Gibraltar’s Gorham’s Cave is Another Step Closer to World Heritage Status

Photo by Gibmetal77/Wikipedia

Gibraltar’s Gorham’s Cave was recently given the nod by the U.K. government and formally submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for world heritage status.

Initially one of 11 possible candidates the U.K. was considering, the cave, along with Scotland’s Forth bridge, have made it past several rounds of evaluations to end up with formal submissions to the International Council on Monuments and Sites.

Considered one of the last known sites where Neanderthals survived, the natural sea cave has been the site of considerable archaeological interest since it’s discovery in 1904. Found by Captain A. Gorham, the cave would have been up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the sea when it was inhabited, instead of the short few meters it is today.

If Gorham’s Cave passes scrutiny by International Council on Monuments and Sites, it can expected to gain UNESCO world heritage status sometime in mid-2016.

Gorham’s Cave One Step Closer To UNESCO Site [Gibraltar Chronicle] & Forth rail bridge and Gibraltar cave in running for world heritage site status [The Guardian]