Holy Boy's Cave | |
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Map showing location in Gibraltar. | |
Location | East side of Gibraltar |
Coordinates | 36°07′59″N5°20′41″W / 36.1331°N 5.3447°W |
Elevation | 300m [1] |
Discovery | 1711 |
Geology | limestone |
Features | 1880 grafitti |
Cave survey | Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018 |
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. [2]
The current shape of the Rock of Gibraltar is the result of nature and the work of the Royal Engineers. This cave was named after the nickname of the Royal Norfolk Regiment and the Royal East Anglian Regiment [3] who were here in the 1880s. [4] [5] The Engineers would tunnel and smooth out any likely looking climbing surfaces. When they did this they would sometimes discover new caves like Holy Boys Cave. Inside this cave are marks on the wall recording the IX Regiment of Foot as being here. They had cap badges which the Spanish allegedly thought was the Virgin Mary but was clearly intended to be Britannia. Because of this confusion the regiment was called the Holy Boys and because of the graffiti this cave is called "Holy Boys". [5]
The government of Gibraltar believe this cave to be archaeologically important. [5] The History of the Royal Sappers and Miners recounts the cave. It was said to have been discovered in 1711 by some miners of the corps, while scarping the back of the Rock on the eastern side. Its entrance had been covered by undergrowth and they had to get onto all-fours as they climbed into the funnel-shaped crevices. Within the cave they discovered statactites, stalagmites, grottos and chambers. They also recount destroying "frostlike cushions of delicate finish, which, on being rudely touched, dissolved instantly into water." At the back of the hall they found bats and soil in two recesses but there was nothing growing in it. [6] They described
In 2018 this cave was listed in the Heritage and Antiquities Act by the Government of Gibraltar [2] and in 2024 it was described on-line with photos and a video tour. Today the cave features a tree near its entrance with roots that travel though different chambers to the very bottom of the cave. [1]
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the line regiments now operating in the British Army, and can trace its history back to 1685. The regiment was the first of the large infantry regiments and is one of the three regiments of the Queen's Division.
St. Michael's Cave or Old St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at a height of over 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. According to Alonso Hernández del Portillo, the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similar grotto in Monte Gargano near the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Apulia, Italy, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared.
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.
Princess Anne's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below Princess Caroline's Battery. It was named after Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter of George II. However, its name is often confused with those of other batteries in the area. In 1732, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Princess Anne's Battery was updated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the latter modernisation entailing the installation of four QF 5.25 inch guns with both anti-aircraft and coastal defence capabilities. The battery was manned into the early 1980s, after which it was decommissioned. The guns were refurbished in the early twenty-first century, and represent the world's only intact battery of 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns. Princess Anne's and Amelia’s Battery are listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
Green's Lodge Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on the North Face of the Rock of Gibraltar at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Farringdon's Battery. Also known as the Superior Battery, it was named after General Sir William Green, who served in Gibraltar for twenty-two years, most of them as the chief engineer of Gibraltar. In 1776, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. The emplacement also underwent reconstruction in the early and mid twentieth century. Green's Lodge Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Fig Tree Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on the eastern cliffs of the Rock of Gibraltar, not far from Martin's Cave within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. It is listed in the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018 by the Government 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.
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.
New St. Michael's Cave, also known as Lower St. Michael's Cave, is a cave system in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Unlike its namesake, St. Michael's Cave (proper), which has been known for over 2,000 years, this cave was discovered as recently as World War II.
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.
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.
Hayne's Cave Battery is the remains of two gun positions that made up an artillery battery on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar at Hayne's Cave. Gun emplacements can still be visited at this cave.
Rooke Battery is a now derelict artillery battery on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.
The footpaths of Gibraltar provide access to key areas of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, a refuge for hundreds of species of flora and fauna which in some cases are found nowhere else in Europe. The reserve occupies the upper part of the Rock of Gibraltar, a long and narrow mountain that rises to a maximum height of 424 metres (1,391 ft) above sea level, and constitutes around 40 per cent of Gibraltar's total land area. The unusual geology of the Rock of Gibraltar – a limestone peak adjoining a sandstone hinterland – provides a habitat for plants and animals, such as the Gibraltar candytuft and Barbary partridge, which are found nowhere else in mainland Europe. For many years, the Upper Rock was reserved exclusively for military use; it was fenced off for military purposes, but was decommissioned and converted into a nature reserve in 1993.
The University of Gibraltar is a degree-awarding higher education institution established by the Government of Gibraltar through the University of Gibraltar Act 2015. The founding of the university was described by Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo as "a coming-of-age" for the British Overseas Territory.