The development of land transport in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to trace the development of various means of land transport in the Maltese islands. The earliest evidence of roads in Malta will take us back thousands of years. Archaeology provides the only evidence of ancient man and his activities. Through it, modern man can glimpse his far-removed ancestor, enabling him to appreciate his comfort better when it is compared with the difficulties which primitive man encountered. The contrast is great, yet the process of the development of the means of transport is interesting and reflects the life and needs of the whole population. The Maltese islands have been inhabited from earliest times. "Faint traces of paleolithic man have quite recently been discovered, and in the later Neolithic age they seem to have had a considerable population, with which we may connect the important megalithic monuments still visible in them". Archaeology has revealed that ancient man did his best to overcome his difficulties and at the same time to create something which could ease his work. In Malta, the various "cart-track" to be found all over the island suggest that this ancient man was alert to his needs and was capable of being creative. In this way he laid down the foundations of transport [...].