A tenacious fern

Deep inside caves, plant life is either extremely scarce or otherwise totally absent, which is due to the fact that plants need sunlight in order to manufacture food and therefore survive. However, the occasional thin ray of light may sometimes manage its way through, and this is an opportunity upon which mosses and ferns capitalize without fail.

The picture above shows the common maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillusveneris L.) taking advantage of such an instance at Għar Ħassan. The scant sunlight and nutrient-poor limestone soil are enough for the small but hardy plant.

Adiantum is a feature of many 'traditional' Maltese gardens due to its preference for shaded areas. The vernacular name in Maltese is Tursin il-Bir (lit. water-well parsley). Of course, true parsley is a flowering plant, and has nothing to do with the species in question.

A pirate's cave

The 12th century legend goes that a Turkish pirate by the name of Ħassan, madly in love with a beautiful Maltese girl, abducted her and took her to live with him in a cave in the southern cliffs of Malta. The villagers soon realized this and were immediately off to rescue the girl, then give the Turk the punishment he deserved. Upon hearing their shouts, the defiant Ħassan pushed the girl down the cliffs to her death, and leapt after her before anyone could catch him.


The locality where this tragic tale is supposed to have taken place is, fittingly, called Għar Ħassan (Ħassan's Cave). It lies between Bengħisa and Ħal-Far, punctuating the Lower Coralline Limestone cliffs making up most of the area. Like many other caves in the Maltese Islands it is a phreatic tube formed by the dissolution of limestone in water, and this is very evident in the smooth appearance of the cave walls.


Għar Ħassan consists of a central large chamber, the accessible part of which measures about 60m. Two main paths intersect with the main one at about 20m into the cave; the one to the east (above) leads to another opening in the cliff-face while the one to the right narrows down, eventually becoming inaccessible. Some parts of the main tube are perennially wet and mainly soft calcite deposits can be seen in several places on the walls of the cave. Clayey soil, consisting of the insoluble components of limestone, covers the entire floor of the cave and is sometimes cemented in place by calcite from hard water dripping from the ceiling. Soil has prevented stalagmites from forming over the limestone floor.


A fault running along the main chamber, quite visible on the roof of the cave (above), probably contributed to to the formation of the cave by fracturing and therefore making the usually firm Lower Coralline Limestone far less resistant to water flow.