Keleti quarry No 12 Cave

The Cave No. 12 of the Eastern quarry is one of the caves located in the 3rd district of Budapest, in the Buda Landscape Protection Area of the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

In the eastern part of the Buda thermal karst, on the upper level of the abandoned two‑storey quarry of Mount Mátyás, on the eastern right side of the quarry yard, at an altitude of 224 m above sea level, there is a natural but artificially opened oval, horizontally oriented entrance at a relative height of five metres. The collapsed Cave No. 11 of the Eastern quarry is 25 m to the southeast. It formed along a tectonic fault due to the mixing corrosion of seepage waters rising from depth. The 13‑metre‑long cave consists of a horizontal passage. The easily walkable, unsealed cave can be visited with a permit and basic caving equipment.

The Cave No. 12 of the Eastern quarry appears in the literature under the names 12th cave (Kárpát 1985), 12th cave (Acheron 1993), 12th cave (Kárpát 1989), 12th workplace (Kárpát 1985), Kaolinos cave (Acheron 1993), Cave of the Eastern quarry No. 12 (Leél‑Őssy 1995), Mine of Mine No. 12 in the Mátésszék (Kárpát 1989), Mátésszék mine No. 12/b cave (Kárpát 1985) and Mátésszék mine No. 12 cave (Kárpát 1989).

History of research

According to statements from elderly residents living nearby, there were many cavities in the floor level of the quarry when the mine was operating. The many small caves in the wall of the upper quarry yard and the numerous cave indications and formations suggest that mining destroyed a large cave, or at least the upper part of a large cave. The caves visible today are remnants of that large cave. From the 1943 issue of Barlangvilág it is known that Károly Bertalan and Béla Albert, within the framework of systematic exploration of the caves around Buda, examined the 14 small cavities in the quarries of Mount Mátyás and Mount Kecske.

It first appeared in the 1957 Geographical Bulletin, and the study written by Sándor Leél-Őssy mentions the large stone quarry cavities of Mátyás Hill, which formed in nummulite limestone. On the site map in the study that shows the geographical location of the caves of the Buda Hills, the geographical location of the cavities in the large stone quarry of Mátyás Hill can be seen. (These cavities are listed on the site map among the karstic caves.) In the book titled *Budapest természeti képe* published in 1958 it is written that in the wall of the large stone quarry of Mátyás Hill facing D there are karstic cavities. In the book *Budapest* edited by András Vitéz and Miklós Pap and published in 1961 it is mentioned that a hiker can see cavities in the stone quarry on the DK side of Mátyás Hill, which are similar to the Mátyás Hill cave but small in size.

The report published in the 1963 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin mentions that the BEAC Cave Research Group investigated the K side stone quarry of Mátyás Hill in 1962. On the quarry’s rock wall several openings are visible, of which two (in their present condition) can be called caves. No one has yet dealt with their investigation. Geologist Gábor Láng mapped the cavities. Characteristic spherical chambers indicate the karstic origin of the cavities. The largest is about 4 m in diameter. In addition to the exploration of Barit Cave, research is also promising at two other locations.

The 1964 Karst and Cave Investigation Bulletin mentions that in the quarry on Mátyás Hill in Budapest's District III, overlooking the Danube, long‑known cavity remains were found in 1963. The cavity system is highly charged with spherical chambers and hydrothermal fissures. Members of the BEAC Nature Hiking Section Cave Investigation Group have been carrying out exploratory work at several points of the quarry since 1962. In 1963, working about 200 hours, they were able to advance forward in several places. They saw that the situation was encouraging, but only a great amount of work could yield results. They planned to continue the exploratory work in the quarry in 1964. They began the geological and mineralogical processing of the site, the precise surveying, leveling and mapping of the area. They will most certainly finish the cartographic work in the spring.

The book published in 1966 titled Budai‑hegy Guide states that in another (DK) quarry on Mátyás Hill (not the Mátyás‑hegy cave quarry) there are also small cave cavities. Nine cavities became known in this stone mine. The 1972 Karst and Cave Bulletin reported that on 24 April 1972 (at the request of the Budapest Police Headquarters), due to their disappearance, members of the Cave Rescue Service inspected the cavities of the eastern quarry of Mátyás Hill.

The manuscript titled Hungary's Cave Registry, completed in 1976, does not mention the cave. In the 1978 report of the Imre Vass Cave Research Group it is written that the group has been conducting research and mapping of the K quarry on Mátyás Hill for several years. Some chambers of the quarry were broken into by the young group members in 1978, resulting in the extension of several chambers by 2–3 m, but no significant results were achieved. According to the guidebook Budai Mountains, which appeared in 1982, there are small water‑filled cavities in the K side quarry of Mátyás Hill.