CONCORS2/MARZANO/Siti/Macchia%20Mediterranea.htm

collapse of this phase61. A prolonged period of drought,compounded with strong winds, on an exposed coastal frontwill inevitably lead to loss of the surface soil, leavingonly barren rock behind.

Domesticated animals, such as sheep and goats,contribute to the “desertification”, by devouringsaplings, again leaving behind a rocky and barrenterrain. In both instance this next phase is known asgarigue62. That a good part of Qawra area was alreadyreduced to this state in Neolithic times can be deducedfrom the presence of the rock hewn Temple site, and thenumerous quarries [possibly Neolithic and Bronze Age]along the coastline. After consuming the wood, vegetationand the soil, Neolithic man was making use of stone[forming the lower bed] to build his shelters and histemples63.

The garigue phase features particular plant life,especially aromatic herbs64 that only survive in thisdesperate environment. During spring, ground bursts intoflower, with dozens of bulbous and tuberous plantsgrowing on the stony surface65.

Still man’s intromission is capable of reducing stillfurther this environment to practical “desert”conditions. Though most of the time we still refer to ournatural habitat as “garigue” in actual fact most of the

61 Ernle Bradford, Mediterranean, Portrait of a Sea, Classic Penguin, London 2000. 41 “Man with his tools and animals [particularly the goat, that browses on saplings] soon set in motion a process that, unless arrested in time, leads to desert land”62 Gariga: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gariga / Garigue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garigue Garigue is a type of low, soft-leaved scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils around theMediterranean Basin, generally near the seacoast, where the climate is ameliorated, but where annual summer drought conditions obtain.63 E.P. Teuma, 2003. p.12864 Thyme, sage, garlic,lavender, rosemary, rue ....65 Wild tulip, iris, crocus, hyacinth

Maltese environment has been reduced to “steppe66” eonsago. This is a further degradation of the environmentwhen compared to the preceding condition. The “steppe” isrecognizable because only bulbous plants and particularspecies manage to survive in this barren rock “desert67.”

At this point in time, it is only through intensivere-introduction of soil, that one can remedy thedeterioration of the environment, a process that may havebeen achieved in an incredible way during the Roman andByzantine Periods [218 B.C. – 870 A.D.], and onlypartially implemented during the British Period AgrarianReform. [1800-1964] at San Pawl il-Bahar.

Environment in Malta has been seriously compromisedby man’s activities; through the millennia, butespecially during the last decades. Only very isolatedpatches of original woods, composed of Quercus ilex and Pinushalepensis remain; and these are under constant threat. Outof at least sixty-six indigenous and endemic plants thatnormally scratch a living on the garigue and steppelandscape, at least 50 have become extinct, while only 16strictly endemic species are still found around. This isa severe impoverishment of the plant diversity andvegetation types around the islands68.

Environment: - Maltese Islands – Qawra

The Maltese archipelago was originally a forest cum“macchia Mediterranea” type of environment. The arrival of66 Sub-tropical Steppe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppe In Europe, some Mediterranean areas have a steppe-like vegetation, such as central Sicily, parts of Greece in the southern Athens area,[2] and central-eastern Spain, especially the southeastern coast (around Murcia), and places cut off from adequate moisture due to rain shadow effects such as Zaragoza.67 Bradford, 1989. p.4268 Mediterranean Islands: A unique and comprehensive guide to the islands and islets of the Mediterranean, ed. Charles Arnold, Mediterrnean Islands 2008. p.29

man around 5,000 B.C. changed this environment into amostly garigue and steppe region within a few millennia.After a Period of complete abandon [c. 2,800 – 2,400B.C.] when the islands were possibly uninhabited, anuninterrupted period [2,400 B.C – 870 A.D.], dedicated tointensive and diversified agriculture followed. Duringthe Bronze Age, Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine Periodsthe coastal region around Qawra and the “inland sea” atBurmarrad, were cultivated possibly for wheat and grapes.During the Roman and Byzantine Periods, extensive regionswere planted with Olive groves69. The destruction of theselast settlement areas and the large Villas, around 870A.D70. would bring in a period of complete desolation andabandon that would last up to the latter part of the 19th

Century. The effect on the landscape is that Qawra andthe San Pawl il-Bahar region would once again be reducedto almost sterile garigue and steppe.

