A 7.5 thousand year-old polished hand axe, from the Neolithic, was excavated by archaeologists working in Gorham’s Cave this Saturday. This is the first such hand axe recovered in context from a Gibraltar cave and is further testament of the presence of people on the Rock at the critical time when agriculture and farming were arriving in the west from the Middle East.

The 11cm axe would have been hafted onto a wooden handle and a preliminary analysis of the find suggests that it may have been a ceremonial piece as it was beautifully shaped and covered in red ochre. The part of the axe that would have been attached to the handle lacks the ochre, amazingly leaving an imprint of how it had been attached. The stone axe is made from a greenish rock which is not found in Gibraltar and one possibility being studied is that it is from a type found only in North Africa. If this is confirmed, it will provide clear evidence of maritime contact across the Strait of Gibraltar at the time.

The work at the caves was observed at close hand by Deputy Chief Minister, the Hon Dr Joseph Garcia, last Friday. Dr Garcia was shown round the caves by Professor Clive Finlayson and Dr Geraldine Finlayson of the Gibraltar Museum and he met the team of archaeologists currently digging there. He was given a detailed brief of the excavation process and results by Dr Richard Jennings of the University of Oxford. Dr Garcia took the opportunity to familiarise himself with planned works at the site, which are part of the preparations for the bid for World Heritage Status in 2015.