Fáni-völgyi No 1 Cave

The Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber is a cave located in the Vértes Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Szár.

Description

The cave is situated in the forest on the outskirts of Szár, in the highly protected area of the Vértesi Natúrpark. On the eastern side of the Fáni valley, about 50 m north of the barrier that closes the western end of the valley, at an altitude of 248 m above sea level and approximately 25 m relative height from the road, the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber has a square, but natural, entrance that is 3 m high, 4 m wide, oriented horizontally, opening from a ledge that runs about 3 m up the middle of a roughly 10 m high rock wall.

The cave was formed in Triassic dolomite due to freeze‑thaw rock disintegration. The relatively large, walk‑through stone niche has a floor of horizontal, sparsely debris‑covered stalagmite. A vertical fissure in the cave ceiling that created the cavity is clearly visible. A ledge formed by a horizontal fracture runs at a height of 1.2 m on the right side. Small pea‑size stones can be seen on the ceiling and the left wall. Traces of a fire‑making place for occasional use, as well as glass‑ceramic fragments and debris, are present. Ferns grow at the entrance, and shrubs grow in front of the entrance. The cave, which is reachable on steep, difficult terrain, can be visited easily in street clothing without a permit.

In 2003 the cave was first called Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber in the literature. The cave also appears in the literature under the names Fáni-völgy 1st chamber (Kordos 1984), Fáni-völgyi 1st cave (Egri 2003), Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber (Bertalan 1976), Fáni-völgyi 2nd niche (Alba Regia Barlangkutató Csoport 1979), Fáni-völgyi–2nd niche (Kocsis 1975) and Fáni-völgyi 2nd chamber (Egri 2003).

Research history

According to the 1962 book *The World of Caves*, in the Fáni valley of the Vértes Mountains there are small caves situated 10–12 m above the stream. One of the groups composed of alternating members of the Ferencváros Nature Lovers Sports Club Cave Exploration Group, led by János Horváth, continued the exploration of the Vértes Mountains and a three‑phase survey of the caves in the mountains in 1968. This group surveyed nine rock cavities in the Fáni valley, some of which were previously known (designated I–IX). According to the 1969 report of the FTSK Cave Exploration Group, János Horváth used the spring‑autumn cave surveys of 1968 to produce a map of the nine cavities of the Fáni valley (Vértes Mountains) in 1969. The maps present the caves at a scale of 1:100.

In the publication written by Antal Kocsis and released in 1975 it is mentioned that the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber (Fáni-völgyi–2nd niche) is located in the Fáni valley, 1.2 km from the branch of the industrial service road, 150 m from the yellow‑marked tourist trail branching toward Szár, on the eastern side of the valley, 20 m high, in a 10‑m dolomite wall. The ledge under the cave entrance is 3 m high. The niche is 5 m long, 3 m high, and its external width is 4.5 m. Inside it narrows to 1.5 m and also to 1.4 m. In the chamber live high‑ranking plants, golden‑rod, viper’s‑grass and low‑ranking colonising plants. Spiders and insects also occur there. The map inset in the publication shows the geographical location of the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber. On the map the cave is marked with the number 30.

In the manuscript titled *Hungary’s Cave Register* completed in 1976 it reads that in the Vértes Mountains, at Szár, the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber (Fáni-völgyi–2nd niche) is situated. It is 150 m from the branch of the yellow‑marked tourist trail heading toward Szár, on the first rock cliff of the eastern valley side, about 25 m above the road is the cave entrance. The cave formed in dolomite breccia is 5 m long, 3 m wide and about 3 m high. The chamber showing the eroded forms narrows inward. At a bearing of 310° and about 250 m from the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber lies the Fáni-völgyi 2nd chamber. The part of the manuscript describing the Fáni-völgyi 1st chamber was written based on two literary works.

According to a manuscript prepared by the Alba Regia Cave Exploration Group in 1979, the Fáni-völgyi 1st cavity (F1) is also known as Fáni-völgyi 2nd chamber. The cave is listed in the OKTH cave register, where among the caves of the Vértes Mountains it is the 10th cave, described with the above name. In the publication written by Antal Kocsis, Fáni-völgyi–2nd chamber is the cave name and its number is 30. János Horváth presented the cavity in a speleological field report. The cave is located on the Szár side (Fejér county, Bicske district), on the eastern side of the Fáni valley, at 240 m above sea level, about 25 m relative height. From the branching service road at the eastern end of the valley, one must walk 1.2 km from the junction to the cave. In a roughly 10 m high rock wall there is a 2.5 m high, 4.5 m wide cave entrance rising from left to right, which is accessible on a rock ledge rising from the left. Ferenc Szolga can show the traversable cavity without using the basic equipment of a cave passage.

The horizontal rock-shelf-like cavity is dry. The cave's enclosing rock is thick-bedded, with a dip of 343°/25°, and a brecciated structure along fractures of the main dolomite. The cavity, which consists of a single inward-narrowing and lowering void, was formed at the intersection of a stratigraphic sheet and a vertical fissure. On the inner half of the right side wall, 0.4 m below the ceiling, there is a 0.7 m inward-sloping ledge, at its end and on the ceiling small cavities with corroded walls can be seen. On the left wall a few cold-water borsite stones are present, and in some places a red‑pink (bauxitic?) discoloration is observable. The floor of the cave consists of stalagmite rock. In the entrance chamber there is some rock debris, and at the end of the cavity traces of fresh fire. During exploration group members observed a beetle and mouflon droppings inside. At the inner end moss, algae, a small fern, and in the entrance chamber saltwort, small goat‑thorn shrubs and ferns grow. The locally significant cave is suitable for bivouacking. The cave, extending 7 m horizontally and 3.5 m at its greatest vertical extent (this part is at the entrance), has been explored, described, surveyed and photographed. It is not worthwhile to continue investigating the cavity, which members of the Alba Regia Cave Exploration Group entered on 4 February 1979 during cave‑cadastral work.