In this scenario certain inland areas or remotevalley areas did preserve their “original” olive tree,Oak, Pine and Carob groves, but these were only survivalsof a much larger environmental region. The rest of theisland was either turned to garigue or steppe. During theMedieval Period farming was mostly concentrated towardsthe Centre and South of the island. The Northern regions,known as “Parte Disabitata71”, was mostly rock with a large andunhealthy mud-flat within the Burmarrad (Plain thatcauses sickness) “in-land” sea feature.

There is even the possibility that the Maltesearchipelago never was as densely forested as otherMediterranean regions emerge from results of a recentstudy into the matter72.

69 T. Gambin, 200570 Joseph M. Brincat, Malta 870 – 1054: Al-Himayari’s Account and its Linguistic inplications, Said International Ltd. Malta 1995.71 Gianfranco Abela, La Descrizione di Malta, 1646.72 Fenech Katrin, 2007. “Results from the study indicate, among other things, that the Maltese Islands were probably never as densely forested as other Mediterranean sites in the

In conclusion Qawra’s and San Pawl il-Bahar’scloseness to the sea would have encouraged apredominantly “macchia mediterranea” coastal type of landfront. This landscape would have comprised fertilelandscape and abundance of bush, plants and even ascatter of trees. This state of ecological equilibriumeasily regresses to the state of Maquis, garigue or evensteppe, especially through the presence of man.

Aerial photos taken by the R.A.F. between 1910 and1920 reveal a very large proportion of the islands,especially the high lands at Dingli, and San Gwann as barerocks, with a bare minimum of soil. Fields and rubblewalls seem to have developed later on between the 1930sand 1950s, only to be abandoned in the 1960s and 1970s73.

Forced introduction of soil from other fertileregions or importation from abroad and the building ofsustaining walls (rubble walls or hajt tas-sejjiegh), onlyintroduces a stop-gap solution. As one can observe fromthe Smyth map of 1815 [published 1823]74, only a small“depression” area known as Tal-Ahmar was cultivable at thetime on the Qawra peninsula. The rest of the Qawra regionis identified as barren rock; either garigue or else steppe.The British Period attempts at agrarian reform (initiatedin 1848) of the Northern regions had limited success andagriculture was truly dead for most of the Qawra regionby the mid-twentieth century.

early and middle Holocene. No evidence was found for any slash-and-burn the prehistoric people are said to have resorted to for the creation of agricultural land. http://www.um.edu.mt/pressreleases/2007/maltese_holocene_environment.html73 Temicoli Zammit, ... in Antiquity74 Smyth, [William Henry] 1815 [printed 1823] – cartographic Map of the Maltese islands and the principal harbours: St. Paul’s Bay, Valletta, Marsaxlokk. Plan of St. Paul's Bay, In the Island of Malta... London, Hydrographical Office of the Admiralty, 1823 [-1846]. 490 x 640mm. A detailed chart of St Paul's Bay, with 'The Traditional Wreck of SaintPaul' marked. Two insets contain views of the Salmona [Selmun] Palaceand Koura [Qawra] Point.

During the 1970s, overall agricultural produce inMalta had been reduced to a mere 2% of local production75.Most garigue and steppe areas, within Qawra, were given upto “development” around that time. Bugibba becomes asmall town around the 1960s and continues expanding intoa large city to this day. Vestiges of the agriculturalheart of Qawra are still there as most fields of Tal-Hamraarea still retain their soil and rubble walls, but thisarea is fast disappearing under concrete and asphalt.

_____ Sea or Seas – Mediterranean Sea – General

The Mediterranean Sea is feed by two main points ofentrance; the less saline Atlantic through the Strait ofGibraltar and the fresh water Black Sea through theBosporus. This water enters as a surface current. Inreturn the Mediterranean exudes its denser and moresaline waters into both the Ocean and the neighbouringSea76. This process prevents the highly salineMediterranean from becoming a salt lake; barren andlifeless, similar to the Dead Sea in Palestine.

The Mediterranean Sea is made up of diverse “seas”or “region” with their particular weather systems andtheir particular “character” – some are defined asvicious, unpredictable, dangerous and even capricious77.

