The Tabun Cave is a prehistoric site – A Neanderthal cave!

The Tabun Cave is a prehistoric site located in Israel, near Zichron Yaacov and Fureidis not far from Haifa District of Israel. . The cave is known for the discovery of Neanderthal remains, which were found there in the 1930s by archaeologist Dorothy Garrod. These remains, along with other artifacts and tools found in the cave, have provided important insights into the lives and culture of Neanderthals and have helped to shed light on the early history of human evolution.

The Tabun Cave is one of a number of prehistoric sites in the region, and it is believed to have been used by Neanderthals for a variety of purposes, including as a place to live and as a site for carrying out activities such as hunting and foraging for food. The cave contains several layers of sediment, which have allowed researchers to study the changes in Neanderthal culture and behavior over time. The Tabun Cave is a significant site for the study of human evolution and has contributed greatly to our understanding of the history of our species.

The route of the ancient man caves, including audio-visual vision

A circular geological route
The Ancient Man’s Trail – a tour route that climbs the stairs and goes up to the entrance of the Tabun cave named after the opening in its ceiling. The first excavations in this cave were conducted in 1927, led by researcher Dorothy Garrod. Today a delegation from the University of Haifa is excavating the cave, and the excavation is done in layers that are about 20 meters deep. The route continues to the camel cave, so called because its shape resembles a hump.

It is possible that an activity of raw material processing was carried out in the Camel Cave. In this cave there are exhibits that illustrate the nature of life in the various prehistoric periods. In the next cave on the route, the river cave (al-Wad), there is a spacious entrance hall, and at the end a narrow corridor that is about 70 meters long. In front of the front of the cave stretches a wide rock step. Most of the findings in the cave belong to the culture known as Aurignacian (40,000 to 20,000 years before our time). The cave was abandoned for several thousand years, and when man returned to the place, the center of gravity of life moved to the entrance hall and the rock step in front of the cave (the Natopian culture, 12,000-10,000 years before our time). In this cave, an audio-visual presentation illustrating the way of life of ancient man is shown, and at the entrance there is a reconstruction of a burial site.

The botanical trail – a circular route marked with blue trail markings. The path leads east along the length of Nahal Ma’rat and climbs through dense Mediterranean vegetation on the southern side of the stream to the top of the ridge, where it passes through a natural forest of Jerusalem pine. From there it continues west to an impressive view of the Carmel beach and the sea and descends back to the starting point.

The geological trail – a circular route that climbs to the top of the northern cliff of the reserve. The path is controlled by wooden posts engraved with arrows and station numbers. From the highest point on the route there is a spectacular view towards the Carmel beach plain.

The path to Merat HaGadi – a short path leads to the easternmost prehistoric cave in Nahal Merat. Skeletons of modern man (Homo sapiens), belonging to the Mousterian culture (around 90,000 years ago) were found in the cave. This finding indicates that it is possible that a population of modern man lived in Nahal Merot next to the population of Neanderthal man, which existed in the Tabon Cave.