Ta’ Latnija find rewrites Malta’s earliest human timeline

Excavations at Ta’ Latnija in Mellieħa have pushed evidence of human presence in Malta back by about 1,000 years from the previously accepted timeline. The findings indicate that Mesolithic communities travelled at least 100 kilometres by sea, challenging assumptions about hunter-gatherer mobility. Researchers are also reconstructing roughly 300,000 years of Malta’s climatic history from the site to study environmental change and ecosystem resilience. The work, led by Professor Eleanor Scerri with European funding and support from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, has attracted international scientists and may eventually support a World Heritage nomination.