Since Antiquity the Mediterranean has been dividedinto four main “Seas” and a number of “minor” Seas bythose who navigated it. The four distinct physicalregions are known as; the Western Basin, the Adriatic,the Aegean, and the Gulf of Sirte78. The Adriatic, also

75 Monkhouse Francis John (1914-1975), A Regional Geography of Western Europe, [Harlow] Longmans, 1974. p.210-21376 E. Bradford, 2000. p.34-3577 E. Bradford, 2000. p.3778 Edward Sues, Das Antlitz der Erde, 3 vol. 1885-1908

known in Aniquity as Mare Nostrum or Adria did incorporatethe Southern coast of Italy, Sicily and even the MalteseArchipelago in its extent.

Mariners79, on the other hand, tend to distinguish anumber of “minor seas” These are the Balearic; betweenthe Balearic Islands and the coast of Spain, the LigurianSea; between the Balearics and Corsica, the Tyrrhenian;bordered by the North coast of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsicaand the West coast of Italy, the Adriatic; between Italy,Slovenia, and Croatia, the Ionian; between Sicily,Southern Italy and Western Greece, the Aegean; betweenGreece and Turkey80.

Each one of these “Seas” is distinguished by theirown predominant wind directions and consequently theirprevailing currents. Thus the Adriatic Sea’s prevailingwind is the North Easterly “Bora”. This wind can achieve110 knots over coastal areas and sea. The prevailing windon the Algerian Coast is the West or North Westerly thatblows at gale force and is particularly vicious andunpredictable. For this reason the coastline betweenGibraltar and Cape Bon is a renowned ship grave yard;entire fleets have come to grief on this coast81.

The depths of a particular stretch of water can alsodetermine the strength and ferociousness of anyparticular storm front. Thus the deeper waters aroundCrete, that may be 12,000 ft deep, may prove to be milderwhen compared to relatively shallower regions, such asthe Malta Channel [running between Malta and Sicily].

79 Rod Heikell, Italian Water Pilot; a yachtsman’s guide to the west and south coasts of Italy with the islands of Sardenia, Sicily and Malta, Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd, St Ives Cambridgeshire [England] 19872. 80 E. Bradford, 2000. p.3081 Charles V’s entire invasion fleet was wrecked on the Algerian coastin 1541

_____ Sea or Seas – Maltese Islands – Qawra

The Sicily-Malta Channel, which is only forty-fivemiles wide, and nowhere deeper than 100 fathoms, is aparticularly moody and meteorologically unpredictablepart of the Mediterranean. High seas deriving from boththe West and the East will develop into dangerousbreaking seas, even during summer82. Weather frontsdeveloping in deeper tracts of the Mediterranean have topass through a narrow and constantly shallower “channel.”These “brief” and intense “gales” phenomenon, thoughoccurring predominant between August and May, may stilloccur even as late as June and July83.

Speaking of a predominant wind in this CentralMediterranean region can be quite complicated; since mostwind directions are prevailing on these central islands.Still the Geographical features and compass orientationof a particular bay or cove may determine which windsaffect that area most. Thus in the case of Qawra and SanPawl il-Bahar, the general direction of the bay openingbeing towards the North-East, the prevailing windeffecting the bay would be the North-Easterly (Grigal).This wind can blow for a few hours or even for a numberof days. The result is that heavy seas, coming from theNorth-Easterly direction can last for numerous days evenafter the wind itself has subsided.

Another wind direction that has particularprevalence on the San Pawl il-Bahar Bay is the NorthWesterly wind. This strong wind can create waves and astrong current moving out of the bay. In spite of being astrong wind, it normally does not prevail on the NorthEasterly (Grigal) surface currents, which tend to be

82 Rod Heikell, Italian Water Pilot; a yachtsman’s guide to the west and south coasts of Italy with the islands of Sardenia, Sicily and Malta, Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd, St Ives Cambridgeshire [England] 19872. 35083 The Allied Invasion of Sicily in June 1943 was almost came to griefbecause of such a “brief gale” phenomenon.

stronger and persistent. This conflict may create quitedifficult situations for anyone trying to sail within SanPawl il-Bahar bay under these conditions84.

Sea-levels – Mediterranean Sea – General

Countless cataclysmic natural events and numerousIce Age Periods have caused the sea level within theMediterranean Sea to rise and fall, causing land massesto emerge or disappear according to the period. Thisphenomenon occurred over and over again during tens ofthousands of years. The last defining event in this longrecord occurred when the Last Ice Age came to an end,less than 10,000 years ago.

While it had lasted Europe, including a good partthe Italian Peninsula, was buried in a one kilometre(1,000 m.) thick layer of ice-sheet and glaciers. Thesehave sculptured the Mediterranean’s Northern shores, withsome glaciers surviving in the highest mountain ranges ofthe Alps and Apennines.

