Húsvét Cave

Easter Cave is one of the caves located in the Gerecse Landscape Protection Area of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in the outskirts of Bajót. Bats occur in it.

Description

In the Gerecse Mountains (Eastern Gerecse), on the steep, rock‑wall‑segmented western side of Öreg‑kő in the outskirts of Bajót, the cave is situated at the foot of a small rock wall, in a forest, at an altitude of 332 m a.s.l., with an entrance facing east‑north, oriented horizontally, irregularly shaped, 2.3 m wide and 1.2 m high. It is located not far from the marked tourist trail leading from the centre of Bajót to Jankovich Cave. (Directly in front of it there is a large thicket.) The easiest approach is from the rear climbing wall via a small path on the east side. Easter Cave is near the 2nd‑grade boulder of Öreg‑kő.

The cavity was formed in Upper Triassic thick‑bedded Dachstein limestone along an east‑north to south‑west fault line. Based on its spherical‑bulbous forms, it originated from dissolution below the karst water level (thermal karst effect), but is currently inactive. The cave consists of a corridor 1–2 m wide, 0.5–1.5 m high, 12.5 m long and slightly sloping inward, which, due to many fillings, can be traversed only on all fours, and in some places only by crawling. Its walls are decorated with spherical‑bulbous dissolution features and montmilch. Because of its nature, external meteorological influences are strongly expressed inside. It is reachable on steep terrain; no special equipment or permission is required to visit the cave with basic caving gear. Near its end a weak draft can be observed, suggesting that the cave may have a continuation.

After the entrance a small drainage pipe leads to the surface, within which a decaying stalactite flow can be seen. In the sections near the entrance the floor is covered with a lot of leaf litter and plant debris, and there is much humus in the cave. The outer parts are completely dry, only further in do the walls begin to become wet. A few metres after the entrance one can only proceed by crawling, but near the end point one can sit down again before the passage becomes completely flattened. The Gerecse Cave Research and Nature Conservation Association carried out bat observations in the Húsvét Cave, during which a small pipistrelle bat and an unidentified bat species were observed in the cavity. Based on the observation data and the occasionally found fresh droppings it can be considered a conditional occasional winter bat roost with a small number of species and individuals.

In 1978 the cave was called Húsvét Cave for the first time in the literature. The cave also occurs in the literature under the names Husvét Cave (Kordos 1976) and Husvét cave (Jánossy 1976).

Research History

In the report issued in the 1976 MKBT Report and written by Dénes Jánossy it is mentioned that in 1976 scattered prehistoric finds were discovered in the Gerecse Mountains, from the Husvét Cave at Bajót (György Vajna). In the 1976 MKBT Report that came to light and in the report written by László Kordos there is mention of a new small Husvét Cave opening in the Öreg-kő rock fissure at Bajót, known by György Vajna, whose 0–30 cm layer yielded in May 1976 a few bone remains that were placed in the Natural Science Collection of the Kuny Domokos Museum in Tata: Aves (bird), Cricetus cricetus (ground squirrel), Meles meles (badger), Vulpes vulpes (fox), Felis silvestris (wildcat), Lynx lynx (lynx), Lepus europaeus (European hare), Sus scrofa (wild boar) and Ovis or Capra (sheep or goat).

In the December 17, 1978 issue of Új Tükör it can be read that the program booklet on the annual report of the Herman Ottó Circle of Komárom County members contained 45 topics, one of which was titled The discovery of the Easter Cave of Bajót.

The 1978 MKBT Report, which included a report written by László Kordos, states that István Skoflek collected four soil samples from the entrance fill of the small Easter Cave located in the Bajót sirks, of which samples 3 and 4 were identified in 1978 by László Kordos at the Kuny Domokos Museum in Tata. Both samples were Holocene. Sample 3: Anura (frog), Ophidia (snake), Lacerta (lizard), Anguis fragilis (legless lizard), Talpa europaea (mole), Apodemus (mouse), Myodes glareolus (bank vole) and Microtus arvalis (field vole). Sample 4: Bufo (toad), Ophidia (snake), Anguis fragilis (legless lizard), Talpa europaea (mole), Crocidura suaveolens (eastern shrew), Sciurus vulgaris (red squirrel), Apodemus (mouse) and Myodes glareolus (bank vole).

In the national cave list of the book Hungary's Caves, published in 1984, the cave is listed among the caves of the Gerecse Mountains under the name Easter Cave. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographical location of the caves of the Danube‑Foot Hills, indicating the cave’s geographical position. Two members of the László Vértes Karst and Cave Research Group, Márton Juhász and György Oldal, observed that on January 19, 1986 a large‑sized, light‑gray bat was hanging on the side wall of the middle part of the cave at a height of 0.5 m on a free wall surface. During the cave visits on January 15, 1989, August 12, 1989, January 29, 1994 and July 23, 1994, the Gerecse Cave Research and Nature Conservation Association determined that there were no bats in the cave.

In the summary published in the 1994 Limes and written by László Kordos it is stated that in the Öreg-kő rock cliff of Bajót, the small Easter Cave discovered in 1976, with a 0–30 cm fill, yielded fruits and bone remains collected by György Vajna for the Kuny Domokos Museum of Tata. Fruits (according to the definition of István Skoflek): Armeniaca vulgaris, Prunus domestica, Padus cf. serotina, Prunus cf. mahaleb, Cornus cf. mas, Prunus sp., Cerasus vulgaris and Cerasus cf. fruticosa. The 1976 bone remains: Aves div. sp. indet., Cricetus cricetus, Meles meles, Vulpes vulpes, Felis silvestris, Lynx lynx, Lepus europaeus, Sus scrofa, Ovis or Capra.