As indicated in previous reviews, there is no really satisfactory answer as to how best to “visit” the Gorham’s Cave WHS. In May 18 we decided from the start NOT to attempt to visit the Viewing Platform during its opening times. This was partly because its hours (10-2 Mo to Fr) were very inconvenient for us and partly because we weren’t convinced of the added “value” from so doing. We wanted to take our Spanish rent-a-car into Gib to avoid buses/car parking etc but didn’t want to make the crossing in the morning “rush” nor stay overnight there at Gib’s relatively expensive hotels. Indeed, at 1.30pm, there was only 1 car in front of us at the border and we were able to drive directly up to the Jewish Cemetery to commence our walk on the Rock inside the inscribed area before 2pm (and, when we departed the Rock at 9pm, there were no cars at all in a queue in front of us and we didn’t even have to stop!). Foreign registered cars are not allowed in the “Upper Rock” area but we found free parking off Windmill Hill Rd around the area of 36.118339, -5.345241 (turn right just before the check point stopping non-Gib cars) which is only a 10 minute walk up to the “Jew’s Cemetery” entrance.

We then spent over 4 hours exploring the “Upper Rock Nature Reserve” on foot including a descent of the Mediterranean Steps which pass through the inscribed area. On the way we entered the “Goats Hair Twin Caves” referred to in the Nomination as caves 40 and 41 out of 46 inside the WHS - these however are regarded as being “Paleolithic” rather than Neanderthal.  

The notice board at the end of the Mediterranean Steps states that they “form part of the Gibraltar Neanderthal Caves and Environments which was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in July of 2016” - a surprising use of the original title of the Nomination which, as reported by Els above, was altered before inscription in order to avoid Spanish “concerns”. It continues – “Much of the natural vegetation along the path has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years, providing visitors with a unique glimpse of the environment which has existed since Neanderthal times”. Whether this really enables one to appreciate the “Neanderthal environment” is another matter. At that time lower sea levels would have placed the shore line some 5kms away, so the “view” you now get on the Steps is very different. Whatever - we found our descent of the “Steps” well worthwhile. I won’t enter the argument about whether it is better to ascend or descend!

After our walk we drove to the viewing platform area (which had been clearly visible below us as we descended the “Steps”). Its gate was locked - one can’t have people avoiding that £5 entry fee!! So we just parked in the entrance area and walked up the road which climbs above the platform - from where the view (photo - which shows the “limit” of the platform area) seems unlikely to be much different from that on the platform itself, even taking into account some parallax. Most of the signs were also perfectly photographable and readable using a telephoto lens!! In all honesty, none of the generally available views of the main sea caves, whether from land or sea, are really very good or particularly worth going out of one’s way to see other than “for the record”. OK - we “missed out” on the “presentation” and the chance to ask questions, but we had read the nomination file etc. Perhaps our main “loss” was not to have visited the Museum and seen articles from the caves, but I can’t say that I really miss not having seen its silicon models of “Flint and Nana”. The skulls on which these models were based were actually discovered in 1848 (even before the discoveries at Neanderthal) and 1926. The locations in which they were found (Forbes Quarry and Devils Tower Shelter) have, slightly surprisingly, been left outside the core zone despite their relative “fame” (mention of them will be found in most articles/text books about Neanderthals). ICOMOS accepted this on the basis that those caves had “limited or no further scientific potential”.

It could be that we didn’t fully explore the prehistoric dimension, but we found other aspects of our “tour” of the Rock rather more interesting than its prehistoric ones! We didn’t bother with any of the “Pay to enter” attractions of the Rock (Cable Car, Tunnels, Siege Exhibition etc) other than the £5 “walker” entry fee into the Nature Reserve but the time we gave it passed in a flash. The views to the West on the way up, in all directions at the top (looking over the edge and wondering how on earth the Mediterranean Steps were going to find a way down!!), and to the East on the descent, are superb if the day is reasonably clear. A new “Skywalk”  (included in even the “Walker’s ticket”) adds to the experience. Then there are the birds/flora, including those apes - and lots of interesting WWII defences. These included (at O’Hara’s Battery ) a gun whose range covered the entire distance to Africa (29600yds v 25500yds) and provided fine views across to it!

