Gorham's Cave Complex

• Official name: Gorham’s Cave Complex
• Location: British overseas territory of Gibraltar
• Type: Cultural
• Year of inscription: 2016

Gorham’s Cave Complex is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in Gibraltar, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It comprises four caves on the eastern side of the Rock of Gibraltar. It is significant for the evidence found there of habitation by Neanderthals (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) over a period of more than one hundred thousand years, up to about thirty-two thousand years ago. Artifacts indicate that the Neanderthals lived at Gibraltar about eight thousand years after evidence of the human species in the rest of Europe disappeared. One cave has yielded significant findings during excavations, but less exploration has occurred in the others. Among the finds are bones of up to eight individuals and many artifacts such as tools and animal remains. After the Neanderthals disappeared, Homo sapiens sapiens, or anatomically modern humans, lived in the caves until about 1800 Before the Common Era (BCE). Later, the caves were used as burial and worship sites. In the twenty-first century, researchers have studied artifacts and learned a great deal about Neanderthals and human evolution.

Notable discoveries include evidence that Neanderthals used feathers for ornamentation and rock engravings. An abstract engraving called the hashtag is viewed as evidence that Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thinking. Researchers previously believed that these humans were not able to think abstractly and thought this ability gave Homo sapiens an advantage that led to the extinction of other human species. Finds at Gorham’s Cave have caused researchers to reconsider this belief.

The setting of the caves itself is significant. The landscape, with its flora and fauna and natural resources, aids researchers and others to understand the environment in which Neanderthals lived.

History

The Rock of Gibraltar is monolithic limestone formed from the shells of sea creatures that lived about two hundred million years ago. Multiple layers of these shells compacted over millennia. Between sixty and twenty million years ago, these layers of rock were thrust upward by movement of the tectonic plates. Over many thousands of years, the rock layers were weathered, and, in some places, caves developed. The Rock, which is 1,398 feet (426 meters) high, is on the Iberian Peninsula and nearly the most southwestern point of Europe. Across the Strait of Gibraltar is Northern Africa.

The four caves called the Gorham’s Cave Complex are located on the eastern side of the Rock. Gorham’s Cave is named for Captain A. Gorham of the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers. He opened a fissure at the back of a sea cavern in 1907 and discovered a cave. He used lamp-black to write his name and the date on the cave wall. The caves in the cliff could not be accessed from the cliffs above because the ocean reached the base of the cliff. During World War II, British facilities at the Rock were fortified to withstand attacks. Multiple tunnels were bored; rock and other materials from this tunneling were deposited at the foot of the cliff. The resulting landing was dubbed Governor’s Beach. In the 1940s, engineers noted that human and animal remains, pottery, and stone tools were discovered in the caves.

The first Neanderthal fossil found in Gibraltar was a portion of an adult Neanderthal skull. It was discovered in a quarry in 1848. The second fossil was a child’s skull, found by Dorothy Garrod in 1926 in Devil’s Tower Cave. Garrod, a Cambridge lecturer, was contacted by authorities in the 1940s and asked to excavate Gorham’s Cave. She invited Dr. John d’Arcy Waechter, a fellow of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, to join her in these excavations in the early 1950s. They soon realized that the cave held significant Neanderthal artifacts. More than thirty years later, the Gibraltar Museum, the British Museum, and the Natural History Museum in London joined forces for the Gibraltar Caves Project. The last evidence of Neanderthal occupation on Earth is believed to have been found in Gorham’s Cave. It has been dated to about twenty-eight thousand years ago. During the Neanderthals’ time, sea levels were lower, so any evidence that they may have lived on the coastal plains would have disappeared when the water rose.

In Gorham’s Cave, sediment layers many yards deep have revealed more than one hundred thousand years of history. Artifacts indicate they relied on larger game, such as deer and woolly mammoths, but infrequently hunted smaller animals, such as rabbits. Every few thousand years, the climate cooled for a time, and they likely moved farther south. As the climate changed, Neanderthals had fewer large animals available to them. Researchers believe that they were less able to adapt by developing new tools such as nets, which H. sapiens sapiens used frequently in catching small game. As their numbers dwindled, Neanderthals became less diverse, according to researchers, and were more inbred. Their fertility probably decreased because they had less body fat, and eventually not enough of them existed to sustain the population.

The site is difficult to access because the caves are located at sea level, so the site is relatively well protected. A series of steps and levels leads to the base of the cliff and the rocky beach. The entrance of the cave is wider than the back. Where it narrows, it divides into several chambers. Researchers believe the innermost chamber likely was an easily defended refuge where the Neanderthals slept. Predators such as hyenas, lions, and wolves were a constant threat. On a ledge by the innermost chamber, researchers found crosshatching carved into stone. The lines, which were buried under Neanderthal artifacts, may be symbolic.

