Guillotine Cave

Guillotine Cave is one of the caves located in the Buda Hills in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Biatorbágy.

Description

The entrance of Guillotine Cave is located at the foot of the wall of the Gesztenyés quarry (Országház quarry) on the outskirts of Biatorbágy. The abandoned quarry is on the K side of the road connecting Biatorbágy with Sóskút, about 1.5 km from Biatorbágy towards D. The quarry wall on the Ny side exceeds 20 m. At this place, extremely large, human‑made square‑section tunnels extend horizontally into the rock. On the lower, less high side of the quarry (É side) there are three cave entrances, of which two (Guillotine Cave, Szinlő Cave) open directly next to each other. Behind the D‑side cave entrance can be seen the relatively narrow Guillotine Cave, which is a fissure cave.

In addition to the surface entrance, the cave has another entrance that can be approached from inside the hill. One of the artificial chambers next to the cave cuts through the fissure, thus creating another entrance. Through this one can travel a little more than 7 m, and through the surface (É side) entrance twice that distance. At the end of the longer section the fissure narrows to almost 10 cm, while at the end of the shorter section a collapse blocks the way. The missing segment is not visible by illumination, but can be heard, and is certainly at least 10 m long. The cave was formed along a tectonic fracture in middle Miocene (Sarmatian) limestone (Tinnyei Formation) due to tectonic displacement, freeze‑thaw weathering, collapse and corrosion. The simple (fissure) shaped cave is horizontal. Its characteristic cross‑section type is a fissure.

The fissure cave's floor runs almost horizontally and slopes slightly to the north, only the entrance area has a steep slope. At the surface entrance one must crawl over stone blocks that have entered from the surface, as well as organic debris material (soil, plant debris). There is no formation in the cavity, the porous walls are covered by spider webs in some places. Because of the narrow dimensions of the passages the cave is visited by few people, therefore there is also little trash inside. The longer part's mineral forms are not special, the walls lack significant formations, the section is a simple crack that narrows upward. The shorter part has more varied forms. Due to the slight slope this part reached the more porous, softer layers that are also dead in the neighboring Szinlő Cave, forming the (pseudo)forms that gave the Szinlő Cave its name. Some of the looser rock material has also been eroded in the Guillotine Cave, dissolved, so that tiles perpendicular to the fissure wall (even if only on a small area) have become visible. The easily accessible, freely visitable cave can be traversed using basic caving equipment.

In 1990 the cave was first called Guillotine Cave in its literature. The cave got the name Guillotine Cave because of the hanging rocks above the entrance. This name was given to the cavity by members of the Acheron Caving Department.

Research History

According to the 1990 report of the Acheron Caving Department, the department members inspected in July 1990 the Gesztenyés quarry (Biatorbágy) located from Bolha Hill to K. The entrance of Guillotine Cave is on the left side of the quarry. Four huge chambers in the quarry intersect the fissure cave. The cave can be followed for 20 m, then it narrows and after the collapse joins the first chamber. The cave got the name Guillotine Cave because of the hanging rocks above the entrance. This name was given to the cavity by the department members. Directly next to the entrance of Guillotine Cave is the entrance of Szinlő Cave. About 10 m from Guillotine Cave and Szinlő Cave is the entrance of Silicicave. The manuscript includes the map of the Gesztenyés quarry. (The map marks the east direction.) The map was drawn by Zoltán Szabó in 1990. The map shows the floor plan of Guillotine Cave and its location relative to the other two caves.

In 2005 Attila Gazda surveyed the cave, and using the survey he compiled on March 25, 2005 the plan map of Guillotine Cave (Sóskút) and five cross‑section maps. On the plan map, for which the east direction is indicated on the map sheet, the location of the five cross‑sections in the cave can be observed.

According to the registration sheet of Guillotine Cave (cave cadastral area 4710, Pest County, Biatorbágy, Etyeki Hills) prepared on the basis of a BTI cadastral survey on March 20, 2005, the cave has two entrances. One entrance is at the foot of the quarry rock wall. This entrance is 0.6 m wide, 7 m high, natural, fissure‑shaped and oriented horizontally. The other entrance, which is 1.3 m wide, 2.8 m high, natural, fissure‑shaped and oriented upward, is in an artificial opening leading from the quarry. The cave is at least 21 m long, has a vertical extent of 9 m, is 7 m high, 2 m deep and has at least a 21 m horizontal extent. These data were determined partly by estimation and partly by detailed surveying.

The cave received its name because large stone blocks have wedged into the surface entrance fissure. Periodically dripping water appears in the cavity. Elements related to the host rock material are the broken layer head and the layer surface. Rubble, locally formed inorganic fill: debris, rock rubble, other materials that have fallen out of the host rock. In the cave, near the outer entrance, soil and humus occur. Thematic processing: map, photograph, cadastre, description. Competent nature protection authority: Danube–Ipoly National Park. The easily accessible cave can be traversed without a permit using basic caving equipment, but some passages are impassable. The practically untouched cave floor is trampled. Related documents: map.