Neanderthals remained in southern Iberia far later than once thought, with evidence from Gorham's Cave placing their occupation between roughly 33,000 and 24,000 years before present. The cave, set into the eastern face of the Rock of Gibraltar, preserves a sequence of sediment layers that separate late Neanderthal activity from later Upper Palaeolithic settlement. Radiocarbon dates taken from hearths and associated material in what archaeologists call Level IV point to one of the last confirmed Neanderthal populations in Europe. Above this layer sits Level III, linked to modern human cultures thousands of years later. The long gap between them has drawn attention to Gibraltar as a possible refuge during the closing stages of the Ice Age.
