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Bray's Cave
Bray's Cave is a limestone cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The cave has yielded several significant human remains and artifacts from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Three almost complete skulls were discovered, along with other cranial fragments from multiple individuals. This suggests that people repeatedly returned to the site to reuse it as a burial ground. Description Bray's Cave is located at a height of above sea level on the western slopes of the Rock of Gibraltar, within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. It is important to note its location on the western slopes of the Rock where caves are far less common than on the eastern cliffs where sea caves like Gorham's Cave or Vanguard Cave are located. Before archaeological excavations began, the cave was almost entirely infilled with carstic detritus and some foothill sediments as well as large boulders from past rockfalls, giving the cave the characteristics of a rock shelter. The arduous excavation process not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of and is Gibraltar–Spain border, bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. Gibraltar is home to some 34,003 people, primarily Gibraltarians. Gibraltar was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohad Caliphate, Almohads in 1160. It switched control between the Nasrids, Crown of Castile, Castilians and Marinids in the Late Middle Ages, acquiring larger strategic clout upon the destruction of nearby Algeciras . It became again part of the Crown of Castile in 1462. In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces Capture of Gibraltar, captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marinid Dynasty
The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berbers, Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) around Gibraltar. It was named after the Banu Marin (, Berber languages, Berber: ''Ayt Mrin''), a Zenata, Zenata Berber tribe. It ruled the Marinid sultanate, founded by Abd al-Haqq I.C.E. Bosworth, ''The New Islamic Dynasties'', (Columbia University Press, 1996), 41-42. In 1244, after being at their service for several years, the Marinids overthrew the Almohad Caliphate, Almohads which had controlled Morocco. At the height of their power in the mid-14th century, during the reigns of Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Abu al-Hasan and his son Abu Inan Faris, Abu Inan, the Marinid dynasty briefly held sway over most of the Maghreb including large parts of modern-day Algeria and Tunisia. The Marinids supported the Emirate of Grana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niche (architecture)
In architecture, a niche (Canadian English, CanE, or ) is a recess or cavity constructed in the thickness of a wall for the reception of decorative objects such as statues, busts, urns, and vases. In Classical architecture examples are an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. In the first century B.C, there was no exact mention of niches, but rather a zotheca or small room. These rooms closely resemble alcoves similar to a niche but slightly larger. Different sizes and sculpture methods suggest the term niche was understood. Greeks and Romans especially, used niches for important family tombs. Etymology The word derives from the Latin (), via the French . The Italian ''Contrade of Siena#Nicchio (Seashell), nicchio'' () may also be involved in the origin of the word, as the traditional decoration for the top of a niche is a scallop shell, hence also the alternative term of semi-dome, "conch" for a semi-dome, usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cist
In archeology, a cist (; also kist ; ultimately from ; cognate to ) or cist grave is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. In some ways, it is similar to the deeper shaft tomb. Examples occur across Europe and in the Middle East. A cist may have formerly been associated with other monuments, perhaps under a cairn or a long barrow. Several cists are sometimes found close together within the same cairn or barrow. Often ornaments have been found within an excavated cist, indicating the wealth or prominence of the interred individual. This old word is preserved in the Nordic languages as in Swedish and in Danish and Norwegian, where it is the word for a funerary coffin. In English the term is related to ''cistern'' and to ''chest''. Regional examples ;England * Teffont Evias, England ;Estonia * Jõelähtme (Rebala) stone-cist graves, Harju County ;Guatemala * Mundo Perdido, Tikal, Petén Department ;Ireland * Knockm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil's Fall Cave
Devil's Fall is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was a prehistoric shelter and is listed and protected by the Heritage and Antiquities Act 2018. Description This cave, which is actually four caves, is in the cliff face between Camp Bay and Little Bay. They are known as Devil’s Fall Cave, Devil's Fall (North), Devil's Fall (West-Upper) also known as Crack Cave and Devil's Fall (West-Lower). The location is considered dangerous. In the 1950s there were a large number of cannon balls found in the cave. It is surmised that these had rolled down the slopes into the cave during the many times that Gibraltar was under siege. The Devil's Fall cave is one of few identified as being of particular archaeological interest. The cave is a Class A listed ''building'' as designated by the Government of Gibraltar's Gibraltar Heritage Trust Act of 1989. The importance of the cave, and its condition, led to the rejection of a nearby planning application in 2013. In 201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete's Paradise Cave
