Museum visitors will have the opportunity to meet Gibraltar’s oldest ancestors, Nana and Flint, on Saturday at the Museum’s annual open day.

Artists based in Zurich have worked for the past year and a half to put together a forensic reconstruction of Neanderthal skulls Gibraltar 1 and Gibraltar 2.

The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and Ministers Dr John Cortes and Steven Linares met the forensic reconstructions of Gibraltar 1, found in 1848, who will now be known as Nana, a 35-year-old woman, and Gibraltar 2, was of a 5-year-old boy whom they’ve named Flint.

Professor Clive Finlayson, Director of the Museum, said: “The structure and the face and everything you see is based on the skulls and using other elements of different Neanderthals, we know the exact height and calculate the exact ages.

“It’s amazing what you can do from different fragments and the product is there for people to see.

“I think it is very moving to see the face of people who lived maybe 60,000 years ago, and I always work with skulls and bones, but to see their faces for the first time, especially seeing the child’s face was like ‘Wow’, it really catches your attention.”

The new wing will be open to the public as from Saturday and is dedicated to interpreting Gorham’s Cave and the Neanderthals, and also the age of discovery.

The Museum will next work on developing the upstairs area to explore the modern history of Gibraltar.

The Museum Open Day will run from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and there will be free entry to the public all day.

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