Saint Michael's Cave is a series, or network of caves made of limestone, which are found on the Rock of Gibraltar. St Michaels Cave is located on what is called the Upper Rock, inside the Upper Rock Nature Reserve of Gibraltar.
The cave was created by the slow seepage of rainwater through the rock, which turned into a carbonic acid solution that actually dissolved the rocks of the cave. The process made the tiny cracks of the geological faults of Gibraltar grow into very long passages and deep caverns over the thousands of years of its formation. The Cathedral Cave, part of St Michaels cave was at one time thought to be bottomless, and was long spoken of in the legends of Gibraltar.
The Rock of Gibraltar has long been considered to be one of the pillars of Hercules, and this too adds to the mystique and legend, and since it hosted the cave, the caverns themselves were thought to be the Gates to Hades, or Hell, an entryway to the Underworld where the dead rested.
In the latter part of 1974, proof that the cave was known to and used by prehistoric men was made clear with the finding of art on the cave walls, showing an ibex drawn there that was traced to the Solutrean period (dating the cave art to about 15-20 thousand years ago), but later, two Neanderthal skulls that were found in Gibraltar tell us that this cave could have been discovered and used as early as 40,000 BC.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.