Eper-hegyi Cave

Eper-hegyi Cave is one of the caves located in the Vértes Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Vértessomló.

Description

The cave is situated in the outskirts of Vértessomló. Eper-hegyi Cave opens on the north‑east side of Eper Hill, about 2 km north of Vértessomló, at an altitude of 260 m above sea level. It can be reached via a dirt track that runs in the valley between Eper Hill and Kő Hill, which lies to the north‑east of it, alongside a buried pipeline marked with AFOR signs. At sign number 131 (about 350 m from the asphalt road on the north side) one must leave the dirt track heading south‑west and descend into the narrow, gorge‑like valley. On the far side of the valley there is a high, clearly visible rock wall. The entrance to the cave is about 30 m to the left (south‑west) of this, roughly 6 m below the gorge edge. Tourist maps mark the cave’s location with a cave symbol and its name. The cave’s natural, curved, horizontal entrance is 3 m wide and 1.7 m high, situated at the foot of a rock overhang.

The precisely surveyed cave is 2.4 m long, 1.5 m vertically extended, 1.5 m high, 0 m deep and 2 m horizontally extended. The cavity lies in Triassic dolomite. It consists of a single cavity formed by corrosion and freeze‑thaw rock disintegration. Its walls are brecciated and fragmented. Some insignificant-sized pepperstones are visible on the cave walls. Its floor is covered with stone rubble and ash. A log placed in the cave as a seat indicates occasional use. The cave, reachable on difficult (steep) terrain, can be visited without a permit and without the use of lighting devices, as it is easily accessible in street clothing.

In 2003 the cave was mentioned for the first time in literature under the name Eper-hegyi-odú. The cave appears in literature under the names Ákoska 7.sz.-barlang (Egri 2003), Eper-hegyi-odu (Bertalan 1976), Eper-hegyi odú (Kordos 1984), Eper-hegyi–odú (Kocsis 1975), Szárazér-völgyi-kőfülke (Horváth 1969), Szárazérvölgyi-kőfülke (Egri 2003), Szárazérvölgyi kőfülke (Bertalan 1976), Szarvas-kúti-barlang (Egri 2003) and Szarvaskúti barlang (Kordos 1984).

Research history

According to the book *A barlangok világa* published in 1962, there is a small cave in the Szárazér valley in the Vértes Mountains. In November 1969 József Máté (a member of the Ferencvárosi Természetbarát SK Cave Exploration Group) surveyed the cave named Szárazér-völgyi-kőfülke, which is located in the Vértes Mountains.

In the publication written by Antal Kocsis and released in 1975 it is stated that the entrance of the Eper-hegyi–odú is in a fractured limestone wall, 1500 m east of Szarvas-kút, on the north side of the Környei river gorge, about 15 m higher than the valley floor. The cave, 2 m long, 3.5 m wide and 1.9 m high, is filled with rock debris and humus. Various moss and lichen colonies can be seen on the walls of the hollow chamber. The map sheet accompanying the publication shows the geographical location of the Eper-hegyi-odú. The cave is marked with number 31 on the map.

In the manuscript titled *Hungary's Cave Register* completed in 1976, it is written that in the Vértes Mountains, at Vértessomló, the Dry Valley stone niche (Szarvaskúti cave, Eper-hegyi-odu) is located. The cave is 3150 m from the Vértessomló temple to the KDK, at the source area of the Dry Valley, 450 m from the Szarvas well to the ENy, on the northern side of the valley. The entrance of the cave is at an altitude of 297 m above sea level. The stone niche of corrosion and spalling origin is 6.5 m long and 1 m high. The part of the manuscript describing the cave was written based on three literary works.

According to the manuscript prepared by the Alba Regia Cave Research Group in 1979, the Eper-hegyi-odu is the cave numbered 31 in the publication written by Antal Kocsis. The data described in the publication match the data of the cave found by the group. The tourist map of the Vértes Mountains (1978) marks the cave’s location under the name Eper-hegyi-odú, but in reality it is not at the indicated spot. The cave lies 105° and 550 m from the location marked on the map. In the OKTH cave register, among the caves of the Vértes Mountains, the cave is listed as number 33 with the following names: Dry Valley stone niche, Szarvaskuti cave, Eper-hegyi-odu. The geographical location mentioned in the cave register is not identical to the geographical location of the Eper-hegyi-odu, and the length of 6.5 m recorded in the register is also not that of the Eper-hegyi-odu. Based on this, either there must be another cave in that area that the group has not yet found, or the data are inaccurate.

Eper-hegyi Cave is located on the edge of Vértessomló (Komárom County), about 200 m from the summit of Eper Hill (313 m) to the north‑east, at an altitude of about 250 m above sea level. Access: from Környebánya‑upper mine, crossing the Vitámi fields, one must proceed towards the valley between Eper Hill and Kő Hill, which lies to the north‑east. At the northern edge of the valley one must continue along a dirt track, alongside which runs a buried pipe marked with an AFOR sign. About 300 m from the forest edge the valley alongside the road narrows and becomes a rocky gorge. Here one must descend to the bottom of the valley, and on the north‑eastern side of the valley, about 20 m up, the cave in the fractured limestone wall is found. The semicircular cave entrance is 3.3 m wide and 1.5 m high. In leaf‑less periods the entrance is clearly visible from the aforementioned road. The stone niche of corrosion and spalling origin is 2.4 m long. Its filling consists of stone rubble and humus. On its wall there are moss and lichen patches. Imre Gönczöl can show the minor cavity of little significance, which is unjustified to investigate further.