Dupla Cavity

The Double Cavity is one of the gas bubble caves formed in andesite, located in the Cserhát Mountains.

Description

In the eastern part of the Cserhát Mountains, in the East Cserhát Landscape Protection Area, on the eastern edge of the inner area of Sámsonháza, at the foot of Csűd Hill on the eastern side, next to the road leading east from the settlement, on the south side of the road, on a grassy and shrub-covered hillside, in a small, no longer cultivated, artisanal stone quarry wall, about 2 m high, at an altitude of 194 m above sea level, the cave is natural, oval-shaped, horizontally oriented, facing east, with an entrance 90 cm wide and 40 cm high. The quarry is opposite the famous, reclaimed, very spectacular, geologically interesting stone mine. There are two cavities side by side, of which the lower cavity, opening at the base of the rock wall and 1.4 m long, does not reach the size of a cave.

The Double Cavity, formed in middle Miocene andesite, is a syngenetic, i.e., contemporaneous with the rock, gas bubble cave. The formation and shape of the two cavities are similar. The Double Cavity has a simple spatial form. An elliptical cross‑section type is its characteristic cross‑section type. The cave’s horizontal extent is 2.3 m. On the walls the former viscous lava‑like dough surface is well visible. The surrounding andesite flow texture is clearly visible. The wall separates in layers, crustily, and the detached debris covers the cave floor. The walls are covered in spots with white, earthy, crust‑like deposits. The cave slopes gently inward, then after 2.5 m continues as an impassable-sized passage. The practically untouched cave can be crawled through and viewed without permission.

It is one of the three caves of Sámsonháza. The other two are the destroyed Sámsonháza gas bubble cave and the lost Csapás‑summit cave.

In 1988 the cave was first called Double Cavity in its literature. The cave also appears in its literature under the name Double Cave (Eszterhás 1997).

Research history

The cavity was probably discovered by the stone mining carried out here. The cave was examined by István Eszterhás on 21 August 1988 during a field walk, surveyed, and then, using the survey data, he drew the cave's plan map, longitudinal section map and two cross‑section maps. The maps present the cave at a scale of 1:50. The map sheet shows a site sketch on which the geographical location of the cave can be observed. According to the map sheet the 3.9 m long cave is located in the Little Zagyva Valley at an altitude of 200 m above sea level. The map sheet and a detailed description of the cave were included in the 1988 yearbook of the Alba Regia Cave Research Group. According to the yearbook the two adjacent cavities constitute the Double Cavity. The length data refer to both cavities. Inside the cavities lava flows are visible and there are honey‑comb‑like separations along the walls. The cave’s rock is pyroxenite deposited on lower Miocene salt, echinoid marl, which is covered by tuffaceous limestone.

The group's 1989 yearbook contains a site drawing showing the geographical location of the Double Cavity. The yearbook includes a summary of the caves of the Cserhát Mountains, according to which the Double Cavity is one of the two caves of Samsonháza. The list reads that one of the four caves formed in the mountain's andesite is the 4 m long and 40 cm high Double Cavity.

In the manuscript titled List of Non‑Karst Caves of Hungary written by István Eszterhás in 1989, it is stated that the Double‑cavity formed in andesite in Sámsonháza, in the Cserhát Mountains, in the cave cadastral area No 5223. The cave is 4 m long and 0.5 m high. According to the listing, it is one of the nine caves of the Cserhát Mountains that formed in non‑karst rock, and also one of the three caves of Sámsonháza that formed in non‑karst rock. The list mentions the 220 objects (203 caves and 17 artificial cavities) that were created in non‑karst rock in Hungary and became known by the end of 1989. In Hungary, 19 caves have formed in andesite.

In the manuscript titled List of Non‑Karst Caves of Hungary written by István Eszterhás in 1993, it is mentioned that the Double‑cavity is located in Sámsonháza, in the Cserhát Mountains, in the cave cadastral area No 5223. It is one of the ten caves of the Cserhát Mountains that formed in non‑karst rock. The cave formed in andesite is 3.5 m long and 0.5 m high. The compilation lists the 520 objects (478 caves and 42 artificial cavities) that were created in non‑karst rock in Hungary and became known by the end of 1993. In Hungary, 178 caves, as well as artificially created cavities called caves, have formed in andesite.

The 1997 yearbook of the MKBT Volcanic Speleology Collective states that there are silicate pisolites in it. The yearbook includes a study on the more interesting caves of the North Central Mountains, in which the cave is mentioned. In the manuscript bibliography of Hungarian non‑karst caves dated 12 November 2001, the cave name index lists the Double Chamber (Sámsonháza, Cserhát Mountains). The cave name index lists six literary works that deal with the cave. The 2004 Karst Development mentions that the Double Chamber is 3.5 m long.