Collin's Cave

Last updated
Collin's Cave
Gibraltar location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Map showing location in Gibraltar.
Locationabove Catalan Bay
Coordinates 36°08′23″N5°20′35″W / 36.1397°N 5.3431°W / 36.1397; -5.3431
Elevation420 feet
Discoverylate 19th century
Geologylimestone
Difficultyinaccessible

Collin's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located in the northeastern part of the Rock, between Reservoir Fissure and Middle Hill Cave. The cave is above Catalan Bay. [1] It is one of the many caves in Gibraltar. It is believed to be archaeologically important and is listed in the government's Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018. [2]

Contents

Description

This is a natural cave, but it has archaelogical value. Human remains, stone tools and artefacts have been found by the Gibraltar Scientific Society. It was occupied in neolithic times. The bones found belonged to ibex boar, (probably) lynx, rabbit, ox, eagle or vulture and humans. [3]

Many of these were displayed at Gibraltar Library in 1910 as at that time there was no Gibraltar Museum. They were arranged by Major Howell Jones R.A.. Major General Edward Ranulph Kenyon (1854-1937) realised that a cave at this height could still be a sea-cave and it was possible that the bones had been washed in by the sea. [4]

The cave is over 400 feet above Catalan Bay on the east side of Gibraltar. It was surveyed in the 1960s and its entrance is described as "inaccessible". [3]

Discovery and namesake

It was rediscovered in the nineteenth century by Ernest Rokeby Collins. [3] Collins was commissioned in 1892 and served with the 30th Foot (East Lancs Regiment) and he was promoted to captain in 1896. He would later be awarded a Distinguished Service Order in the Boer War and he became a Major. In 1918 he became a second lieutenant. He died in 1963. [5]

Collin's interest in archaeology continued after he left Gibraltar. When he was in South Africa he collected stone tools which were sometimes found while digging trenches. He later donated his finds to the British Museum. He co-authored and published a 1915 paper with Reginald A. Smith of the British Museum on "Stone implements from South African gravels". [6] [7]

Today

In 2018 this cave on Gibraltar's east cliffs was listed in the Heritage and Antiquities Act by the Government of Gibraltar. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-age system</span> Stone, bronze and iron ages of pre-history

The three-age system is the periodization of human prehistory into three time-periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, although the concept may also refer to other tripartite divisions of historic time periods. In history, archaeology and physical anthropology, the three-age system is a methodological concept adopted during the 19th century according to which artefacts and events of late prehistory and early history could be broadly ordered into a recognizable chronology. C. J. Thomsen initially developed this categorization in the period 1816 to 1825, as a result of classifying the collection of an archaeological exhibition chronologically – there resulted broad sequences with artefacts made successively of stone, bronze, and iron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Għar Dalam</span> Cave and archaeological site in Malta

Għar Dalam[A] is a 144-metre long phreatic tube and cave, located in the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta. The cave contains the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct in Malta at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory, and is viewed as one of Malta's most important national monuments. Pottery similar to that found in Stentinello was found at Għar Dalam, but lacking details such as stamp decorations.

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niah National Park</span> National Park in Malaysia

Niah National Park, located within Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the site of the Niah Caves which are an archeological site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorham's Cave</span> Cave and archaeological site in Gibraltar

Gorham's Cave 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hewitt (herpetologist)</span> South African zoologist and archaeologist

John Hewitt was a South African zoologist and archaeologist of British origin. He was born in Dronfield, Derbyshire, England, and died in Grahamstown, South Africa. He was the author of several herpetological papers which described new species. He also described new species of spiders and other arachnids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Lebanese Prehistory</span> Museum in Beirut, Lebanon

The Museum of Lebanese Prehistory is a museum of prehistory and archaeology in Beirut, Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltar National Museum</span> National museum in Bomb House Lane, Gibraltar

The Gibraltar National Museum is a national museum of the history, culture and natural history of Gibraltar located within the city centre of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Founded in 1930 by the then Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Alexander Godley, the museum houses an array of displays portraying The Rock's millennia-old history and the unique culture of its people. The museum also incorporates the remains of a 14th-century Moorish bathhouse. Its director since 1991 is Prof. Clive Finlayson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanguard Cave</span> Cave and archaeological site in Gibraltar