The melting of this thick ice-sheet refilled theMediterranean Sea in a very short while re-submergingland bridges that linked the Maltese archipelago toTunisia, North Africa and Sicily. The Mediterranean Seathen took much of the extent and form that we knowtoday85.

Since the last Ice Age the Mediterranean Sea-levelhas been rising steadily. This increase is due to acombination of a normal rise in sea-level, normal land-subsidence and also catastrophic events such as massiveearthquakes cum Tsunami and volcanic activity. A numberof formerly land based sites, such as towns, cities,

84 Rod Heikel 19872. 35085 E. Bradford, 2000.

temple and villa sites; from Italy86, Tunisia, Egypt87,dating to the Roman Period, are today located between2.00 and 20.00 m. or more below sea level. Other sitesalong the Adriatic Sea and Black Sea have recordedincreases in water levels between 0.60/1.50 m. and7.00/10.00 m. respectively.

Sea Levels – Maltese Islands – Qawra

At present the Maltese archipelago is located on aplateau bounded by Tunisia to the West, North Africa tothe South, and Sicily to the North. The general depthdoes not exceed 200-460 metres and so it is a veryshallow sea. On the other hand this plateau extends onlyaround 50-60 Km. towards the East, before falling down toimmense depths along the Sicily-Malta Escarpment. Theseexceed 3,000 and even 4,600 metres in depth88.

There seem to have been some dramatic changes duringthe last 7,500 years in the San Pawl il-Bahar area. Thediscussion is still largely open to interpretation ofwhat changes in sea level did occur here, but a mean riseof 1.50 m. to 3.00 m. is plausible89. A recent in depthGeoarchaeological study of the Burmarrad region, by ajoint French-Maltese team, has come to the conclusionthat there are clear signs of a rise in sea-level.According to the survey the major changes occurredbetween 7,500 and 7,000 years ago. The sea-level at thefirst date was circa six metres lower than present. The

86 Baia, on the Italian coast - submerged palace, pantheon and baths (20-30 m.)87 Tobruk Bay Egyptian City (c. 30 m.) / Cleopatra’s Palace and islandwithin Alexandria Harbour (20 m. +)88 Pedley. 2002a. p.16 – computer generated view… the furrows of the Panteleria and Malta Grabens are clearly visible to the left of the Maltese islands (M)… The impressive scarps of the Maltese Escarpment (ME) imply that the depths of the Ionian sea are of the same magnitude as the heights of Mount Etna.89 E.P.Teuma, 2003. p.77

survey offers a more moderate sea-level rise, of between0.50 to 0.80cm, during the last 2,000 years90.

A lower sea level would have had dramaticallypositive effects on the San Pawl il-Bahar Bay, Qawraregion and its Roman harbour at Burmarrad. A differencein sea level of a mere 0.80 m. would have made for a morepronounced and more protective Qawra peninsula. Moreoverthe larger San Pawl il-Bahar Bay would have affordedsafer anchorage, since the meter or so deep channelbetween St. Paul’s Island and Selmun headland would havebeen above sea level; thus the “island” would have been apromontory protecting the whole Bay. Further to this the“reef”, traces of which are still preserved below sealevel, that extends from St. Paul’s Bay Primary Schoolwould have been above sea level, creating another safeanchorage for the villa and baths located at “ta’ l-Ghazzelin”and Sirens91.

Evidence of this rise in sea level can be observedboth at Sirens’ Roman Baths complex site, where thehypocaust and furnaces of the Roman Baths are submerged,and also at the Roman Salt works at Bugibba; the pans areat present awash and completely wasted for the productionof salt92. A number of shallow bays/inlets (such as il-Menqa) would have been part of the land front around2,000 years hence93.

The calculations may not be exact but quite plausible. Aconstant sea-level rise, coupled with a similar landsubsidence per century with added periodic “land

90 Nick Marriner, Timothy Gambin, Morteza Djamali, Christophe Morhange, Mevrick Spiteri, Geoarchaeology of the Burmarrad ria and early Holocene human impacts in western Malta in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 339-341 (2012) 52–6591 E.P.Teuma, 2003. p. 73-8092 Ibid. p. “Such a salt pan to function properly would need at least another three metersabove sea level, and possibly even more”. (E.P.Teuma)93 Ibid. p.97-104

subsidence” of the coastline and sea-level rise provokedby massive earthquake phenomenon within the CentralMediterranean region,94 could reasonably add up to a riseof circa 1.50 to 3.00 m. in a 2,000 years period.

