Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el‑Mughara Caves
Location	Mount Carmel, Israel
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (v)
Reference	1393
Inscription	2012 (36th Session)
Area	54 ha (130 acres)
Buffer zone	370 ha (910 acres)
Coordinates	32°40′12″N 34°57′55″E
Location of Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve in Near East Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve (West and Central Asia) Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve (Israel)

The Caves of Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara ("Caves Creek"), named here by the Hebrew and Arabic name of the valley where they are located, are a UNESCO Site of Human Evolution in the Carmel mountain range near Haifa in northern Israel.

The four UNESCO-listed caves are:

• Tabun or Tanur cave (lit.: "Oven")
• Gamal or el-Jamal cave ("Camel")
• El Wad or Nahal cave ("Stream")
• Skhul or Gedi cave ("Kid")

The four caves were proclaimed a site of "outstanding universal value" by UNESCO in 2012. They are protected within a nature reserve.

The caves were used for habitation by hominins and prehistoric humans and contain unique evidence of very early burials, at the archaeological site of el-Wad cave in the Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve.

Gallery

• 
  A Paleolithic reconstitution in Jamal Cave
• 
  Paleolithic tools in Jamal Cave (replica)
• 
  Entrance to el‑Wad Cave
• 
  Inside el‑Wad Cave
• 
  Excavation work in el‑Wad Cave's terrace
• 
  El‑Wad point microlith
• 
  Flint stone points, Boqer Tahtit Cave (Ein Avdat) and el‑Wad Cave, 50000 – 28000 BP (Israel Museum)
• 
  Homo neanderthalensis fossil from Tabun C1 (replica). 120000 – 50000 BP (National Museum of Natural History)

See also

• List of World Heritage Sites in Israel and Jerusalem
• National parks and nature reserves of Israel
• Skhul and Qafzeh hominins

External links

• Official page at Israel Nature and Parks Authority website
• UNESCO: Sites of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot / Wadi el-Mughara Caves
• Nahal Me'arot recognized as World Heritage Site