Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve

UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el‑Mughara Caves
Location	Mount Carmel, Israel
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (v)
Reference	1393
Inscription	2012 (36th Session)
Area	54 ha (130 acres)
Buffer zone	370 ha (910 acres)
Coordinates	32°40′12″N 34°57′55″E / 32.67000°N 34.96528°E
	Location of Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve in Near East Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve (West and Central Asia) Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve (Israel)

The Caves of Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara ("Caves Creek"), named here by the

Hebrew and Arabic name of the valley where they are located, are a UNESCO Site of Human Evolution in the Carmel mountain range near Haifa in northern Israel.^[1]^[2]

The four UNESCO-listed caves are:

Tabun or Tanur cave

(lit.: "Oven")

Gamal or el-Jamal cave ("Camel")
El Wad or Nahal cave ("Stream")
Skhul or Gedi cave
("Kid")

The four caves were proclaimed a site of "outstanding universal value" by UNESCO^[1] in 2012. They are protected within a nature reserve.^[2]

The caves were used for habitation by

hominins

and prehistoric humans and contain unique evidence of very early burials, at the archaeological site of el-Wad cave in the Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve.