St. Michael's Cave
| St. Michael's Cave | |
|---|---|
| Old St. Michael's Cave | |
 Uplit stalactites in St. Michael's Cave. | |
  Map showing location of St. Michael's Cave inGibraltar. | |
| Location | Queen's Road,Upper Rock Nature Reserve,Gibraltar |
| Coordinates | 36°07′34″N5°20′44″W/ 36.126199°N 5.345504°W |
| Depth | 62 metres (203 ft) |
| Elevation | 300 metres (980 ft) |
| Geology | Limestone |
| Entrances | 3 |
| Visitors | c. 1,000,000 |
St. Michael's CaveorOld St. Michael's Caveis the name given to a network oflimestone caveslocated within theUpper Rock Nature Reservein theBritish Overseas TerritoryofGibraltar,at a height of over 300 metres (980 ft) abovesea level.According toAlonso Hernández del Portillo,the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similargrottoinMonte Garganonear theSanctuary of Monte Sant'AngeloinApulia,Italy,where thearchangel Michaelis said to have appeared.[1]
It is the most visited of the more than 150 caves found inside theRock of Gibraltar,[2]receiving almost 1,000,000 visitors a year.[3]
History
[edit]Creation
[edit]The cave was created byrainwaterslowly seeping through thelimestonerock, turning into a weakcarbonic acidwhich gradually dissolved the rock. Through this process, tiny cracks in The Rock'sgeological faultgrew into long passages and large caverns over thousands of years. The numerousstalactitesandstalagmitesin the cave are formed by an accumulation of traces of dissolved rock deposited by water dripping from the ground above.
Prehistory
[edit]In 1974, aNeolithicbowl was discovered in the cave, one of many examples which prove that the cave was known toprehistorichumans. Another would be the recently[when?]discoveredcave artdepicting anibexdrawn in charcoal on one of the cave walls. It has been dated to thesolutreanperiod (15,000 to 20,000 years ago) based on the style used.[4]However, since twoNeanderthalskulls have been discovered in Gibraltar, it is possible that they were among the first to set foot in the cave around 40,000 BC.
Ancient world
[edit]The first factual description of the cave was written in 45 AD byPomponius Mela,[5]anAlgeciras-born geographer.[6]He described Gibraltar as:
A mountain with wonderful concavities, which has its western side almost opened by a large cave which may be penetrated far into the interior.
However, the writings ofHomeras well as artifacts discovered in the cave show that it was already well known to the ancientGreeks,RomansandPhoenicians.
Spanish period
[edit]The nameCueva de San Miguel(the currentEnglishname is a direct translation of the Spanishtoponym) is recorded by Gibraltar's first historian,Alonso Hernández del Portillo,in hisHistoria de la Muy Noble y Más Leal Ciudad de Gibraltar(English:History of the Very Noble and Most Loyal City of Gibraltar). In his work, Hernández del Portillo also suggests the cave's name is taken from the similargrottoinApulia,Italy.[1]
18th century
[edit]During the first century of the British period, there are some records of the attempt by the new owners of the Rock to change the name of the cave using the name of the English patron Saint,Saint George.However, the new name,St. George's Cave,was not widely adopted and, although still used in the 19th century, has not remained in use, being replaced by the cave's original name.[1]
19th century
[edit]
During theVictorian erathe cave was used as a venue for picnics, parties, concerts, weddings and evenduels.The caves would be decorated for many of these events and even illuminated for distinguished visitors by soldiers who would perch on stalagmites with torches.
The first officialarchaeological excavationof the cave was carried out by the Governor of the military prison, Captain Frederick Brome, commencing in April 1863 and continuing until December 1867.[7]He discovered numerous prehistoric artifacts such asstone axes and arrow heads,shell jewelry,andbone needlesas well as a large collection of pottery.[8]Despite his archeological efforts, Brome's unauthorised use of prisoners' labour eventually cost him his job.
Officers looking for adventure during quiet periods of their service, would pass their time exploring the many passages within the cave system. Sometime before 1840, a Colonel Mitchell and a second officer got lost in the caves and were never seen again. Their disappearance led to extensive explorations of the cave system in 1840, 1857 and 1865, but no evidence of the officers' whereabouts was found.[9]Further exploration was carried out between 1936 and 1938, when a scientificexpeditionwas mounted and every known part of the cave system was explored, but again nohuman remainswere found.
Military use
[edit]It is believed that St. Michael's Cave has had a military use since theBerbergeneralTariq ibn Ziyadled theUmayyad conquest of Hispaniain 711 AD. This is assumed due to the defensive wall ofMoorishorigin which protected the cave's entrance until recently.
Just afterGibraltar's capture by Anglo-Dutch forcesin 1704, 500Spanish troopsconcealed themselves within the cave overnight after having ascended through a path led bygoatherdSimón Susarte,before an unsuccessful attempt to surprise the garrison.
World War II
[edit]DuringWorld War IIthe entire cave was prepared for use as an emergency militaryhospital.It was never used as such.[3]
New St. Michael's Cave
[edit]In 1942, it was decided that an alternate entrance was required to improve air circulation within the emergency hospital in the lower chambers of the cave, as well as to serve as an emergency exit in case ofairstrike.Whilst blasting the rock in order to create the extra opening, another deeper system of caves known asNew St. Michael's Cave(sometimes referred to asLower St. Michael's Cave) were discovered. The series of descending chambers are riddled with examples of almost all knowncave formations,including an underground lake of crystal clear water.[3]
Present day
[edit]Auditorium
[edit]
The largest of the chambers, named theCathedral Cave,currently serves as anauditorium.[10]It was converted due to the chamber's naturalacousticproperties. It is equipped with a concrete stage and has a seating capacity of over 100.
It has been a regular venue for events such as dramas andson et lumièreshows as well as the annualMiss Gibraltarbeauty pageant.The cave is also used to hold concerts of allmusic genres,fromoperasandphilharmonic orchestrastopopandrock.Notable acts who have performed in the cave includeSteve Hogarth[11]andBreed 77.[12]TheGibraltar World Music Festivalis also held here each year.
In 2016 English comedianMark Steelrecorded an episode of his long runningBBC Radio 4comedy seriesMark Steel's in Townin the cave.[13]
Tourism
[edit]Presently the cave is one of Gibraltar's toptourist attractionsand is open daily to the public receiving almost 1,000,000 visitors a year. The cave formations are colourfully lit and visitors can read displays documenting the caves' history.
St. Michael's Cave can be reached by car, taxi,cable car[14]or by foot. Tickets include entrance to two of the other major tourist sites on The Rock: theMoorish Castleand theGreat Siege Tunnels.
Guided tours ofLower St. Michael's Cavecan also be arranged through theGibraltar Tourist Board.The cave is in a completely natural state, although fully lit and kitted out with ropes to aid minor climbing and scrambling. Safety helmets are provided and comfortable non-slip shoes are recommended.
Legend
[edit]- TheCathedral Cavewas long thought to be bottomless, making St. Michael's Cave the subject of one of Gibraltar's most famous legends. It was believed that the cave is one end of a subterraneanLey tunnelover 15 miles (24 km) long which passes under theStrait of Gibraltar.Legend has it that theBarbary macaquesentered the Rock fromMoroccothis way.[10]
- As the Rock of Gibraltar was thought to be one of the legendaryPillars of Hercules,the Ancient Greeks also believed the cave to be theGates of Hades,an entrance to theunderworld.[15]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcGaspar Cuesta Estévez (2001). "Toponimia bilingüe de Gibraltar: Acercamiento a un problema histórico y sociolingüístico".Almoraima(in Spanish) (25): 443.ISSN1133-5319.
- ^Gibraltar Info - St. Michael's CaveArchived2008-06-29 at theWayback Machine
- ^abcDuquesa - St. Michael's CaveArchived2011-07-11 at theWayback Machine
- ^The Gibraltar Museum - Cave Art discovered in St. Michael's CaveArchived2007-08-22 at theWayback Machine
- ^The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London.The Society. 1865. p. 371.
- ^Carolina Lopez-Ruiz; Brian R. Doak (29 July 2019).The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean.Oxford University Press. p. 265.ISBN978-0-19-049935-8.
- ^G, Busk (17 March 1870)."Busk G. Captain Fred. Brome".Nature:509.Retrieved6 October2019.
- ^International Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology (1869).Transactions of the third session which opened at Norwich on the 20th August and closed in London on the 28th August 1868.London: Longmans, Green, and co. pp. 113, 134–136.Retrieved3 January2013.
- ^Bulletin of the National Speleological Society.National Speleological Society. 1949. p. 16.
- ^abGovernment of Gibraltar - St. Michael's Cave
- ^"Government of Gibraltar Press Release - Steve Hogarth concert to take place in St. Michael's Cave"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 November 2008.Retrieved1 September2008.
- ^Gibraltar Autumn Festival of Art and Culture Programme of Events
- ^"BBC Radio 4 - Mark Steel's in Town, Series 7, Gibraltar, Gibraltar - Extended Edition".12 October 2016.
- ^Costa del Sol - St. Michael's Cave
- ^Jackson, William G.F.(1987). "1. Mons Calpe to Djebel Tarik: Prehistory to A.D. 711".The Rock of The Gibraltarians - A History of Gibraltar(Second ed.).LondonandToronto:Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityPress. pp. 20–21.
External links
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