The Gilsa geomagnetic polarity event ( t = 1.60 ± 0.05m.y.) has been proposed on the basis of K:Ar and paleomagnetic data from a single Icelandic lava. Our detection of this event in five separate deep sea sedimentary cores, taken from an area southeast of the Pacific-Antarctic rise, confirms its reality. Reinterpretation of some previously published submarine sedimentary core paleomagnetic data supports our conclusion. The recently proposed Kaena event ( t = 2.80 ± 0.06m.y.) may be represented in three of the cores examined, but the data are at this stage inconclusive.