The diet of H. neanderthalensis is now thought to have included fish and molluscs and marine animals like monk seal and dolphin.

[5] Lower sea levels may have also assisted ancient man by revealing islands between Gibraltar and the North African coast.

This may have made the now 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) wide Strait of Gibraltar easier to cross and there are similar Mousterian sites in Morocco at Grottes des Pigeons and Jebel Irhoud.

[5] The shellfish also included limpets and these are widely found at other H. neanderthalensis sites, however experts remain divided as to whether these were a significant part of the diet or just a useful snack.

[6] H. neanderthalensis lived there for a short time but evidence shows that they were knapping stones as they ate the molluscs.

[5] The list of animals eaten in Vanguard include bream, dolphins, sea urchins, and bluefin tuna.