Gibraltar has been fought over, tunnelled through, besieged fourteen times, and occupied continuously for over 100,000 years. The first Neanderthal skull ever discovered was found here — eight years before the German find that gave the species its name. A Moorish castle has dominated the skyline since the 14th century, and the British flag has flown from its tower since 1704. Beneath the surface, 55 kilometres of tunnels hide everything from 18th-century cannon emplacements to Eisenhower’s secret WWII headquarters. Here is a guide to Gibraltar’s extraordinary history and how to experience it today.

The Neanderthals: Gibraltar’s First Residents

Neanderthals inhabited Gibraltar from approximately 150,000 to 32,000 years ago. The peninsula may have had one of the densest Neanderthal settlements anywhere in Europe, with at least ten known occupation sites. Gibraltar’s mild, stable climate over 125,000 years made it one of the very last refuges of the Neanderthals.

The skull that changed science: In 1848, a Neanderthal skull was found in Forbes’ Quarry and presented to the Gibraltar Scientific Society by Lieutenant Edmund Henry Rene Flint on 3 March 1848. This was the first adult Neanderthal skull ever discovered — eight years before the famous 1856 find in Germany’s Neander Valley that gave the species its name. Had its significance been recognised at the time, Neanderthals might have been called Homo calpicus (after Mons Calpe, the ancient name for Gibraltar). Charles Darwin himself examined the skull and described it as “wonderful.” It is now held at the Natural History Museum in London. DNA analysis confirms it belonged to an adult female.

In 2012, archaeologists discovered an engraving in Gorham’s Cave buried under 39,000-year-old sediments — described as the oldest known example of Neanderthal abstract art.

Gorham’s Cave Complex (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Inscribed in July 2016 as the UK’s 30th World Heritage Site, the complex comprises four caves: Gorham’s Cave, Vanguard Cave, Hyaena Cave, and Bennett’s Cave. Located on the southeastern face of the Rock at Governor’s Beach, the site covers approximately 28 hectares.

When first inhabited around 55,000 years ago, the caves were about 5 km from the shore — rising sea levels have brought the Mediterranean to within metres.

In 2021, a 13-metre-deep chamber sealed for over 40,000 years was discovered in Vanguard Cave. In 2024, a 60,000-year-old tar-making site was revealed there, indicating sophisticated Neanderthal engineering.

Visiting: A viewing platform is open daily (09:00–18:15) with interpretation panels and a video. Cave tours go to the entrance of Gorham’s Cave (not inside, to protect deposits), available twice a week from July to October for up to 5 people. Book via neanderthals@gibmuseum.gi. The caves are moderately difficult to access on foot.

Our things to do guide covers all the main attractions including the caves and tunnels.

Moorish Gibraltar (711–1462)

In 711 AD, Berber chief Tariq ibn Ziyad launched the Muslim invasion of Iberia, landing at or near Gibraltar. The Rock was named Jebel Tariq (“Mountain of Tariq”), later corrupted to “Gibraltar.” This began 727 years of Moorish rule, interrupted only briefly.

The Moorish Castle

The first Moorish fort was constructed in the 8th century. The existing Tower of Homage was rebuilt in 1333 by Abu’l-Hassan of the Marinid dynasty after recapturing Gibraltar from a brief Castilian occupation. It is the highest tower from the period of Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula, built from tapia — a mixture of lime and red sand reinforced with limestone and bricks.

In 1462, Moorish rule ended when Castilian forces under Alonso de Arcos captured Gibraltar. In 1704, Admiral George Rooke raised the British flag above the Tower of Homage during the War of the Spanish Succession — it has flown there ever since.

Visiting: Willis’s Road at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. Included in the Nature Reserve ticket (Adults £30, Children 5–11 £22). Hours: 09:00–18:15. The castle has been undergoing refurbishment — check the Visit Gibraltar website for reopening status.

The British Rock: 1704 to Today

The Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

On 4 August 1704, an Anglo-Dutch fleet captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) formally ceded Gibraltar to Great Britain “in perpetuity.” Spain has contested this ever since, leading to fourteen sieges and three centuries of diplomatic tension.

The Great Siege (1779–1783)

The 14th and final siege of Gibraltar was one of the most dramatic military episodes in British history. On 16 June 1779, Spain (allied with France) besieged the Rock during the American Revolutionary War. Approximately 5,382 British soldiers under General George Augustus Eliott faced roughly 40,000 French and Spanish troops.

