RESEARCH ARTICLE
Where myth and archaeology meet:
Discovering the Gorgon Medusa’s Lair
Clive FinlaysonID1,2,3,4☯, Jose Maria Gutierrez LopezID5☯, M. Cristina Reinoso del Rio5☯,
Antonio M. Saez RomeroID6☯, Francisco Giles GuzmanID1☯, Geraldine FinlaysonID1,2,4☯*,
Francisco Giles Pacheco1☯, David Abulafia7☯, Stewart Finlayson1,2,8☯, Richard
P. Jennings4☯, Joaquin Rodriguez VidalID9☯
1 The Gibraltar National Museum, Gibraltar, Spain, 2 The University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Spain,
3 Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, 4 School of Biological and
Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom, 5 Museo Histo´rico
Municipal de Villamartı´n, Ca´diz, Spain, 6 Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Seville,
Seville, Spain, 7 Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom,
8 Department of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 9 Department of
Earth Sciences and CIPHCN-Heritage Centre, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain
☯ These authors contributed equally to this work.
* geraldine.finlayson@gibmuseum.gi
Abstract
Here we report the discovery of ceramic fragments that form part of a Gorgoneion, a ceramic
image representation of the Gorgon Medusa. The fragments were found in a deep part of
Gorham’s Cave, well known to ancient mariners as a natural shrine, between the 8th and 2nd
century BCE. We discuss the context of this discovery, both within the inner topography of
the cave itself, and also the broader geographical context. The discovery is situated at the
extreme western end of the Mediterranean Sea, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. The
location was known to ancient mariners as the northern Pillar of Herakles, which marked the
end of the known world. We relate the discovery, and its geographical and chronological
context, to Greek legends that situated the lair of the Gorgon sisters at a location which coin-
cides with the physical attributes and geographical position of Gorham’s Cave. We thus pro-
vide, uniquely, a geographical and archaeological context to the myth of Perseus and the
slaying of the Gorgon Medusa.
Introduction
The quest for sites and artefacts of classical mythology was the hallmark of archaeology at the
end of the nineteenth century. Schliemann’s excavations in search of Troy and Evans’ work at
Knossos are among the best known [1,2]. The purported discoveries of King Priam’s treasure
or the mask of Agamemnon are prime examples of attempts to link material culture to classical
stories [3,4]. These missions and their controversial results constituted a major part of early
archaeology and have no parallel today, with the possible exception of the renewed search for
Atlantis at the start of the 21st Century [5]. Establishing clear links between material culture,
sites and ancient stories remains as elusive today as it was over a hundred years ago. Here we
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OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Finlayson C, Gutierrez Lopez JM, Reinoso
del Rio MC, Saez Romero AM, Giles Guzman F,
Finlayson G, et al. (2021) Where myth and
archaeology meet: Discovering the Gorgon
Medusa’s Lair. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0249606.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249606
Editor: Antonio Medina Guerrero, Universidad de
Ca´diz, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Ambientales,
SPAIN
Received: November 16, 2020
Accepted: March 22, 2021
Published: April 1, 2021
Copyright: © 2021 Finlayson et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are
within the paper and its Supporting Information
files.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding
for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
report the discovery of fragments of a ceramic image of the Gorgon Medusa from Gorham’s
Cave, Gibraltar. These are the only such remains, representing Medusa, known from inside a
cave. The location of the discovery, deep in a cave situated at the base of one of the Pillars of
Herakles which marked the end of the world, supports the view that the ancient mariners
regarded this to have been the home of the Gorgons.
Site and context
The Pillars of Herakles (Fig 1) were a major geographical landmark for mariners during the
first millennium BCE [6]. Pindar, in the sixth century BCE recommended mariners not to sail
beyond the Pillars [7]. They were not just the markers of the end of the known world, they
were also invested in symbolic significance, immersed in the world of myth for the Mediterra-
nean civilizations of the time. For the Greeks, the unknown and alien world of the ocean
beyond the columns provided an ideal frame for situating lands and mythological events that
since the time of Homer had been considered to reside at the extreme west of their world.
These geographical peculiarities, along with the dangers of navigating the unpredictable Strait
of Gibraltar and the topographically abrupt and immense nature of the northern Pillar, the
Rock of Gibraltar itself, would have been decisive in the sacralisation of the most notable natu-
ral features of this part of the world [8]. The massive, cathedral-like, Gorham’s Cave which is
situated at the base of the Rock on its eastern side facing the Mediterranean Sea, appears to
have been the most important among these. Archaeological work in this cave has uncovered a
clear signal, in the form of a rich material culture of votive offerings left inside by ancient peo-
ples, of its role as a place of worship at the very end of the world [8–11].
Results
Twelve ceramic fragments that had once formed part of a Gorgoneion, a terracotta depicting
the face of the Gorgon Medusa [12], were retrieved during excavations of an archaeological
Fig 1. Map of the Mediterranean Sea showing the core area where Gorgoneia have been found. Exceptions outside the core area are in the
Black Sea, Israel and Ibiza. The location of Gibraltar is indicated by a red dot. Details of individual sites are at S2 File. Inset shows the region of
the Strait of Gibraltar, showing the location of Gorham’s Cave. The two Pillars of Herakles are marked by red dots, Gibraltar (Mons Calpe)
being the northern Pillar. The location of the Atlas Mountains is indicated.
