Gibraltar featured in major European documentary

A recently published scientific paper has confirmed the close genetic links between a Neanderthal population in the Rhone Valley, France, and the Gibraltar Neanderthal population. DNA extracted from a fossil Neanderthal (known popularly as Thorin) from Mandrin Cave found its closest match with the fossil Neanderthal from Forbes’s Quarry (popularly known as Nana) in Gibraltar. The link stunned researchers as it showed that the Mandrin Neanderthal population was even closer to the Gibraltar population than it was to other French and continental European Neanderthal populations. What is more, the dating of the French individual suggests a late surviving population of Neanderthals at around 40,000 years ago, clearly linked to the last Neanderthal populations in Gibraltar.

Following from these exciting results, the European TV Culture Channel, ARTE, has produced a documentary on Thorin and its discovery. Based in Strasbourg, ARTE has a monthly viewing of around 6.6 million. The programme closes with a visit to Gibraltar by French archaeologist Dr Ludovig Slimak, in which he visits the Gibraltar National Museum and the Gorham’s Cave Complex, accompanied by museum and world heritage site director, Professor Clive Finlayson. The programme features a discussion on the discovery between the two scientists, in which Professor Finlayson puts forward his theory that there was a Mediterranean corridor along the, now submerged, coastal shelf. This corridor linked populations from Gibraltar to the French coast and beyond towards Italy. The Neanderthal populations living along this coastal shelf thrived in a mild Mediterranean climate and were able to survive longer than European continental populations that were experiencing the climatic extremes of a rapidly cooling Europe. Mandrin and Gibraltar are the surviving sites of a lost world, one that was drowned by rising sea levels some 10,000 years ago.

Commenting on the latest documentary, Professor Finlayson said: "I am delighted that we continue to feature at the highest level in terms of major documentaries. We will strive to continue to keep a level of science and interpretation that helped us achieve World Heritage Status for Gibraltar and it fills me with great pride to see our Gibraltar featuring so prominently at the highest level. There are some important discoveries in the pipeline, so we should expect more news in the near future."

The programme, in its French version, is currently available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cK9nkPzN3Y 

The Minister for Heritage, the Hon John Cortes, said: "Once again the Gibraltar National Museum has shown the importance of its work at an international scale by being part of yet another discovery as the secrets of the Neanderthal world are unravelled. I am extremely proud of the Museum's achievements and of how it promotes Gibraltar."