Key moments:

1780 & 1781: Two British relief convoys broke through the blockade
26 November 1781: A British sortie of 2,500 troops destroyed 28 Spanish artillery pieces
13 September 1782 — “The Grand Attack”: Ten specially designed floating batteries mounting 138 heavy cannons attacked from the sea while 43,000 troops pressed from land. The British fired red-hot shot from King’s Bastion, setting the batteries ablaze. Two exploded; the rest were abandoned.
February 1783: Hostilities ceased. Gibraltar remained British.

The Great Siege Tunnels

During the siege, the Spanish positioned themselves so close to the Rock’s northern face that existing guns could not angle down at them. Governor Eliott offered 1,000 Spanish dollars to anyone who could get cannons onto a prominent ledge called “the Notch.”

Sergeant-Major Henry Ince proposed tunnelling through the Rock. Work began on 25 May 1782 using only sledgehammers, crowbars, and gunpowder blasts. Thirteen men took five weeks to dig just 25 metres. When fumes nearly suffocated the miners, a ventilation shaft was blasted to the surface — the opening was immediately recognised as an excellent gun embrasure. Guns were mounted, and by February 1783 the tunnel was 113 metres long with four guns in place.

When excavations reached the Notch, the diggers hollowed out St George’s Hall — a broad chamber with seven guns providing a nearly 270-degree firing angle. The defeated French-Spanish commander, the Duc de Crillon, upon being shown the tunnels, declared: “These works are worthy of the Romans.”

Sergeant-Major Ince received a plot of land on the Upper Rock still called Ince’s Farm.

Visiting: Included in Nature Reserve ticket. Hours: 09:30–18:15. Allow 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. You walk through tunnels hewn into raw rock, past cannon embrasures, reconstructed gun emplacements with dummy soldiers in period uniform, St George’s Hall, and Victorian-era cannons.

The trails through the Upper Rock pass many of these fortifications — see our hiking guide for detailed routes.

The Battle of Trafalgar and the Cemetery

On 21 October 1805, the Battle of Trafalgar was fought off Cape Trafalgar. Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory was towed into Rosia Bay on 28 October with Nelson’s body aboard, before it was transported to England for burial at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Trafalgar Cemetery

Despite the name, only two victims of the Battle of Trafalgar are actually buried here: Captain Thomas Norman of the Royal Marine Corps (died 6 December 1805, aged 36) and Lieutenant William Forster of HMS Colossus (died of wounds on 21 October 1805, aged 20). Most Trafalgar casualties were buried at sea.

The majority of interments were casualties of the yellow fever epidemics of 1804, 1813, and 1814, plus sailors killed in other Napoleonic-era naval battles. The last burial was in 1838. An annual commemorative ceremony is held on the Sunday nearest 21 October.

Visiting: Free entry. Open 09:00 to sunset. A short stroll south of Main Street. Maintained by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust since 1990.

World War II: The Underground City

Most Gibraltar civilians were evacuated during WWII (mainly to London, Morocco, and Madeira). The Rock was massively fortified. British and Canadian Royal Engineers — the only troops with diamond-tipped drills — carved approximately 30 miles of additional tunnels, creating an underground city for 16,000 troops.

The tunnels housed a hospital with operating theatre and X-ray, a telephone exchange, power station, water distillation plant, bakery, ammunition magazines, and vehicle workshop. Conditions were harsh: steady temperatures of 16–18°C but humidity reaching 98%.

In November 1942, General Dwight D. Eisenhower established his headquarters in the tunnels to command Operation Torch — the Allied invasion of French North Africa — launching the campaign on 8 November 1942. He described it as “the most dismal setting we occupied during the war.”

A secret Stay Behind Cave (Operation Tracer) was also prepared — a plan to maintain a covert observation post manned by six sealed-in men if Gibraltar fell to the Germans. The hidden chamber was not rediscovered until 1997.

Visiting the WWII Tunnels

Now called “The Tunnels — Gibraltar’s WWII Experience,” this is a self-guided audio tour (multiple languages) through themed sections:

Spitfire Hall — Suspended replica Spitfire with original wartime artefacts
The Strategy Room — Historic footage and recreated wartime radio
The Evacuation Room — The story of Gibraltar’s civilian evacuation
The Espionage Room — Interactive exhibits: Morse code, spy message cranks, memory challenges
Jock’s Balcony — Panoramic view across to the airstrip

The tunnels underwent a major renovation completed in 2025.

