Hosszú Hill No 4 Cave

The Hosszú-hegy No. 4 cave is one of the caves located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

In the outskirts of Pilisszántó, on the steep, DNy-facing slope of Hosszú-hegy, on a rocky and shrubby section, the cave has a square, tiny entrance. It is located to the left of the entrance of Hosszú-hegy No. 2 cave, in its immediate vicinity. It is situated 220 m east–north‑east from the Three‑Hole‑Zsomboly. In a 3 m long, steeply sloping rock fissure there are a few spherical stalactites, and on the walls a few pea‑stones can be observed. It formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone. It has no particular significance. The cave can be visited without permission and is traversable with basic caving equipment.

In 2011 the cave was first called Hosszú-hegy No. 4 cave in the literature.

Research history

It was published in the 1948 Hydrological Gazette that with the uplift of Hosszú-hegy the karst water level descended in Hosszú-hegy and the operation of the spring series of the Ziribári, Hosszúhegyi, Pilisszántói and Szurdokvölgyi caves ceased.

The 1977 report of the FTSK Speleology Department's Szabó József Group mentions that from the entrance of Hosszú-hegy 2nd cave there is an entrance to Hosszú-hegy 4th cave on the Ny side, which is a noteworthy small cavity. The cavity is a roughly 2 m diameter spherical dome that has broken through to the surface in two places. Currently a limestone rubble blocks the lower exit. There are no formations in the cavity, whose floor is covered by limestone rubble. In the rock wall above the cave some rock cavities of a size impassable for humans can be seen. The report contains 1:100 scale maps of the two caves (the floor plan map and longitudinal section map of Hosszú-hegy 4th cave). For the preparation of these maps edited by Szablyár Péter, Havas Péter and Szablyár Péter surveyed the caves. (The map sheet also depicts Hosszú-hegy 2nd cave together with Hosszú-hegy 4th cave.)

The two cave maps and the part of the report describing the cave were published in the 1977 MKBT Report. On 27 April 1997 László Sásdi and Richárd Kovács surveyed the cave. Based on the survey László Sásdi prepared the cave’s 1:100 scale floor plan map and longitudinal section map.

In Adrienn Szokol's 2011 manuscript there is a site plan showing the geographic location of the caves in the 4830 cave catastrophe area. The figure marks the geographic location of the Hosszú-hegy 4. sz. cave. The manuscript states that the Hosszú-hegy 4. sz. cave opens on Hosszú-hegy at an altitude of 456 m a.s.l. The tectonic cave is 3.2 m long and has a vertical extent of 2.7 m. Borsókő can be observed in it. The MKBT Information 2011 November–December issue mentions that an intensive upward airflow is detectable in the lower passages of the Szurdok-völgy 2. sz. water sink. From the phenomenon one may infer a large, still undiscovered stream branch coming from the Pilis mountain side, or that the Szurdok-völgy 2. sz. water sink is connected with the air-filled cave passages formed by karst activity that are located on the upper part of Hosszú-hegy.