Archaeologists opened a cave sealed for 40,000 years in Gibraltar and found what could be the last refuge of the,....
.... Neanderthals on Earth
By Kevin Montien
Published On: May 8, 2026 at 10:15
Archaeologists in Gibraltar have opened a hidden chamber inside Vanguard Cave that had been sealed off for at least 40,000 years, preserving surface finds where they fell. The discovery matters because sealed spaces can capture an Ice Age scene with far less of the mixing that usually blurs cave evidence.
What can a single sea snail shell, carried into darkness by human hands, tell us about life on a changing coastline? Quite a lot, especially now that UNESCO and site managers also flag sea level rise and flooding as real vulnerabilities for these sea-facing cliffs.
The room that stayed untouched
The chamber sits high in the roof at the back of Vanguard Cave and is about 43 feet (13 meters) long. It was found after years of searching for spaces plugged by later sediment, and it stayed sealed long enough to keep the chamber’s floor effectively undisturbed.
Initial reports describe bones from animals such as lynx, hyena, and griffon vulture, plus scratch marks left by an unidentified carnivore. Researchers also noted a large whelk shell that likely had to be carried in from the sea, along with signs of ancient earthquakes in the cave system.
More at link below,..
https://www.ecoticias.com/en/archaeologists-opened-a-cave-sealed-for-40000-years-in-gibraltar-and-found-what-could-be-the-last-refuge-of-the-neanderthals-on-earth/31833/
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