Former mayor calls for preservation of cart ruts site

Former San Gwann mayor Tony C. Cutajar has called on the authorities to clean and preserve the site where the San Gwann cart ruts lie.

"The Times' Prehistoric Sites column often advertises, among other places of interest, the San Gwann cart ruts, encouraging people to visit them. Apart from the danger of being built over in the fast development which has been taking place in this modern town, the site is in a state of disarray," Mr Cutajar said.

"At one time the beach cleaning section of the (then) Secretariat for Tourism used to clean the site of overgrown weeds. As I was the local councillor responsible for culture and heritage, I had written a number of times to congratulate the section and the ministry, even though such work wasn't carried out on a regular basis. And I even wrote in The Times to condemn the Museum Department for neglecting their duty."

Mr Cutajar is suggesting that the site be enclosed in a more suitable way, replacing the present chicken wire, and proper sign posting and information panels put up, besides it being cleaned on a regular basis.

"Three years ago, the council was entrusted by the government with the upkeep of the cart ruts after I had suggested to take them in hand. A plan of rehabilitation was drawn up but due to lack of money the whole thing was shelved," Mr Cutajar said.

Meanwhile, San Gwann mayor Kurt Guillaumier told The Times that the preservation of the San Gwann cart ruts has been on the agenda of the council since 1994, that is since the beginning of the council when Mr Cutajar was mayor.

Mr Guillaumier said Mr Cutajar seemed to be expecting the council to do in four months what the previous three councils did not accomplish in nine years.

"It appears that this council is being criticised by a small number of people, some of whom are former councillors and some aren't, who are expecting perfection in such a short period of time," Mr Guillaumier said.

"Our aim is to deal with all the problems which were left over from the previous council and there's also a strong attempt to enhance communication with our residents. In fact, a leaflet marking the first 100 days of the council was sent to all residents displaying all the works carried out by the current council and contact numbers of each councillor along with their duties," Mr Guillaumier added.

The origins of the cart ruts are not clear but there are those who hold that they were used for the transport of stone slabs in quarries and date back to around 10,000-8,000 BC (Neolithic Age) or to 5,000-4,000 BC (Early Bronze Age).