Forbes' Quarry

Coordinates: 36°08′48″N 5°20′48″W / 36.146716°N 5.346641°W / 36.146716; -5.346641
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Forbes' Quarry
Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar
Coordinates36°08′48″N 5°20′48″W / 36.146716°N 5.346641°W / 36.146716; -5.346641
Length22 cm (8.7 in)
GeologyLimestone
Entrances1

Forbes' Quarry is located on the northern face of the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The area was quarried during the 19th century to supply stone for reinforcing the fortress' military installations. In the course of the quarrying, a limestone cave was found. The second ever Neanderthal discovery was made within this cave when Cpt. Edmund Flint found the skull of an adult female Neanderthal
in 1848.

Etymology

Forbes' Quarry borrows its name from an 18th-century military installation located directly above the cave and known as

Forbes' Battery.[1]

History

Neanderthal discovery

Gibraltar 1, the Neanderthal skull discovered at Forbes' Quarry in 1848 by Cpt. Edmund Flint

An ancient skull (specimen name

British Association for the Advancement of Science in September 1864. Charles Darwin had long been curious about the skull, but was too ill to attend the meeting, so geologist Charles Lyell and anthropologist Hugh Falconer arranged to bring the skull to his residence so he could examine it. In a letter, Darwin described the skull as "wonderful".[5]

The skull found at Forbes' Quarry has been determined to be that of an adult female. She was probably over age 40 at the time of her death, as indicated by extensive wear on the teeth, as well as a bony growth inside the forehead that is also observed in modern humans, in whom it occurs after menopause.[6][7]

The original find was done in a time when palaeontological dating was still in its infancy, and no stratigraphic information was supplied with the skull, making dating at best guesswork. Another specimen from a different locale on Gibraltar (

Neanderthals of Gibraltar, which are claimed to have been present here until as recently as 28,000 years ago.[4] But this is controversial (see the discussion in the article "Neanderthal
").

Quarrying

The area was quarried for stone during the 19th century to supply much-needed material to reinforce and rebuild many of the fortress' fortifications. This activity removed much of the vegetated slope at the cavern's base. The cave in which the Neanderthal skull had been deposited was almost totally destroyed, leaving very little evidence for future research.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781919655055
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-313-33673-7
    .
  3. ^ "Descriptions of Fossil Neandertals". Boneandstone.com. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  4. ^
    S2CID 6584579
    .
  5. Science. Origins blog. Archived
    from the original on 12 November 2012.
  6. ISBN 978-81-7041-977-8
    .
  7. ^ "Gibraltar remains". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  8. PMID 21078988
    .

External links
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