Fazekas-hegyi Niche

The Fazekas-hegy rock cellar is a cave located on Fazekas Hill in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in District II of Budapest.

Description

The cave entrance is in a former stone quarry, no longer in operation, dug into the north side of Fazekas Hill in District II of Budapest. It is easily reachable by car from the quarry, because Torda Street ends almost at the quarry. The Fazekas-hegy rock cellar has an arched, natural, horizontal axis‑oriented entrance 2.3 m wide and 1.2 m high, lying at the bottom of a rock outcrop on the east‑facing, flattening part of the quarry. The entrance, located in the Buda Landscape Protection Zone and found beside a rarely used path, is partially covered by vegetation. Near the entrance a sign indicating a nature‑protected area is placed.

Behind the cave entrance follows a relatively regular cross‑sectional cavity, whose shape suggests that the cavity was partially artificially created. The wall is blackened, dusty, and a few pieces of humus‑rich rock‑debris substrate can be observed. There are no formations in the cave, its mineral (uniform) treasure is poor (most likely the result of human reshaping work). From the surface environment of the cave, through the entrance, leaf litter and other plant debris can easily enter the cave.

The cave formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone is 3.9 m long, 1.2 m high, 0 m deep, with a vertical extent of 1.2 m and a horizontal extent of 3.9 m. The cavity was created by corrosion and artificial intervention. The rock‑wall, space‑shaped cave floor is horizontal and its characteristic cross‑section type is the tunnel section. The cave, viewable without a permit, can be approached by a short walk and is easily traversable.

Research history

In the 1963 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin, in the report of the BEAC Cave Research Group’s 1962 work, it is written that in 1962 the group members found sulphuric traces in the tectonic fissure of Dachstein limestone in the quarry on Fazekas Hill (Hűvösvölgy) facing Torda Street. According to geological maps, freshwater limestone is present in the area. From the presence of sheet‑like calcite in the fissure and the freshwater limestone discoverable nearby, the group members inferred the existence of a sulphuric‑origin cave. From the fissure they were able to explore about 10 m diagonally downwards from the fissure entrance. Sulphuric traces appeared at the end of the fissure, where they proceeded a few meters further between collapse blocks. The work on Fazekas Hill was halted because it was life‑threatening. The work can only be continued if appropriate equipment is available.

The 1964 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin states that on Fazekas Hill in Budapest's District II there is a stone quarry facing Torda Street. In the quarry, the Dachstein limestone has a small stone niche in its tectonically pre‑formed fissures, which nearby residents use as a cellar. The BEAC Nature Hiking Section Cave Research Group began exploratory work in the stone mine in 1962, opening a water‑origin cavity system. The group members continued work on Fazekas Hill in 1963. In about 360 hours they removed 10 m³ of rubble and thus advanced about 10 m. A minor accident occurred during the work. Because of the accident the work could have continued only with insurance, but lacking the financial means they temporarily finished the work. They began geological and mineralogical processing of the site, precise surveying, leveling and mapping of the area. The map‑making work will most likely be completed in the spring.

The book Geological Excursions around Budapest, published in 1964, mentions that at the large stone quarry on Fazekas Hill, at the intersection of Uzsoki Street and Tordai Street, the extensive corrosive action of water can be observed. The fissures, cracks and even larger cavities in the stone mine, some a few meters deep, walkable in size and generally ending in a dome, indicate that cracks formed by crustal movements were widened by the dissolving effect of surface water.

There are fissures, cavities, caves in the old large limestone mine's eastern wall. These show the water's corrosive work in the places where deeper bark movement previously occurred. Over house number 7 Uzsoki Street, three larger cavities draw attention. One of these leads to the DNy. On the quarry's western rock wall a stalactite formation can be seen, above which a water intake entrance about 5 m high and 0.6–0.8 m wide is blackened. Here and in nearby places it would be worthwhile, with careful demolition, to verify whether there are larger cavities, possibly a cave as well. The many cave‑like clayey debris blocks the way.

In 2004 Attila Gazda surveyed the cave, and then on 28 August 2004 Attila Gazda, based on the survey, compiled the floor‑plan map of the Fazekas‑hegy rock chamber (Budapest II. district) and two cross‑section maps. The floor‑plan map shows the location of the two cross‑sections in the cave. The map indicates the east direction. According to the 2004 registration sheet of the Fazekas‑hegy rock chamber, the cave is located in cadastral area 4732, Pest County, Budapest, in the Buda Hills. The cave entrance at 238 m above sea level has coordinates: 244680 (x), 643035 (y). The cave, formed in upper Triassic Dachstein limestone, was surveyed in detail and is 3.9 m long, 1.2 m high, 0 m deep, with a vertical extent of 1.2 m and a horizontal extent of 3.9 m. The threatening factor for the cave is waste. The cave’s basic data were determined based on the BTI cadastral survey.

In Klára Groma's 2011 manuscript it is mentioned that the Fazekas‑hegy rock chamber, protected, located in Budapest II. district on parcel number 50127 and with cave cadastral number 4732‑4, is 3.9 m long, 1.2 m vertical extent, 0 m deep and 1.2 m high.