Hours: Daily 09:30–19:15. Last entry 18:15 (summer) / 17:30 (winter). Included in Nature Reserve ticket. Allow 1–2 hours.

For the best camera angles at historical sites, check our photography spots guide.

The 100-Ton Gun

The Armstrong 100-ton gun at Napier of Magdala Battery is the world’s largest black powder cannon. Over 11 metres long and weighing 103 tons, it required 35 men to operate and could fire one shot every 6 minutes, piercing 15 inches of iron armour at 3 miles.

Made by the Elswick Ordnance Company in Newcastle, fifteen were manufactured — most armed Italian battleships, with the rest placed at Malta and Gibraltar to counter those same vessels. The gun arrived on 19 December 1882 and was operational by 1889, but breech-loading technology had already made it obsolete. It was phased out in 1906.

Only two survive worldwide — this one in Gibraltar and another at Fort Rinella in Malta.

Visiting: Napier of Magdala Battery, Rosia Bay. £5 standalone or included in the Nature Reserve ticket. Hours: 09:00–17:45. The battery also offers views over Rosia Bay where HMS Victory was towed after Trafalgar.

Religious Heritage

Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned

Built on the site of a Marinid mosque from approximately 1342. After the 1462 reconquest it was consecrated as a Catholic church — the only one not ransacked during the 1704 British capture, protected by its pastor Juan Romero. Severely damaged during the Great Siege, rebuilt by 1810. Notable: the “Terror” bell dates to 1308, originally an alarm bell from the Calahorra Tower. Free entry, Main Street.

Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque

The southernmost mosque in continental Europe, at Europa Point. A gift from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, inaugurated 8 August 1997. Features a 71-metre minaret and nine solid brass chandeliers, with the centrepiece weighing two tons.

Great Synagogue (Kahal Kadosh Sha’ar HaShamayim)

Founded in 1724 — the first synagogue on the Iberian Peninsula to operate after the Jewish expulsions from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1497). Destroyed and rebuilt multiple times during the Great Siege and subsequent fire. The present building largely dates from 1812. Gibraltar has four synagogues in total.

The Convent (Governor’s Residence)

Originally built in 1531 as a Franciscan friary, the Convent has been the Governor’s residence since 1728. Generally not open to the public, but King’s Chapel inside is open daily, free of charge. A notable Dragon Tree in the gardens is thought to date from approximately 1470. The dining room contains the most extensive display of heraldry in the Commonwealth of Nations.

Historical Walking Tours

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust runs guided walking tours on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 from The Main Guard, exploring defence walls, bastions, Irish Town, and civic buildings. Contact: exec@gibraltarheritagetrust.org.gi.

Self-guided options include themed routes via the GPSmyCity app and the “Legends of Gibraltar” story puzzle walk covering Casemates Square, the Garrison Library, Trafalgar Cemetery, and the Convent.

To plan a full day around Gibraltar’s history, see our 3-day itinerary — Day 1 covers the Upper Rock’s historical highlights.

Pricing Summary

Attraction	Adult	Child	Notes
Upper Rock Nature Reserve (all sites)	£30	£22 (5–11)	Under 5s free. Card only.
Gibraltar National Museum	£15	£7.50	Joint ticket with Natural History Museum + Gorham’s Cave platform: £16/£8
100-Ton Gun (standalone)	£5	—	Also included in Nature Reserve ticket
Trafalgar Cemetery	Free	Free
King’s Chapel	Free	Free
Cathedral of St Mary	Free	Free

Experience Gibraltar’s History

Every square metre of Gibraltar tells a story — from the Neanderthals who sheltered in its caves 100,000 years ago to the British soldiers who tunnelled through its limestone during the Great Siege, from Eisenhower’s secret WWII headquarters to the multicultural community that thrives here today. No other territory of comparable size anywhere in the world packs this density of history into such a small space. Give yourself at least a full day to explore the heritage sites, and pair it with a visit to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve where history and nature intertwine on every trail.

Stay in the heart of history. Victory Suites is a 10-minute walk from the Great Siege Tunnels entrance, the National Museum, and Main Street. Suites from £120/night — book at victorysuites.gi

Gibraltar's History: From Neanderthals to the British Rock