Water Management Strategies and the Cave-Dwelling Phenomenon in Late-medieval Malta

NEW, NON-INVASIVE FIELD SURVEY suggests, for the first time, that farmers in W. Malta created extensive networks of underground water galleries for irrigation of the terraced field systems found in proximity to cave-settlements. Although none of the components of this landscape is scientifically dated, comparative research suggests that this sophisticated water-management system is similar to the qanat technology of the Islamic and Roman world. We have to consider seriously that this could be part of a new horticultural and technological package introduced during the Muslim and post-Muslim period between the 11th-13th centuries A.D. Overall, the paper is an attempt to gain an insight into Maltese exploitation of the perched aquifer before the late-19th-century discovery of an alternative water source led to a dramatic shift in water management and production policies on the island. The associated evidence for cave-settlement is also reviewed. Many of the observations have an application to other parts of the island of Malta that possess a similar geological stratification.