Gibraltar: A City Under Siege

Gibraltar: A City Under Siege is a site located within the Nature Reserve, a short walk from Gibraltar’s WW2 Tunnels.

Recent restoration and conservation works have carefully preserved the site while uncovering remarkable new archaeological and historical discoveries hidden for generations beneath later alterations and vegetation. Extensive clearance, excavation, and structural conservation revealed original eighteenth-century features including drainage systems, water collection channels, wells, defensive walls, and the remains of a historic watchtower complete with surviving machicolations used to defend the approaches below.

One of the most significant aspects of the project has been the conservation of an extraordinary collection of historic graffiti carved into the walls by soldiers stationed at Gibraltar from the early eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries. Hundreds of inscriptions, names, regimental markings, ships, scenes, and symbols have been documented and preserved, creating a rare and deeply personal record of the men who lived and served within the garrison.

The restoration has also uncovered evidence of how the complex evolved over time. Areas once used as shot yards, powder laboratories, magazines, guard spaces, and later military stores have been identified and interpreted, allowing visitors to understand how ammunition was prepared, stored, and managed during periods of conflict including the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783). Original rainwater collection systems and underground cistern networks have also been preserved, demonstrating how the garrison sustained itself during prolonged sieges.

Alongside the structural restoration, the project has transformed the site into a fully interpreted heritage experience. New exhibitions, artefact displays, and historical installations now present the human story behind the fortifications. Personal accounts from soldiers, engineers, civilians, and families who endured the Great Siege are integrated throughout the site, bringing to life the realities of bombardment, disease, starvation, displacement, and survival.

Archaeological finds recovered in Gibraltar and on-site during works, provide further evidence of daily life across different periods of Gibraltar’s history.