11th August 2022, 19:15
After 45,000 years, previously undiscovered chamber of Vanguard Cave is made available for GBC to record
Published by GBC News
GBC has been given access to a recently discovered chamber at the rear of Vanguard Cave. Museum teams are working tirelessly to uncover the secrets of the chamber, which hasn't been seen for some 45,000 years.
Our reporter Michael Beltran and camera man Darren Durante were given exclusive access to the area, as new discoveries were also being made on site.
It's one of Gibraltar's natural wonders and a Unesco World Heritage Site. Thereis no summer respite here as work is nonstop at the Gorham's and Vanguard Cave complex. Presently a team from Liverpool John Moores University, is at the site, the students are studying forensic anthropology and zoology.
The musem have been working with teams from Leiden University as well as Liverpool John Moores University, excavating for 2 months and concentrating primarily on Vanguard Cave, clearing surface sand, which has been covering ancient deposits. Their main aims have been targeting the recently discovered back chamber and understanding what Neanderthals were doing in the area, focusing on a set of layers at the base of the cave.
Our camera man Darren Durante was given exclusive access to the chamber, that has only been viewed by a very small number of people. A tight humid space, with not a lot of room for manoeuvre but what you see is spectacular, especially when you consider that the chamber went unseen for some 45,000 years, until now.
Our exclusive access to the cave would have been newsworthy enough but shortly after our interview concluded, the team from Liverpool John Moores University made a discovery, a neanderthal camp fire.