Pete's Paradise Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Explored in the 1960s and 1970s by a team led by George Palao, four skeletons have been unearthed in the cave, two of which were female skeletons with crushed skulls. Description The cave is found sixteen metres below Queens Road. The entrance is a metre high and six metres wide and the floor on entry is made of earth. This was named ''Nun's chamber''. The next chamber is called ''Rimstone Chamber'' because of the rimstone pools which fall away at different levels. From here it is possible to crawl through a tight hole for eight metres to come out at what was called ''Pearl's Chamber'' because of the presence of cave pearl A cave pearl is a small, usually spherical, speleothem (cave formation) found in limestone caves. Cave pearls are formed by a concretion of calcium salts that form concentric layers around a nucleus. Exposure to moving water polishes the surface ...s. These are formed around grain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judge's Cave
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. Discovery Judge's Cave was discovered in the 1840s during the construction of a villa for James Cochrane who was Chief Justice of Gibraltar from 1841 to 1877. The cave was of some importance as it contained human remains and early visitors to the cave included Abbe Henri Breil, George Busk and local William Willoughby Cole Verner. The human remains from this site have been described as being Neolithic and are currently held by the British Museum. This includes the skulls and thigh bones of two individuals. Gibraltarian cave enthusiast George Palao later visited the cave between January and April 1969 in which time he carried out excavations which produced various ceramic artifacts which are now kept at the Gibraltar Museum. The pottery remains excavated by Palao fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Palao
George L. Palao BEM (4 October 1940, Kensington, United Kingdom - 2009, Gibraltar) was a Gibraltarian historian and potholer and illustrator. He was particularly known for his excavations and finds in many caves of Gibraltar. Early years Born in Kensington, London on 4 October 1940, George Palao became part of an entire generation of Gibraltarians who were born away from the Rock after their parents were evacuated from Gibraltar along with most of the civilian population during World War II. When the war ended he and his family were repatriated to Gibraltar where he attended the Gibraltar Technical School and the Gibraltar Dockyard School. In 1958 Palao took up employment as a draghtsman for the Government of Gibraltar at their Public Works Department Drawing Office. He returned to London in 1970 to further his studies, enrolling on a two-year course at the South East London Technical College where he attended their Department of Building and Structural Engineering. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empireâ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tower Of Homage
The Moorish Castle is the name given to a medieval fortification in Gibraltar comprising various buildings, gates, and fortified walls, with the dominant features being the Tower of Homage and the Gate House. Part of the castle itself also housed Her Majesty's Prison Service, the prison of Gibraltar until it was relocated in 2010. The Tower of Homage is clearly visible to all visitors to Gibraltar; not only because of its striking construction, but also because of its dominant and strategic position. Although sometimes compared to the nearby ''Alcázar, alcazars'' in Spain, the Moorish Castle in Gibraltar was constructed by the Marinid dynasty, making it unique in the Iberian Peninsula. History Gibraltar has always been of special significance to the numerous peoples and civilisations that have visited or occupied it over the ages, from the Neanderthal period, through the Classical and on to Moorish architecture, Moorish, Spanish, and the current British rule. The Moorish occ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprising most of the region, as well as the tiny adjuncts of Andorra, Gibraltar, and, pursuant to the traditional definition of the Pyrenees as the peninsula's northeastern boundary, a small part of France. With an area of approximately , and a population of roughly 53 million, it is the second-largest European peninsula by area, after the Scandinavian Peninsula. Etymology The Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the River Ebro (Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin). The association was so well known it was hardly necessary to state; for example, Ibēria was the country "this side of the Ibērus" in Strabo. Pliny the Elder, Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called "the whole of the peninsula" Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty, known as the Mu'minid dynasty, were founded after his death by Abd al-Mu'min. * Around 1121, Ibn Tumart was recognized by his followers as the Mahdi, and shortly afterwards he established his base at Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains. Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163), they succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing the western Maghreb in 1147, when he conquered Marrakesh and declared himself caliph. They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus followed, and all of Muslim Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172. The turning point of their presence in the Iberian Peninsula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