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level at Gorham’s Cave, known to have been visited by people between the first half of the
eighth century BCE and the mid-second century BCE [8].
The ceramic fragments were found in the deepest part of Gorham’s Cave (S1 File), in a loca-
tion where there is a small opening that leads to a 35-metre long unexcavated chamber which
is only accessible by crawling through very tight spaces (Fig 2). The fragments consist of both
eyes, part of the nose, cheeks and the left eyebrow (Fig 3). The large size of the pieces suggest
that this would have been a large artefact, with a maximum width of 36.5 cm and a maximum
height of 26.5 cm. A literature survey has revealed a total of 91 published Gorgoneia (S2 File).
With the exception of one, from a necropolis in Ibiza, and another from a temple on the coast
of the Black Sea, the rest are all from the central and eastern Mediterranean (Fig 1). None are
from cave contexts, making the Gorham’s Cave piece exceptional. Stylistically, the Gorham’s
Cave Gorgoneion corresponds to the sixth century BCE and is of the horrifying and repulsive
type; after this time such items gradually take on a more human aspect.
Discussion
Access to Gorham’s Cave at the time would have been from the Mediterranean Sea and would
have required boats. Until now the interpretation, based on a combination of material culture
excavated, and the known presence of these people in the area at the time, has been that they
were Phoenician and later Carthaginian mariners. Recent analyses have shown that the mate-
rial culture found in this level has a broader international character, including Egyptian,
Greek, Sardinian and Tartessian (i.e. southern Iberian) items [11]. It is possible that such items
were traded by the Phoenicians but the occurrence of other mariners in the cave cannot be dis-
carded. The presence of a Gorgoneion, similarly, need not reflect a direct Greek introduction
as such items have occasionally been found in Phoenician contexts [13–15], although in the
Fig 2. Map and section of Gorham’s Cave showing location of the Gorgoneion fragments in the deepest part of the cave where it connects
with the entrance to a deep and narrow chamber. The section shows the dune covering the entrance to the cave as it would have appeared at
the time that the cave was being used as a coastal shrine.
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case of the Gorham’s Cave Gorgoneion, its style and fabric leaves little doubt as to its Greek
origins. Furthermore, recent finds are indicating a Greek participation in cult activities in
Phoenician-Tartessian sanctuaries along the Atlantic coast of south-western Iberia, beyond the
Strait of Gibraltar itself [16]. There is no other example of this type of Gorgoneion, of similar
size or chronology, in the western Mediterranean; it is therefore an exceptional find that can-
not be clearly linked to any Phoenician deity and implicates the Greeks instead. We do not
overlook however, the fact that deities from other contemporary Mediterranean cultures may
have had a degree of equivalence among the early Mediterranean mariners. In particular, part
of a figurine of Egyptian Bes, (a more benevolent, ugly-bearded faced creature), whose figure
was used profusely among Egyptians and Phoenicians for protection, with a crossover in the
Greek versions of the Gorgon that are male-bearded, has been described from Gorham’s Cave
[8].
The Gorgons were three sisters, the most evil of which–Medusa–was slain by Perseus.
There are clear indications from several classical sources that the events surrounding this sig-
nificant moment in Greek mythology were portrayed as having taken place in the area of the
Strait of Gibraltar: (a) The Titan Atlas ruled over a kingdom in the far west, beyond the Pillars
of Herakles; (b) Perseus stole the single eye of the Graeae, the Gorgons’ sisters, in order to find
the Stygian nymphs in whose care was the dark helmet of invisibility which belonged to Hades
and which he needed to complete the task of killing the Medusa. Perseus sought the Graeae on
their thrones at the foot of Mount Atlas; (c) Perseus escaped after beheading Medusa and
sought refuge near the palace of Atlas who refused to offer hospitality. Perseus showed Medu-
sa’s head to Atlas and transformed him into a mountain; (d) the three Gorgons lived close to a
far-western orchard, the Garden of the Hesperides [see below] [17].
The poet Hesiod (late 8th-early 7th century BCE) is the principal early author referring to
the Perseus myth in his Theogony and clearly situates events in the Strait of Gibraltar area: (a)
he places the Gorgons in the Garden of the Hesperides, at the limits of the Atlantic Ocean
—“the Gorgons who dwell beyond glorious Ocean at the edge towards the night, where the
Fig 3. Fragments recovered from Gorham’s Cave (right) with a reconstruction of the complete Gorgoneion. See also S1 File. Specimen
IDs: GOR/’98/B3/52a; GOR/’98/B3/52b; GOR/’98/B3/52c; GOR/’98/B3/52d; GOR/’98/B3/52e; GOR/’98/B3/52f; GOR/’98/B3/52g; GOR/’98/
B3/52h; GORHAM’S C 1958 GA7(a); GORHAM’S C 1958 GA7(b); GOR99/alpha2/N I/140; GOR99/alpha alpha2/N I/36. Stored at The
Gibraltar National Museum, Gibraltar. All necessary permits were obtained for the described study, which complied with all relevant
regulations.
