Heritage Malta Publishing has launched a new book giving an unprecedented comprehensive look at Malta's Quaternary Period. The research centres around Għar Dalam - presently the site which contains the most extensive sequence of sediments from the period in the Maltese Islands.

Titled Għar Dalam: A window into Malta's Past Quaternary Faunas, the new hardback, authored by geologist and palaeontologist Michael Gatt, seeks to answer the long-debated question about what lived on the Maltese Islands before the arrival of humans.

The richly-illustrated publication guides the reader through an extensive re-analysis of excavation records from the 19th century to the present day, covering all known fossiliferous sites across the Maltese Islands. It features a new biochronological framework for Maltese faunal assemblages, some of which date back to the early Middle Pleistocene - extending Malta's pre-human story to around 400,000 years ago.

At the heart of this research lies Għar Dalam, Malta's most iconic prehistoric site. Its stratigraphy, likely spanning from the late Middle Pleistocene to modern times, is examined in meticulous detail. The book presents a revised stratigraphy of the site, supported by a critical re-evaluation of past excavations, along with a new theory of how sediments may have found their way into the cave.

The publication also compares the faunal remains from Malta with those from Sicily, shedding light on the Pleistocene faunal exchanges between the two islands and revealing both striking parallels and key differences.

Għar Dalam: A window into Malta's Past Quaternary Faunas is a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in Melitensia, Malta's natural history, geology and palaeontology.

For more information and the opportunity to purchase it online visit: https://heritagemalta.mt/store/ghar-dalam-a-window-into-maltas-past-quaternary-faunas/