Abstract:

Summary.

This paper explores the manufacture and function of the so-called ‘cart ruts’ within the harsh environment of Malta and proposes that they were deliberately constructed in order to push the boundaries of available arable land and are better identified as field furrows. Using comparative ethnographic evidence as well as archaeological data from European contexts, it is argued that the driving force, which necessitated their manufacture in Malta, lay in socio-economic pressures. It is argued that the ruts are of high antiquity, products of Temple Period intensification and marginalism in land use.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0092.2004.00201.x

Affiliations: 1: Centre for Classics and Archaeology The School of Art History, Cinema, Classics and Archaeology The University of Melbourne Victoria 3010 AUSTRALIA