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clear-voiced Hesperides are, Sthenno and Euryale, and Medusa who suffered woes”; and (b)
“When Perseus cut her head off from her neck, great Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus sprang
forth; the latter received his name from being born beside the waters of Ocean. . . Chrysaor. . .
begot three-headed Geryoneus, who was slain by Herakles’ force. . . after he crossed over the
strait of Ocean and killed Orthus and the cowherd Eurytion in the murky stable beyond glori-
ous Ocean.” [18].
Remoulding older material, Ovid (43 BCE-17/18 CE) places the sisters who shared an eye
in a cave beneath Mount Atlas. In his long poem Metamorphosis, Ovid gives us further clues
regarding the geographical location of Perseus’ story: “Now tell us, pray, O Perseus, by what
wondrous valour, by what acts, you won the Gorgon’s snaky head. The hero, answering, told
how beneath cold Atlas there was a place safe under the protection of the rocky mass. At the
entrance to this place two sisters dwelt, both daughters of old Phorcys [sic], who shared one
eye between them. . .” [19].
The most direct reference situating Medusa in the Rock of Gibraltar itself comes from the
Roman poet Silius Italicus (~28–103 CE): “Down went huge Phocrys, who came from the
caves of Calpe [the Latin name for Gibraltar], sacred to Hercules; on his shield was engraved
the Gorgon’s head; for that cruel goddess derived her birth and beginning from Calpe.” [20].
In her essence Medusa is a head and she acquires her potency, which resides in the head,
only after it has been severed from the body. She is in effect a mask with a body appended [12].
Such artefacts were part of a religion of terror among the Greeks and were a way of frightening
strangers from secret or mysterious places [17]. In the case of Gorham’s Cave, the location of
the find suggests that it may have been the deep inner chamber that it was protecting.
Fig 4. Gorham’s Cave at the base of Mons Calpe (Gibraltar) from the sea today.
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The Perseus story is the product of a long oral tradition and is thought to have reached its
current form between 700 and 650 BCE, a time frame which broadly corresponds to Hesiod’s
Theogony, when the Medusa story is fully developed [21], and with the date of the Gorham’s
Cave Gorgoneion. The inner chamber at Gorham’s Cave clearly had a special significance to
the people who stopped there, one associated with mystery and sea travel, and protected by the
image of Medusa in the form of a Gorgoneion that could have marked the dedicat’s safe jour-
ney to this western, dangerous landmark and conjured her protection. That precise location of
the item was within the large Gorham’s Cave, which has provided ample evidence of its spiri-
tual significance to these mariners in the form of votive offerings. Gorham’s Cave itself was sit-
uated in a prominent location at the base of Calpe, the northern Pillar of Herakles, the marker
of the end of the world beyond which lay the great and unknown ocean (Fig 4) [22]. The
unique combination of myth, historical accounts, geography and archaeology leaves little
doubt that for the ancient mariners of the Mediterranean the impressive geology and topogra-
phy of Calpe, and within that Gorham’s Cave, had an importance that went beyond the purely
practical, geographical and navigational. It seems that the key to the cave’s significance may
have been the belief that it was the home of the Gorgons. Our observations on Calpe are in
keeping with the religion of seafarers and worship in coastal caves in other parts of the Medi-
terranean, e.g. Malta or Ibiza [23–27].
Supporting information
S1 File.
(DOCX)
S2 File. Sites identified with Gorgoneia.
(DOCX)
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: Clive Finlayson, Jose Maria Gutierrez Lopez, M. Cristina Reinoso del Rio,
Geraldine Finlayson.
Data curation: Clive Finlayson.
Formal analysis: M. Cristina Reinoso del Rio.
Investigation: Clive Finlayson, Jose Maria Gutierrez Lopez, M. Cristina Reinoso del Rio,
Antonio M. Saez Romero, Francisco Giles Guzman, Geraldine Finlayson, Francisco Giles
Pacheco, David Abulafia, Stewart Finlayson, Richard P. Jennings, Joaquin Rodriguez Vidal.
Methodology: Clive Finlayson, M. Cristina Reinoso del Rio, Antonio M. Saez Romero, Fran-
cisco Giles Guzman, Geraldine Finlayson, Francisco Giles Pacheco.
Project administration: Geraldine Finlayson.
Supervision: Clive Finlayson.
Writing – original draft: Clive Finlayson, Jose Maria Gutierrez Lopez.
Writing – review & editing: Clive Finlayson, Jose Maria Gutierrez Lopez, M. Cristina Reinoso
del Rio, Antonio M. Saez Romero, Francisco Giles Guzman, Geraldine Finlayson, Francisco
Giles Pacheco, David Abulafia, Stewart Finlayson, Richard P. Jennings, Joaquin Rodriguez
Vidal.
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