The Maltese archipelago is tilting slowly butprogressively towards the North East (San Pawl il-Baharis progressively going beneath the waves), while liftingtowards the South West (Dingli Cliffs). That these eventsdid not occur in recent history may be confirmed fromNavigation charts produced by the Royal Navy in 1815.These maps produced by cartographer Capt. John Smyth showthat the mean sea-level at St. Paul’s Bay has remainedmuch the same during the last two hundred years or so.They also show the Bugibba Salt-pans on the coastline,already swept by the sea. The Royal Navy was making useof these 19th Century navigation charts up to latter partof the 20th Century95.

Further proof to a change in sea-level between theKnight’s period and the British Period comes from a Maltamap dated 168696. This map shows the Munxar (transcribedas Monsciar) reef, located of the south head of il-Bajja ta’ SanTumas (Marsascala) as a group off-shore “islands”. Atpresent these shoals are located a number of metres belowsea-level; the lowest point is indicated as 15 m. deep.

“Tides” & “Seiche” Phenomenon – Mediterranean Sea - General

The Mediterranean Sea is practically a tide-lesssea, with an average overall rise of 0.3048 cm due to

94 at least three mayor earthquakes were recorded within the Central Mediterranean region in 1693, 1714 and 1810 – the 1693 and 1810 are today known to have been accompanied with a Tsunami.95 Smyth – Map 181496 “Isola di Malta, Gozzo, Comino e Cominotto” produced by Giacomo di Rosso in 1686

lunar effect.97 This does not mean that there is no suchphenomenon to be observed along different coastlines,throughout the Mediterranean, but this is normally withinthe 0.50m. and 0.80m. rise in sea-level.

Still there is a largely unexplained phenomenonknown as a Seiche (oscillations of a body of water) known as“marobbio98” in Sicily, and “milgħuba” in Maltese. It isalso referred to as “Trastura99” by some San Pawl il-Baharresidents, though the term is deemed as obsolete by Prof.Aquilina. Sea level may average 1.22 metres during suchoccurrences that generally affect the Sicilian andMaltese coastline.100 This phenomenon is considered“unpredictable” by the scientific community, but isbelieved to be associated with a change in atmosphericpressure that causes water to oscillate101. The phenomenoncorresponds to the “unpredictable” “Acqua Alta” phenomenon

97 Tides: Off Cape Peloro, at the northern entrance to the Strait of Messina … Hence twice each lunar each lunar day the water level has a maximum slope northwards through the stariat, and twice each lunar day a slope southwards. Though the difference of level is small, amounting to less than a foot at spring, it is concentrated into such a short distance that streams with a rate of 4 knots…. [The Admiralty Pilot (Mediterranean), VolumeI-IV, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London 1953] 98 marobbio: consists of waves or surges, isolated or in series, which may raise the water level by as much as four feet. There is no forewarning of a “marobbio’s” approach, and a vessel lying in harbour may suddenly find itself lifted up against the quayside with straining mooring-ropes. This change in water level is most frequently experienced in the harbours of south-western Sicily…. This may occur at any period of the year during undisturbed weather. [ Bradford Ernle, Mediterranean: Portrait of a sea, Tutor Publications, 1989.p.48]99 “Trastura” (Malt.): meaning “unpredictable” – Aquilina in his Maltese –English Dictionary, Volume 2, 1990. p.1475 says that it is “… an obsolete word which has been translated as “unpredictable” … also meaning arbitrary…The phenomenon is observable within the channels of the Salt-pans at Salina. Oscillating waves are observed coming in when there is no wind of observable averse weather conditions. The sea level is observed rising. After some time it retreats. (referred by Frans Scerri from Xemxija)100 Bradford, 1989. p.49101 Dr. Aldo Drago, Head of the University’s Physical Oceanography Unit, The Times of Malta, 17th May 2010.

recorded in Venice, when sea-water invades the streetsand Piazza San Marco102. Water levels as high as onemetre, or higher, have been recorded during such events.

Tides & “Seiche” Phenomenon – Maltese Islands - Qawra

For a number of years during the 1980s a similarphenomenon was recurring frequently in the Msida area;with water coming up into the main through fare, anddisrupting traffic. In recent times this “seiche” phenomenonhas become a noticeable nuisance along the Marsascalacoastline with frequent disruptions to normal commerce assea-water invades the main streets, shops andresidences103.

