Globigerina Limestone

Malta’s rock sequence is somewhat quite simple. It is divided into five main layers of sediments. As the name goes, the upper coralline limestone layer is found on the top side of rock sequence, followed by the Greensand Formation, the Blue Clay layer, the Globigerina Limestone layer, and last but not least, the Lower Coralline Limestone layer. 

Each layer of rock is unique from the other. The distinction in rock formations is due to the time periods when the rock layer started to form, thus for instance, the strength of protection from erosion depends on the rock hardness.

One of the layers of rock used extensively for construction and decoration on the Maltese Islands is the Globigerina Limestone. This particular layer of rock is situated over the Lower Coralline Limestone. The width of this layer varies from approximately 66 feet in Fort Chambray, Għajnsielem in Gozo to 656 feet on the other side of the Archipelago of Malta, which is in Marsaxlokk in Malta

The Globigerina limestone is a supple fine grained layer. This is quite different from the Lower Globigerina Limestone. In fact, when weathered, studies show that the Globigerina Limestone forms gentle slopes. The Globigerina Limestone is majorly composed of Globigerina, as well as some marine micro-organisms. This reflects on the event which must have happened during its formation 34 million years ago; A mass of land must have sunk off since the components suggest sea-depths of around 600 feet. 

Digging deep into the Maltese Soil

'If one was to take a side view towards the Dingli cliffs, one would be able to categorize the sediments which make our islands. In fact, the Maltese rock layers are subdivided into five unique types.'

·         The Lower Coralline Limestone known as ‘Zonqor’ or ‘il-Qawwi t’isfel’ in Maltese. This rock was the first to be formed in the Maltese Islands. This means that it is our oldest rock, which is hard and porous, meaning that it allows water to pass through it. The Lower Coralline Limestone is of a white or 

     grey shade. 

Globigerina Limestone also known as ‘Il-Franka’ in Maltese is harder compared to the Blue Clay and Greensand but softer when compared to the Coralline Limestone. Globigerina has a whitish or yellowish colour and is porous. Buildings are usually built with this type of stone. It is also used for the making of sculptures

 Blue Clay is another type of rock in the sediment of the Maltese Islands.  In Maltese we find this rock named as ‘it-Tafli’. As its name entails, the colour of this rock is of a      bluish colour. Since it is also a soft rock it is likely to erode quickly due to the fact that the rock is impermeable which leads to it holding water used for irrigation purposes. As a result, the Blue Clay was mostly used for pottery. 

Greensand, ‘Il-Gebla s-Safra’ in Maltese, is a very delicate layer of rock, with its color being usually orange. It is highly porous and it easily breaks down into sand. It is also 

known to have many marine remains.

      The Upper Coralline Limestone is known as ‘Il-Qawwi’ in Maltese. This was the last to form on the Maltese Islands, making it the youngest rock. The Upper Coralline Limestone is also porous.  This rock can be located on top of cliffs and high land around the Maltese Islands mainly Malta and Gozo. Road surfacing, concrete mixtures and stone buildings are done with this type of rock. 

Beyond the name of 'Buskett Stone'

‘Throughout our days, consumers are bombarded with promotions. However, only a low percentage of this advertising material manages to reach our attention. In fact, by time, most adverts and brand names become second nature to us.’

So instinctively, we wondered whether our followers knew about the origins of our name. We thus reached out to Gino Chetcuti, the brains behind Buskett Stone to learn more about the business he gradually established during the past twenty years.

Buskett Stone - 99453145

So how did the name of 'Buskett Stone' come by?

Buskett has been the nickname of the family for decades. Everyone knew our family as ‘Tal-Buskett’, especially in Qormi. Back when I was a young man, my dad ran the ‘Buskett Confectionery’, which was notorious for wedding services, pastries and ice creams. A few years down the line, my brother and I started to work with wood. I taught myself through the basics of wood sculpting and carving. A few years later, I started to experiment with stone and it was not much later when the two mediums were being used in our works. Later on, my focus shifted on stone which has now become our primary medium within our works. 

The History of the Maltese Stone

The Maltese archipelago is situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It is made up of mainly three islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Malta, which is the main island, is made up of 316 square kilometres, composed entirely of sedimentary rocks. Due to its geographical position, Malta is continuously exposed to a constantly changing Mediterranean, resulting in compacted sediments of rocks which form the Maltese Islands.

The Maltese land was formed underwater through a gradual yet firm layering of particle sediments found underwater. As regards the layers of the Maltese islands, the oldest layer is that of the lower coralline limestone which were formed in the surrounding seas of Malta approximately 35 million years ago.  The most recent layer of sediments is the upper coralline limestone, which started to establish themselves around 7 million years ago. This is as expected when observing a series of layers; the sediments at the bottom are the oldest with age which slowly decrease in age as one reaches the upper layer.

These time frames seem extensive. However, in reality, if placed in perspective, the lower layers of rock in the Maltese islands were formed 30 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs, meaning dinosaurs were extinct  65.5 million years ago.