100 Years Since Dorothy Garrod's Discovery of the Gibraltar 2 Neanderthal Child

Exactly 100 years ago today, Dorothy Garrod discovered the Gibraltar 2 Neanderthal child’s skull (affectionately known as “Flint”) at Devil’s Tower Cave, Gibraltar. Dorothy wrote:

“At about 2pm I was examining the face of Layer 4… I saw a bone of about 15cm from the surface of layer 4. I thought it was a part of a skull, and finding that it was attached to the underside of a small detached lump of tufa, I worked it gently out with my hands.”

This discovery would become one of the most significant milestones in Gibraltar’s rich archaeological history and a key chapter in our understanding of the Neanderthals.

As part of our continuing commemoration of the centenary of Flint's discovery, we are highlighting the ongoing research of Dr Alex Menez of the Gibraltar National Museum into the history of this remarkable find. His work will be published later this year in a forthcoming book entitled Dorothy Garrod and the Devil's Tower Skull.

The accompanying artwork is a reconstruction of Flint by renowned palaeoartist Mauricio Antón, offering a glimpse of the Neanderthal child whose discovery helped secure Gibraltar's place in the story of human evolution.