A similar, recurring event is recorded by locals atQawra, during the 20th Century, but this had a morebeneficial effect on the community though not for thenumerous fish species carried onto the land104. A “high tide”would carry with it numerous fish onto the land next topresent day Kennedy Grove. When this “tide” retreated thefish would be left stranded. Locals (fisherman and

102 Acqua Alta: A meteorological component, linked to a large set of variables, such as the direction and strength of winds, the location of barometric pressure fields and their gradients, precipitation, etc. Because of their complex interrelations and quasi-stochastic behavior, these variables cannot be accurately modeled in statistical terms. Consequently, this component can only be forecast for the very short run and is the principal determinant of“acqua alta” emergencies that catch Venetians unprepared. [Citta’ di Venezia – ilcontributo meteorologico] [http://www.comune.venezia.it /flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/1760]103 Calleja Claudia, Sea Invades Marsascala waterfront, in The Times of Malta, 17th May 2010Residents were slightly taken aback when the sea at first retreated from the shore, exposing the bottom of the bay, before water gushed back onto the land covering the pavement level… The flooding, which lasted for about two hours, was caused by a common phenomenon known as a seiche, Aldo Drago, the head of the University's Physical Oceanography Unit said that, while this phenomenon was common in Malta, so much so that fishermen knew it as a milgħuba, Saturday was the largest one ever registered since the unit started recording data in 1993. Prof. Drago added that the phenomenon was not restricted to a location and may have also been noticed along other parts of the coastline particularly inMarsaxlokk bay, Grand Harbour, Msida and Għadira.104 Information gleaned from Carmena tar-Regina….

farmers alike) would come and collect this “God sent.” Atpresent this phenomenon is observed as a large wave[swell] progressing through the Salina channels,particularly noticeable on calm and windless days. Thereverse of this phenomenon is observable in a noticeableretreat of the water. This normally occurs approximatelya few hours later.

The opposite to this high water phenomenon, known as“milgħuba”, one finds reference to a low tide phenomenaknown as “il-bahar jofrogh105” (originating from the work“fieragh” meaning low tide),

Sea-Currents , Winds and Precipitation – Mediterranean Sea - General

A basic idea of the sea currents that circulatethrough the Mediterranean is mainly anti-clockwise.Running from the Strait of Gibraltar, along the NorthAfrican coast, Egypt, turning north to Palestine & Syriathen going round the island of Cyprus, along the Turkishcoast to Greece, the Adriatic Sea, Italy, France andSpain. This not a steady or continuous flow106, but theancient navigators (especially the Phoenicians) knewabout it and used it to their advantage..

This concept; that sea-currents in the main run in aanti-clockwise direction, cannot be taken gratuitously.One particular exception is the Gulf of the Syrte, wherecurrents revert to a clockwise direction upon hitting the

105 Mr. Toni Azzopardi, of Azzopardi Fisheries, San Pawl il-Bahar / Mr. Oliver Mallia106 Admiralty Pilot (Mediterranean), V. I-IV Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London 1953: “The general circulation is not experienced as a steady flow in all parts of the sea, at the same time; currents are variable. The currents, at any time, are affected by the wind, and local drift currents of a temporary nature, but sufficient strength to mask the general circulation, are set up when the wind has been strong and continuous from one quarter. It is thus possible, in any part of the Mediterranean to find a current setting towards any point of the compass”

coast of Cyrenaica, turning back towards the Tunisiancoast.

From the inception of navigation, the MediterraneanSea would represent a difficult, and at times aninsurmountable hurdle for mankind, especially duringwinter periods, but not only. Man had to limit even stayaway from maritime activity during the winter monthsuntil the advent of the M/V (motor vessel). This alsoexplains why oar-powered merchant and military vesselsand galleys; were man-powered, driven on gangs of slavesand prisoners. This would cause the promulgation ofslavery within the Mediterranean right up to the 19th

Century107

In the meantime the comparative absence of tidesmeans that winds have a greater effect on this closedsea. Surface currents are derived from whatever winds mayhave been blowing, and this causes even a moderate breezeto kick up a breaking sea. Sudden electric storms, that may last nolonger than half an hour, can leave a swell that lasts for some days108.