Vanguard Cave is a natural sea cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar which is part of the Gorham's Cave complex. This complex of four caves has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2016. The cave complex is one of the last known habitations of the Neanderthals, with a period of inhabitation from 55,000 to 28,000 years ago. It is located on the southeast face of the Rock of Gibraltar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibex Cave</span>

Ibex Cave is a limestone cave on the Rock of Gibraltar which has yielded stone artifacts of Mousterian tradition. It was discovered in 1975. It is so named as an ibex skull was found within the cave which would have been hunted by the Neanderthals of Gibraltar thousands of years ago. Ibex Cave was named and excavated by the Gibraltar Museum in 1994. Its first formal description was in 1999. It is protected by the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018 of the Government of Gibraltar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin's Cave</span> Cave in Gibraltar

Martin's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It opens on the eastern cliffs of the Rock of Gibraltar, below its summit at O'Hara's Battery. It is an ancient sea cave, though it is now located over 700 feet (210 m) above the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is only accessible because Martin's Path was constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave S</span> Limestone cave in Gibraltar

Cave S or Sewell's Cave is a limestone cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on the eastern side of the Rock of Gibraltar, near Holy Boy's Cave. Prehistoric human remains were found in the cave in 1910, and the cave is listed by the Government of Gibraltar as a Palaeolithic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goat's Hair Twin Caves</span> Cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar

The Goat's Hair Twin Caves are in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The caves are listed in the Heritage and Antiquities Act as they are sites of Palaeolithic and Neolithic archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Boy's Cave</span>

Holy Boy's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is one of the largest of the many caves in Gibraltar and it is on the eastern side of the Rock, near Cave S. It is believed to be archaeologically important and is listed in the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018.

Judge's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Human remains dated to the late prehistoric period have been unearthed in the cave. This Neolithic Shelter is protected by the law of Gibraltar.

Devil's Tower Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Archaeologist Dorothy Garrod found a Neanderthal skull in the cave which, together with other evidence found in this cave, shows it was used as a rock shelter by the Neanderthals of Gibraltar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Cave</span>

Mediterranean Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The cave also has pillboxes and a fallout shelter nearby, these all being mentioned in the government's Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson's Cave</span> Cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar

Wilson's Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was named after Major W. H. Wilson, Royal Engineers, Company Commander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavà Mines</span>

The Gavà Mines, also known as Can Tintorer Mines, is a pre-historic (Neolithic) archaeological site that occupies the Can Tintorer, Ferreres and Rocabruna areas in the municipality of Gavà. The site is under care of the Gavà Museum and the Gavà Mines Archaeological Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bockstein Cave</span> Cave in Germany

The Bockstein Cave, German: Bocksteinhöhle is part of the Bockstein complex – a White Jurassic limestone rock massif. The 15 by 20 m rock shelter, among small peripheral caves is situated around 12 m (39 ft) above the Lone River valley bottom, north of the towns of Rammingen and Öllingen, Heidenheim district in the central Swabian Jura, southern Germany. Several small openings, that are the actual entrances to the site, lead to various cave sections. The large frontal opening is of modern origin, created during the first excavation works in the late 19th century.

References

  1. ↑ The Royal Engineers' Journal, page 423, Volume 10, 1910
  2. 1 2 "Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018" (PDF). Gibraltar Gov Records. 2018 – via Government of Gibraltar.
  3. 1 2 3 "Collin's Cave, Neolithic site". Gibraltar Ministry of Heritage. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  4. ↑ Kenyon, Major General Edward Ranulph (December 1910). "Gibraltar under Moor, Spaniard, and Briton" (PDF). The Royal Engineers Journal. XII (8): 420–423.
  5. ↑ "Life story: Ernest Rokeby Collins | Lives of the First World War". livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  6. ↑ "Stone implements from South African gravels", with Reginald A. Smith, in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (Vol. 45, pp. 79-91).
  7. ↑ "S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science". www.s2a3.org.za. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.