Gorham's Cave
Sign in to savenatural sea cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals in Europe
Key facts
- Location
- Southeast face of the Rock of Gibraltar , Gibraltar
- Depth
- 18 metres (59 ft)
- Geology
- Limestone
- Official name
- Gorham's Cave Complex
- Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- iii
- Designated
- 2016 (40th session )
- Region
- Europe
via Wikipedia infobox
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gorham's Cave (Spanish: Cueva de Gorham, pronounced [ɡoˈɾam]) is a sea-level cave in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Though not a sea cave, it is often mistaken for one. Considered to be one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals in Europe, the cave gives its name to the Gorham's Cave complex, which is a combination of four distinct caves of such importance that they are combined into a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the only one in Gibraltar. The three other caves are Vanguard Cave, Hyaena Cave, and Bennett's Cave.
It is located at Governor's Beach on the southeastern face of the Rock of Gibraltar. When first inhabited some 55,000 years ago, it would have been approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) from the shore, but, due to changes in sea level, it is now only a few metres from the Mediterranean Sea.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gorham's Cave” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.