A typical day of navigation in the Mediterranean Seais described by a world renowned Mediterraneanyachtsman109. The prevailing summer and winter wind; the north-westerly(Scirocco), may blow for several days unabated. A pronounced swell from theNorth-West will become perceptible. Nearing the coast, a thunder storm may107 John H. Pryor, Geography, technology and war: Studies in the maritime history of the Mediterranean 649-1571, The Past and Present Publications, Cambridge 1992. p.14108 Bradford, 1989. p.37109 Ernle Bradford (1922-1986): noted 20th century British historian and researcher specializing in the Mediterranenan world and naval topics. Served with the Royal Navy during WWII on a destroyer. A keenyachtsman himself, Bradford spent almost 30 years sailing the Mediterranean, and many of his books are set there. His book, The Journeying Moon describes some of these voyages. Bradford lived in Kalkara, Malta for a number of years. Bradford was a prolific writer.Some of his other works: The Mighty Hood, Mediterranean: Portrait of a Sea, The Great Siege of Malta 1565, The Sultan’s Admiral, Ulysses Found. Bradford passed away on the 8th of May 1986.

momentarily impede a vessel from making land, creating another swellcoming from a different direction. As the sun sets purely localized breezes,coming from the land direction or mouth of a bay, will create yet anothergentle swell from a different direction. Even if a dead calm falls, the searemains agitated from at least three different directions110. In generalthe Mediterranean is a very capricious and unpredictablestretch of water.

Tied in with Sea Currents and Wind directionsis also Precipitation. Annual rainfall throughout theMediterranean is moderate, a mean average would be 24inches. This does not mean that it is the sameeverywhere; while the island of Corfu may receave 45inches of rain annually, Oran may have to do with aslittle as 15 inches.

September ushers in the rainy season with heavytunderstorms. November and December may remaincomperativly rainless until January and February. Duringthe month of June certain areas of the Mediterranean mayexperience rainfall while others remain completly dry.July and August are totally without rain111.

During the dryest and hottest months, whentemperatures average between 30o C. or 40o C, mostMediterranean regions average ten hours of sunshine. Thiscontributes to the ripening of the fruits, but alsoparches the land and any plants. Plants trive again withthe first rains112.

Sea Currents, Winds and Precipitation - Maltese Islands - Qawra

With regard to the Maltese islands, practically allnavigational aids (known as Pilots) while mentioning the110 Bradford Ernle, 1989. p.36-37111 Ernle Bradford, 2000. p.38112 Oleg Polunin – Anthony Huxley, Flowers of the Mediterranean, Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1966.

North-Westerly as the prevailing wind, speak of the NorthEasterly (Grigale) wind as something to be feared. Itwill often blow at gale force, with winds up to a forceof 9/10. It may blow for at least three consecutive days,and even longer, creating a very high swell113.

During the spring and autumn the Southerly (Scirocco)blows frequently. Its worst effects are in autumn whenthe sea has warmed up and the wind is thus not cooled upon its passage from North Africa. With the Scirocco,visibility can be much reduced because of the red dust inthe air. Moreover the large droplets that crash to theground render everything red in colour, due to the highcontent of desert “sand” transported, while the humidityis sticky and the temperatures are unusually quite warmand uncomfortable114.

The effects of wind and sea-currents may beparticularly appreciated within the San Pawl il-Bahar Bayarea. During a particularly stormy week in January 1999,after a number of days that a North-Easterly Gregale(Grigal Malt.) had been blowing, a North Westerly(Maestral) wind began to blow across Ghajn Tuffieha and Pwales.The wavelets (c. 0.50 cm high), still strongly orientatedfrom NE (Grigal), could be observed entering San Pawl il-Bahar bay, while the North Westerly wind was curving thewave-crest (hrief Malt.) into the opposite direction to theirmotion. Any sailing boat caught in that cross-currentwould have found great difficulty navigating. On theother hand the weather was sunny, the sky a bright blue,and it was practically cloudless.115

113 Heikell, Rod, Italian Waters Pilot: a yachtsman’s guide to the west and south coasts of Italy with the islands of Sardinia, Sicily and Malta, [ISBN 0852881541] Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd., St Ives, 1991 (1995)(2006). P.25114 Heikell, Rod, 1991 (1995)(2006). p.350115 Fr. Eugene Paul Teuma (1962-) – from observations taken on the 22nd

of January 1999. Published: Teuma E.P., 2003. p.144-145

The sea-currents, within St. Paul’s Bay move in aclock-wise direction; are moving along the Qawra Coast,Bugibba, Tal-Ghazzelin and Pwales beach then outwards towardsMistra, Selmun and St. Paul’s Islands. These currents are noted ina 19th Century Tunnara map used for the optimalpositioning of nets and “fish farms” During the fishingof tuna. These nets were typically located close to St.Paul’s Island; at the Tuna’s exit point from the largebay116.

