A series of prehistoric limestone caves near Haifa, Israel, with deposits from the Acheulian and Mousterian. The name is derived from Hebrew kerem ('vineyard' or 'orchard') due to the mountain's fertility back in ancient times. There is a cemetery in the Skhul cave, whose occupants were between Neanderthal and modern man. The caves' Upper Palaeolithic sequence ends with the Natufian. Sanctified since early times, Mt. Carmel is mentioned as a holy mountain in Egyptian records of the 16th century BC and was a center of idol worship as well as sacred to the early Christians.