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 The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

, not far from

Martin's Cave 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 above the shore of ...

within the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the country's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Res ...

History

According to former

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as th ...

, William Jackson,

Simón Susarte Simón Rodríguez Susarte, commonly known as Simón Susarte, was a Spanish goatherd from Gibraltar, who in 1704 aided a Bourbon Spanish attempt to seize Gibraltar during the Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar by revealing a concealed path to the att ...

a recently exiled goatherd, led 500 Spanish troops up the east side of Gibraltar to reclaim the Rock following the

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peop ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Capture of Gibraltar The Capture of Gibraltar by Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1 and 4 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Alliance had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Penins ...

in 1704. The troops spent the night of 10 November 1704 on the east side of the Rock in this and

before ascending Middle Hill the next day. The invasion ended badly as ammunition ran out and reinforcements failed to arrive. However Martin's Cave was not discovered for another 100 years. In the 1860s, Captain

Frederic Brome Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

, the then Governor of the Military Prison on

Windmill Hill, Gibraltar Windmill Hill or Windmill Hill Flats is one of a pair of plateaux, known collectively as the Southern Plateaux, at the southern end of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located just to the south of the Rock of Gibraltar, which ...

, sought permission from the

to explore

Poca Roca Cave Poca Roca Cave is a cave in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Location It is below Middle Hill on the Upper Rock, at the site of an Isolation Hospital by Governor's Lookout."The Gibraltar Tunnels" by Tito Vallejo Geography Gibral ...

, as well as

St. Michael's Cave 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 above sea level. According to Alon ...

and this cave, with the objective of finding archaeological evidence of the past use of these caves. The Governor agreed for ten prisoners to begin work at Martin's Cave. The entrance to the cave is small widening to a shape high and roughly by . A path falls away at 40 degrees but ends in a muddy pit. The wildlife in the cave is very similar to nearby Martin's Cave. The cave is located within the

References

Caves of Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-geo-stub