Which raises another issue regarding the inscription. Between 1996 to 2012 the UK T list entry for Gibraltar had been titled "the Fortress of Gibraltar" or “Gibraltar Defences” and the intention had originally been to inscribe the Rock for values related to its human occupation all the way from “prehistory” through to its WWII defences. This document contains a fuller description and a map of the previously intended site (starting on page 95).

This decision to reduce the nomination’s area and scope to cover only the prehistoric period and to “major” on the Neanderthals within this must be considered a “success” in the light of its subsequent inscription.  The previous version was too unfocused and also covered large areas of old military installations which Gibraltar wanted to redevelop without the restrictions which would have flowed from being inscribed (e.g where we had parked and the majority of Europa Point!!) but, in other respects, it was a bit of a shame. The entire “Rock of Gibraltar” is “unique” in its strategic location and the extent of its defences, whilst the “Neanderthal” aspects alone seem less significant and of more questionable OUV.

There are a fair number of archaeological sites around Europe and the Middle East which contain “Neanderthal” remains. How many does the WH “List” require? We have visited the main “other” Neanderthal WHS at Carmel Caves in Israel (Though they cover other periods too). Vezere and Atapuerca have also yielded Neanderthal remains but those sites have chosen to major on other prehistoric aspects/periods. Carmel “got in” ahead of Gibraltar and used the “Comparative Evaluation” section of its Nomination File to “prove” the superiority of its caves on a range of factors over those of Gorham and elsewhere. This left UK/Gibraltar, coming along second, with a “problem” regarding how to find a unique value proposition for its Neanderthal remains. It did so largely by praising Carmel and finding a “time gap” it could occupy as its own - “In conclusion, the Gibraltar site offers a long and unique temporal sequence that covers the entire Late Pleistocene and it complements the Mount Carmel World Heritage Site: Mount Carmel covers the time range 350-82,000 years ago and Gibraltar the time range 127-13,000 years ago. Together, the two sites offer a unique chronology from the beginnings of the Neanderthals (Mount Carmel), the earliest contact with modern humans (Mount Carmel), through the period of the Neanderthal population decline and eventual extinction (Gibraltar) and the latest arrival of modern humans into Neanderthal territory (Gibraltar). The second part of the Neanderthal story is currently missing from the World Heritage List. The Gibraltar site would amply fill this gap.” Hmmmm……??! In fact the Gibraltar caves have provided significant evidence about Neanderthal food, hunting, art/conceptual thought etc etc - but of course none of this is “visible” for a visitor.

If you really want to “see” prehistoric/Neanderthal caves and historic strata then the Carmel Caves are undoubtedly the clear “winners” between the 2. They are also very easy to visit/enter. But even they don’t offer a great deal in terms of “visible value”! See my review . That is not to say that the Gibraltar Caves aren’t “important” within their rather “niche domain” of the “Demise of Neanderthals”. Long before they were nominated/inscribed they got a section to themselves in my “bible” of World Prehistory (“The Human Past”. Ed - C Scarre. Pub - Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-28531-2). IMO, however, the real value of a visit to the inscribed area of Gorham’s Cave lies in the opportunity to explore the “Rock of Gibraltar” rather than to visit a “Prehistoric site”. Just get such "value" as you can from the site itself, take the “WHS tick” as a nice “extra” and then concentrate on the other aspects around you!

In her previous review Shandos mentions the Neander Valley and we have visited that also. As she says, you shouldn’t expect to see anything much there either! The Feldhofer Cave where the remains were found and which gave the “species” its name, was completely removed by limestone quarrying in the 19th C and its exact location “forgotten”. The local authority has tried to provide a “tourism experience” with a museum containing yet more of those silicon models of Neanderthals and some sticks in a park indicating where Feldhof cave might have been i.e  “above” in what is now the “sky”!