With regard to precipitation the Maltese archipelagoaverages 20 inches of rainfall annually. The have beentimes when this did go up to 39 inches or even decreasedto less than 10 inches. There are recorded events when11inches of rain did fall in a matter of hours.Precipitation is normally accompanied by thunderstorms inSeptember, and is normally fierce and of short duration.Good weather and clear skies return soon after adownpour117. On average, Qawra, being located at sealevel, to the North of the Victoria Lines Fault, mayreceive less rain than the higher central Highlands, suchas Rabat and Dingli.

The mean temperatures during winter can reach 20o C.While summer temperatures can vary between 29o C. and 34o

C. Higher temperatures, ranging in the 40o C. have beenrecorded. The humidity factor, that may vary beteen 80%and 90%, makes for a hot and sticky summer. In thisscenario the feel factor for a 34o C. heat-wave couldreach an intolerable 36o C. up to 40o C.

Update & Conclusion s

A recent Geoarchaeological survey118 conducted in theBurmarrad basin seems to confirm a sequence of natural116 Public Work’s Department Archives, Floriana – chart 10B [6905/93],18th October 1855, map signed by Analeto Conti117 Ernle Bradford, 2000. p.38

habitat and geographical features, during a 7,500 yearperiod. Through core sampling and the study of sedimentstratification the researchers have drawn the conclusionthat around 5,500 B.C. (7,500 B.P.) San Pawl il-Bahar,Qawra and Burmarrad did form part of a large floodplainor estuary area, with a massive freshwater watershedsystem exiting from Burmarrad. They have estimated thatsea level was circa six meters lower than present. Thisplaced Qawra as a central highland feature surrounded byagricultural land extending to St. Paul’s islands atSelmun. San Pawl il-Bahar Bay did not exist.

By 5,000 B.C. (7,000 B.P.) all this changes, as thesea-level rose by at least 4 metres and the estuary atSan Pawl il-Bahar was swamped, becoming a ria. The risingwater level evetually eroded the now submerged delta, andits possibly Neolithic arable land front. The Burmarradarea becomes a large inland basin. During the Bronze Agethe now salty Burmarrad basin could have served as a safehaven for vessels. By the Roman Period the Burmarrad“inner bay” progressively silted up again, while stillleaving ample space for a safe harbour. The sea level hadhypothetically risen by another 1.5 metres by now119.

Silting progressively filled in the basin during the12th to 15th Century, until the whole Burmarrad catchmentarea did become a solid land front120. The study alsoshowed that sparse tree cover, during certain periods,would have also rendered the region more sensitive tosoil erosion and thus the accumulation of sediment within the Burmarrad basin, especially during flash floodevents121.

118 Nick Marriner, Timothy Gambin, Morteza Djamali, Christophe Morhange, Mevrick Spiteri, Geoarchaeology of the Burmarrad ria and early Holocene human impacts in western Malta in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 339-341 (2012) 52–65119 Ibid. p.64120 Ibid. p.62121 Ibid. p.65

The Qawra Peninsula is only a small fraction of thelarger Maltese archipelago.. Still it possesses aparticularly unique, rich and diversified Natural Historyelement.’ It has its own Geological characteristics, itsown Physical Geography, tectonic origins, its own ecologyand particular relationship with the sea. Unfortunatelymost of this rich Natural History, “foundation” on whichQawra is built on, is today being smashed intosmithereens, and covered up in featureless tarmac andconcrete. Nature is losing out to man’s capriciousnessand insatiable egoistic

With the demise of the older residents; who knew howto observe and note their surroundings and were able to“read” natural events. The loss of their“simple/uncomplicated” but untainted knowledge becomes aserious reality and a threat. Without proper and furtherprofessional investigation into these numerous anddiverse scientific approaches we also risk loosing touchwith the land we live in; a very dangerous prospect forpresent and future generations. Finally, if people do notget more interested in the “land” on which they areliving, life would be ever duller and redeem less.

Eugene Paul Teuma25/04/2015