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Sicily-Malta prehistoric land bridge discovery

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2026-09-28 17:31 UTC → 2026-09-29 20:56 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Researchers participating in the BRIDGES expedition, a collaboration between Italian and Maltese scientists, have mapped a prehistoric land bridge that once connected Sicily and Malta. Using the research vessel Gaia Blu, the team uncovered a complex underwater landscape consisting of ridges, lagoons, and basins. Data indicates that during the last Ice Age, when sea levels were approximately 130 meters lower than current levels, a 90-kilometer corridor allowed for terrestrial travel between the islands and Gozo. The landscape likely functioned as a lost archipelago of islands and narrow channels before being submerged by rising sea levels approximately 13,000 years ago. Recent findings from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) and the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) utilize high-resolution geophysical data and seismic profiling to describe the terrain as featuring features similar to modern tropical platforms. While the geological mapping provides new insights into prehistoric migration and how animals or humans might have navigated the Mediterranean basin, the archaeological timeline remains under investigation. ~~The~~ Researchers are working to determine if hunter-gatherer groups or prehistoric animals utilized this route, though the oldest known human traces on Malta date back roughly 8,900 years, which is significantly more recent than the period when the land bridge was active.

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