Significance

Gorham's Cave Complex was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 for meeting one of ten possible criteria for inclusion. Gorham’s Cave Complex’s significance is measured by criterion iii. It offers evidence of the Neanderthals’ culture and presence, along with the culture of early modern humans over a period of about one hundred and twenty thousand years. The four caves at sea level—Bennett’s, Gorham’s, Vanguard, and Hyaena Caves—all show signs of the presence of Neanderthals, and the complex is believed to have been a settlement.

Researchers have never found evidence of Neanderthals in Africa. The Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Europe from the continent of Africa, is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) wide. Researchers believe the Rock of Gibraltar area was the southernmost reach of Neanderthals.

The artifacts discovered are rare and help to paint a more complete portrait of the people who lived in and around the caves. Excavation has revealed hearths and stone tools. Animal remains include deer, dolphins, ibex, and seals. The site also provides evidence of climate and environmental conditions over this long period and continues to reveal new finds and information. Researchers have attested to the site’s authenticity through discoveries made and documented. The Outstanding Universal Value of the site is evident in the landscape and vegetation. However, climate change threatens the stability of the site with possible flooding if the sea level rises.

The caves are within the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, which consists of about 40 percent of the territory of Gibraltar. It contains multiple caves, including St. Michael’s Cave, as well as World War II tunnels and a Moorish castle. Visitors to the reserve may tour many of these attractions with relatively few restrictions. The Gorham’s Cave Complex site is managed by the Gibraltar Museum. The property and its buffer zone are protected by various legislation, and the site is monitored. Laws protecting the site include the 1989 Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act and the 1999 Town Planning Act. The marine area beside the site is protected as part of the Eastern Marine Conservation Zone. Some people can visit the site but are only permitted to access the caves with an approved guide. Visitors must be capable of navigating a series of steep stairs mounted on the cliff and the narrow rocky beach at its base.

New discoveries are being made regularly. Archaeologists have primarily focused efforts on Gorham’s Cave, where most finds have been made, but have probed the other caves to determine if other chambers may exist. This exploration paid off in 2021 when the team discovered a soft area in the rear wall of Vanguard Cave. It was found to be a plug composed of sand that walled off a chamber above the cave. Researchers determined that the plug was about forty thousand years old and thus dated to the time of the Neanderthals. In the chamber above, they found the bones of griffon vultures, hyenas, and lynx. Researchers note that vulture flesh is highly acidic and was not likely a food source for Neanderthals; most cut marks on vulture bones have been on the wings, which indicates they were hunted or scavenged for their feathers. They also found the shell of a large whelk. This type of sea snail would not have been able to reach the chamber, so it was most likely carried there. In 2024, archeologists revealed they had discovered a 60,000- to 65,000-year-old tar-making site in the Vanguard Cave. This discovery was significant for many reasons. The pit-like structure that produced tar from resinous plants was an indication of advanced engineering and social cooperation by Neanderthals. The discovery was also evidence that Neanderthals were not as primitive as once thought. The discovery also provided key insights into the environment in which the Neanderthals lived.

Bibliography

“Gorham's Cave Complex.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/list/1500. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

“Gorham’s Cave—Palaeolithic Occupation Site. Also Neolithic and Phoenician/Carthaginian Site.” Government of Gibraltar Ministry for Heritage, www.ministryforheritage.gi/heritage-and-antiquities/gorhams-cave-palaeolithic-occupation-site-also-neolithic-and-phoeniciancarthaginian-site-1009. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Hogenboom, Melissa. “How Did the Last Neanderthals Live?” BBC, 29 Jan. 2020, www.bbc.com/future/article/20200128-how-did-the-last-neanderthals-live. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Radley, Dario. “65,000-Year-Old Neanderthal ‘Tar Factory’ Found in Gibraltar Cave.” Archeology News, 22 Nov. 2024, archaeologymag.com/2024/11/neanderthal-tar-factory-found-in-gibraltar-cave. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Straus, Lawrence Guy. “Neanderthal Last Stand? Thoughts on Iberian Refugia in Late MIS 3” Journal of Quaternary Science, vol. 37, no. 2, Feb. 2022, pp. 283–290. DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3252. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Vergano, Dan. “Newly Discovered Engraving May Revise Picture of Neanderthal Intelligence.” National Geographic, 3 Sept. 2014, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140901-neanderthal-engraving-gibraltar-science?loggedin=true. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Yirka, Bob. “Hidden Chamber Found in Vanguard Cave—Part of Gorham’s Cave Complex in Gibraltar.” Science X, 30 Sept. 2021, phys.org/news/2021-09-hidden-chamber-vanguard-cave-gorham.html. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.