Játék Cave

Játék Cave is one of the caves located in the Aggtelek National Park. Together with the other caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst, the cave has been part of the World Heritage since 1995.

Description

It opens on the Upper Hill plateau, north of the centre of Bódvaszilas, east of the hunting lodge on the Szabó plateau, 320 metres away, on the north side of the Dózer road, in a specially protected area, at an altitude of 505 metres above sea level. It is located on the southwestern side of the first shaft north of the Szabó‑pallagi sinkhole. It lies 105 metres from the sinkhole. Small horizontal passage cave with a surface‑breaking opening. Access to the unsealed cave requires a permit. The cave passage can be traversed with basic equipment.

On the northeastern side of the shaft there is a large, three‑ to four‑metre‑wide stalagmite‑covered sinkhole fragment, which is ancient and in a decaying state. It is not a cave, but only a rock yard.

The cave also occurs in the literature with the designation S/3 (Vlk 2019). In 1997 the cave was first called Játék Cave in the literature.

Research History

In the book published in 1992 titled *Alsó‑hegyi zsombolyatlasz*, the cave’s geographic location can be seen on one of the maps presenting the Hungarian side of the Upper Hill plateau. Since 1995 the cave has been part of the World Heritage together with the other caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst. In the thesis written by Attila Nyerges in 1997, Játék Cave is mentioned among the other cave formations, sinkholes and karst objects of the Hungarian part of Upper Hill. (At the KvVM Cave and Geological Department there is a map sheet on which the cave’s plan map, cross‑section map and extended longitudinal section map can be seen. The plan map shows the location of the longitudinal and cross sections within the cave. The date of the maps’ creation and the cartographer are unknown.)

In the book on the karst phenomena of Alsó-hegy, published in 2019, it is stated that the Játék Cave is 4 m long and 1 m deep. The cave identification numbers are: in Slovakia 050, in Hungary 5452/18, other S/3. The book published the cave's maps created at an unknown time. The cave was surveyed at an unknown time by an unknown person, and then at an unknown time by an unknown person the cave maps were drawn based on the survey. The maps were digitized in 2017 by Luděk Vlk. A detailed map of Alsó-hegy was attached to the publication. The map was prepared by Luděk Vlk, Mojmír Záviška, Ctirad Piskač, Jiřina Novotná, Miloš Novotný and Martin Mandel. On the map, where caves and sinkholes are marked with black dots, the geographical location of Játék Cave (5452/18, 050) can be seen.