Hundreds of ‘cart ruts’ – pairs of incised parallel grooves in the bedrock – are found across the Maltese Archipelago in the central Mediterranean. The age, functional association, formation processes, and taphonomic alteration of these ruts, which occur here with a globally unrivalled frequency, has been much debated. Generally seen as being created by erosion from vehicles such as wheeled carts, or alternatively being cut into the rock to facilitate movement of such vehicles, specific models range from the use of carts to move soil in the Neolithic to them reflecting classical era stone quarrying, and many other possibilities. One interesting aspect concerns the morphological variability of the cart ruts, such as the notion that they have a standard gauge (width between ruts), and that this gauge is very similar to that of modern railway tracks. Evaluating the morphological variability of the cart ruts contributes to an understanding of the phenomenon, as, for instance, we might expect that if they date to different periods, with different functions, and/or were extensively modified by geomorphological processes this will be reflected in the character of their morphological variability. The analysis suggests that cart ruts are fairly standardised in terms of basic measurements such as widths and depth, perhaps suggesting that they are of a consistent age and function. This study identified a need for definitional clarity as the commonly cited gauge measurements are not taken in the same way as gauge is defined for railway tracks. There are hints of rut shape changes reflecting extensive use and or processes such as limestone dissolution, which give insights into their formation histories.

在地中海中部的马耳他群岛发现了数百个“车辙”——基岩中成对的切割平行凹槽。这些车辙的年龄、功能关联、形成过程和埋藏变化在这里以全球无与伦比的频率出现，引起了很多争论。通常被认为是由轮式推车等车辆侵蚀产生的，或者被切入岩石以促进此类车辆的移动，具体模型范围从使用推车在新石器时代移动土壤到反映古典时代采石的它们，以及许多其他可能性。一个有趣的方面涉及车辙的形态变异性，例如它们具有标准轨距（车辙之间的宽度）的概念，并且该轨距与现代铁路轨道的轨距非常相似。评估车辙的形态变异性有助于理解这一现象，例如，我们可能期望，如果它们可以追溯到不同时期、具有不同功能，和/或被地貌过程广泛修改，这将反映在其形态变异的特征。分析表明，车辙在宽度和深度等基本测量方面相当标准化，这可能表明它们具有一致的年龄和功能。这项研究确定了定义清晰度的必要性，因为通常引用的轨距测量与为铁路轨道定义轨距的方式不同。有迹象表明车辙形状的变化反映了广泛的使用和/或石灰石溶解等过程，从而可以深入了解它们的形成历史。