Bray's Cave is a

limestone cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, inc ...

in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

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 A ...

. 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 The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

, within the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected area, protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the territory's land area. ...

. 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 cave A sea cave, is also known as a littoral cave, a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as re ...

s like

Gorham's Cave Gorham's Cave (, ) is a sea-level cave in the British Overseas Territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Though not a sea cave, it is often mistaken for one. Considered to be Neanderthals of Gibraltar, one of the last known habitation ...

Vanguard Cave 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 o ...

are located. Before archaeological excavations began, the cave was almost entirely infilled with carstic

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

and some

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

sediments as well as large boulders from past rockfalls, giving the cave the characteristics of a

rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are alm ...

. The arduous excavation process not only revealed its important

archaeological sequence In archaeology, seriation is a Relative dating#Archaeology, relative dating method in which assemblage (archaeology), assemblages or artifact (archaeology), artifacts from numerous sites in the same culture are placed in chronological order. Wher ...

but also the true nature of this cave; the cave was formed along the stratification joints of the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

levels, in a north-south direction dipping to the west, with a varied range of

speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...

s typical of closed cavities with a gallery

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

Archaeology

Stratigraphy

The cave's sequence features three phases of human occupation with clearly differentiated sedimentary levels, in addition to a further two levels which are archaeologically sterile:

Level I

Period of modern-contemporary use, ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries.

Level II

Period of medieval occupation. The level has been identified, through the ceramic and zooarchaeological record, as a 14th-century

Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a 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 ...

occupation of a pastoral character, whereby the occupants made use of the cave as a 'refuge' leaving behind the remains of their ceramic belongings and

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

Level III

Bronze Age occupation with funerary use. It develops around

rimstone Rimstone, also called gours, is a type of speleothem (cave formation) in the form of a stone dam. Rimstone is made up of calcite and other minerals that build up in cave pools. The formation created, which looks like stairs, often extends into f ...

formations as well as the caves floor and walls, forming an organised and hierarchical burial area.

Marinid shepherds

Madinat al-Fath, or the City of Victory, was built by the

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 ...

in the 12th century and is the predecessor of modern-day Gibraltar. It was a key stronghold for the Marinid Protectorate in the

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, comprisin ...

, and this can be seen in the remaining structures, such as the Moorish Castle and

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 hous ...

, as well as archaeological discoveries at the Gibraltar. The remains at Bray's Cave are characteristic of sporadic pastoral occupations, which during the

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 ...

continued to develop in many caves. A ceramic record was discovered consisting of cooking pots and bowls, along with large amounts of goat bones, many of them young, and hearth remains.

Bronze Age burials

Given the lack of data available in southern Iberia in relation to the Bronze Age, the discoveries unearthed at Bray's Cave are of great importance. Previous findings, conducted by

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 Bo ...

at Judge's Cave,

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. ...

and Devil's Fall Cave, excavations carried out by non-specialists, suggested that some of the caves of Gibraltar had had a funerary use. A large circular-shaped rimstone with an approximate diameter of is located towards the bottom of the cave; a significant accumulation of angular interlocked limestone clasts were documented here, constituting the closure of a burial of great archaeological interest where several secondary burials had been carried out adapting the rimstone as if it were a

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 ac ...

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development and growth *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ec ...

. The burials are scattered throughout the cave, demonstrating burial areas and areas resulting from the removal of these to be reused. Along with the

palaeontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

remains, a ceramic record emerged consisting of common finds from this chrono-cultural period such as bowls with in-turned, straight or parabolic rims, large globular vessels and some pots. The goat and malacological remains that were documented are a reflection of the sources of nourishment of these communities. The burials unearthed at Bray's Cave have added to the number of known burial sites of this period in southern Iberia, such as the '' Necrópolis de los Algarbes'' in

Tarifa Tarifa () is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa lies on the Costa d ...

, ''La Loma del Puerco'' in Chiclana, ''El Estanquillo'' in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

and ''El Cerro del Berrueco'' in

Medina-Sidonia Medina Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. Considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, it is used as a military defence location because of its elevation. ...

. The Y-chromosomal haplogroup R1b-P312 and mitochondrial haplogroup T2e1 were identified in the sample I10941/120 (1900-1400 BC, Gibraltar_EBA) of the Bray Cave.''Iñigo Olalde'' et al
The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years
// Science, 2019

References

{{Caves of Gibraltar Caves of Gibraltar Archaeological sites in Gibraltar Bronze Age sites in Europe Death in Gibraltar