Ghar Dalam

Għar Dalam ("Cave of Darkness", ) is a prehistorical cul-de-sac (a cave with only one entrance) located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta, containing the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct in Malta at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory. Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages; the hippopotamuses became extinct about 10,000 years ago, whilst the deer species became extinct much later, about 4000 years ago during the Chalcolithic. It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7400 years ago, was discovered.