Bterram is very rich in old civilizations and the oldest goes back to the Middle Paleolithic Ages, which was a hundred thousand years ago. At that time Neanderthal people, who were not ancestors of modern people but they were closely related, made axes from chipped stone and buried their dead with rituals. The discoveries are made by a Japanese archeological team in the 1960s in Wadi Keoue area between Bterram and Bdebba. The team explained the discoveries in the bullettin no 1 of the University Museum of the University of Tokyo as follow:
"About 6 m higher than the bed of Wadi Keoue. Faces approximately NW. Rock shelter type. The center of Shelter is decayed and fallen. The cave overhang forms two wings. Its length 2-3 m, about 3 m high, at the highest point. The terrace has upper and lower stages. The difference between heights of the two stages is about 2 m. The upper stage of the terrace is about 14 m long and 14-15 m wide, and the lower stage, about 12 m long and about 18 m wide.
Panoramic view of Wadi Keoue situated between Bedebba and Bterram: important site of Middle Palaeolithic discoveries
Neanderthal man making axes from chipped stone
Prehistory-1
The deposits are found from directly below the cave to all over the two stages of the terrace. The bedrock exposed at west and northwest side of the lower stage continues on to the bedrock exposed in the wadi. Also, in view of the fact the height of the lower stage from the wadi is less than 2 m, deposits of the lower stage cannot be expected to be so rich. Few flints and bones were scattered around, and a few dozen were collected. Several blocks of breccia containing flints and bones were found on the surface of the terrace...."
Some of the very common caves in Keoue area
