Għar Dalam (; "Cave of Dalam", Dalam being a fifteenth-century family name) is a 144-metre long phreatic tube and cave, Pottery similar to that found in Stentinello was found at Għar Dalam, but lacking details such as stamp decorations.
Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, giant swan, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages. The deer species became extinct much later, about 4,000 years ago during the Chalcolithic. Until 2025, Għar Dalam was thought to have the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago.
Recent history
thumb|220px|left|Juvenile [[African elephant skeleton at the museum]]
The cave was first investigated for its Neolithic remains in 1865, with excavations by Italian palaeontologist Arturo Issel. An excavation was carried out in 1892 by John H. Cooke. The bulk of this material was stored in Malta, while a comparative collection was sent to the British Museum. but was not opened to the public until March 1933. A museum was set up on site by the then-Curator of Natural History, Joseph Baldacchino. Within a year of his appointment as curator in 1935, Baldacchino published a booklet on Għar Dalam, highlighting the main excavations and investigations of the cave.
Stratigraphy
thumb|Stratigraphy of Għar Dalam
The cave consists of a number of sequential layers, which have been dated using radiometric techniques.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Layer number) Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus pentlandi) deer (Cervus cf. elaphus and Cervus cf. barbarus) red fox (Vulpes vulpes), wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus cf. arctos), vole (Pitymys melitensis), shrew (Crocidura sp.) bats, turtle (Emys orbicularis), toad (Bufo bufo), birds
|-
|VI
|Pebble layer
|Middle Pleistocene (prior to 165,900 years ago)
|"rolled pebbles in red clay"
|None
|
|-
|VII
|Bone breccia layer
Hippopotamus layer
|Middle Pleistocene (prior to 165,900 years ago)
|"light green to brown clay, consolidated to breccia in outer regions"
|Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus pentlandi, Hippopotamus melitensis)
Dwarf elephant (Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis and/orPalaeoloxodon sp The surname Dalam is attested in 15th century records.