Sealed off by sand for about 40,000 years, a cave chamber has recently been discovered in Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar. Researchers are hopeful that the recent discovery could reveal more information on the Neanderthals that lived in the area roughly at the same time.
Clive Finlayson, the director of the Gibraltar National Museum, tells LiveScience that considering the chamber being sealed off by sand for 40,000 years and that the chamber was in its place way before its age must coincide with the Neanderthals. According to data, Neanderthals lived in the Eurasian peninsula roughly 200,000 to 40,000 years ago and most likely were using the cave.
Understanding the Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar
According to the Gibraltar National Museum, Vanguard Cave can be found in Gorham's Cave Complex World Heritage Site and has always lived in the shadow of a sister cave, Gorham's Cave. First excavated in 1997, in 2012 a project was initiated that aimed to determine if the cave consisted of passages and chambers that were subsequently plugged by sediment.
Neanderthals and modern humans have been thought to cohabitate in Gorham's Cave Complex for generations, leaving tools, fossils, evidence of campfire, carcasses of butchered animals, and early artworks formed with scratched patterns. Henceforth, the cave complex was declared in 2016 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it was an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions, occupation, and material culture of Early Modern Humans and Neanderthal populations in over 120,00 years.
ALSO READ : First-of-its-Kind DNA Analysis Suggests Ancient Maya Had Trees, Wild Vegetation, and Parks
Discovering the Secrets of Vanguard Cave
Several weeks ago as archaeologists from the Gibraltar National Museum, as part of over a decade of research, discovered a large chamber at the farthest back of the Vanguard Cave. Finlayson's team unearthed a hollow area, as the team climbed though they found 43 feet in length, with stalactites eerily curtaining the chamber ceilings. Along its surface, researchers found remains of griffon vultures, hyenas, and lynx as well as large whelks--a type of sea snail that likely needed to be carried into the chamber by Neanderthals.
Work at the newly found chamber remains preliminary, reports Gizmodo, but some interesting discoveries have been made and researchers are excited about the possibilities of more discoveries once they begin excavating.
Finlayson says that there is a real possibility that once excavations and further studies begin the team may find Neanderthal burials. Currently, the team has found a milk tooth of roughly a 4-year old Neanderthal close to the chamber.
Researchers, throughout the program, have discovered numerous evidence of Neanderthal's presence in Gorham's Cave Complex including carvings. Findings also suggest that the cave system discoveries are a testament to how our closest extinct relatives butchered seals, plucked feathers of prey birds to use as tools or wear as ornaments. Scientists theorize that the cave system may have been one of the final places Neanderthals lived in before their extinction roughly 40,000 years ago. Nevertheless, researchers are ecstatic to continue their research hoping for discoveries that would shed new light on Neanderthal history.
Read also: Babylonian Theorem: How the Ancient City Calculated With Triangles 1000 Years Before Pythagoras
Check out more news and information on Archaeology in Science Times.
