Kálvária Cave

The Calvary Cave is one of the caves located on Calvary Hill in Solymár, in the Buda Hills within the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

The Calvary Cave is situated in an abandoned stone quarry on the western side of Calvary Hill, which lies on the administrative border of Budapest and Solymár, in the cave cadastral area 4772. The stone quarry is easily accessible. The cave can be reached on foot in a few minutes from the terminus of bus 157A at Budaliget, Géza Prince Road, and from the stop of bus 157 at Budaliget, Géza Prince Road. The cave has a single entrance, which lies in the southernmost tip of the lower level of the quarry and faces south. The entrance can be approached both from the lower and the upper level of the quarry. From the lower level one can ascend a steep, muddy and small-stone‑debris slope about 8 m long to the entrance opening in the quarry’s rock wall. The entrance, 1.5 m wide, 1.1 m high, and semicircular (oval) in shape, at first glance appears to be a natural fissure, but on closer inspection it is seen to have been created by excavating a spherical niche.

The cave's overall rock consists of Eocene limestone and Eocene marl, while its upper layers consist of slightly dolomitized dolomite. The cave was formed postgenetically by dissolution along tectonic fractures. Based on the speleothems visible in the cave, the dissolution was probably caused by sulphuric waters. The entrance area is a broken dome chamber, split in two by a crack. This crack determines the direction of the cave's main passage. In the entrance area the stalactites have disappeared from the wall, most certainly broken off by freezing, with no trace of human damage. From the 0th survey point 2–3 m further in, stalactites and boxwork formations can already be seen on the wall. At the 3rd survey point the first significant side passage is reachable. The passage is a flat and wide constriction, whose bottom consists of clay and fine fragmental gravel. Descending the constriction, a steeply rising clay ledge can be observed.

On a slightly sloping incline in the main branch one must continue sliding over small rolling stones, as well as carried-in wooden branches and debris toward a narrow passage. This narrow passage is the entrance to the terminal chamber. Upon reaching the terminal chamber of about 3 m diameter, the eye is immediately drawn to the 40×140×60 cm pit dug for exploratory research, which has a handleless bucket in its centre. Looking around the chamber, traces of spherical hollows 15–30 cm in diameter can be seen in the wall at several places, and larger forms containing them are also observable. To the left of polygon 4–5 there is a brain‑dripping (brain‑drip) that ends in a broken spherical hollow of about 70 cm diameter. From this a very narrow passage begins, which after 5 m becomes even narrower, but a glimpse reveals large fallen rocks and among them air cavities. A fissure connects to the top of the chamber. This fissure starts in the first chamber, therefore light filters into the chamber through the entrance. The fissure is impassably narrow, widening only on the ceiling of the terminal chamber into a roughly 40 cm spherical hollow.

The 1.5–12 mm sized pea stone does not cover the main branch evenly. Standing opposite the polygon point 5, to the left of the polygon point, towards the east, a clay vein runs, crossing the chamber for 1.5 m in a thickness of a hair. The interest of the vein is that it contains alternating grey and red clay. By slipping through the entrance narrowing of the side branch at polygon point 3, one can reach a sloping, ascending fissure. The interest of the side branch is that it runs parallel to the main branch but, unlike it, does not descend but rises. According to the map, looking from B to A the passage ends in rock debris, and its top is closed by breccia. The top of the passage is sealed by broken stones, through which roots extend into the cave. Roots occur densely, providing a sure hiding place for spiders. Spiders are found mainly in the side branch. The spiders most certainly moved into the cave because of mosquitoes and other small flying insects also present in the cave. No water dripping or water seepage is detectable anywhere in the fossil cave. The exploration of the cave’s main branch should be continued and new places within it should also be investigated. It is a decisive question whether the cave is a permanent bat habitat.

In 1984 the cave was first called Kálvária Cave in the literature. The cave also appears in the literature under the names Budaligeti basaltic cave (Eszterhás 1993) and Kálvária 1. sz. cave (Pintér 2000).

Research History

István Csepregi and Gábor Asbóth produced the floor plan map of Kálvária Cave measured with lost points on December 22 1984. The 1984 MKBT Report states that in 1984 the SZIKKTI II. sz. Cave Research Group carried out a field survey in the Buda Hills, during which they found Kálvária Cave. Afterwards the group requested permission to explore the cave for exploratory and scientific purposes. The cave is located in an abandoned quarry on Kálvária Hill at 330 m above sea level. The quarry lies in thick-bedded Triassic Dachstein limestone. At the time of discovery the cave consisted of a small chamber 3.5 × 2 m, slightly sloping, and a fissure 0.5–1 m in diameter and 3 m long. The floor was covered with debris. The group began the exploratory work by removing the debris.

With the removal of the debris, a chain of spherical chambers was uncovered. The walls of the spherical chambers are decorated with aragonite crystals and druse stones. Leaving the entrance hall and the spherical chambers, to the right there is a fissure 3 m long, 1.5 m wide and 0.5 m high. The members of the group named this part Constitution Corridor. The cave section received this name because of the time of its discovery. After the entrance to the corridor, another row of spherical chambers is located, which, when left, reveals the entrance to a hall. Continuing further, the end point of the cave’s 10 m length can be reached. Going back from the hall, at the entrance one must turn right and a younger but more speleothem‑rich section follows. This section is about 3–5 m long. In this part the research was halted because of the speleothems, until elsewhere there is a chance to proceed.