Keleti quarry No 3 Cave

The Keleti quarry No. 3 cave is one of the caves located in the Budai Landscape Protection Zone of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in District III of Budapest.

Description

In the K‑section of the Buda thermal karst, on the upper level of the abandoned, two‑storey quarry of Mátyás Hill DK, in the middle part of the rock wall, at a relative height of 7–8 m, there is the already visible from a distance oval, wide, natural‑looking but artificially opened, horizontally axis‑oriented entrance opening toward DK, 6.2 m wide and 2.1 m high. The Keleti quarry No. 3 cave opens 4 m to the left above the Keleti quarry No. 4 cave. The area around the entrance is slick in many places, cellular. The horizontal extent of the cave is 12 m. It formed in Upper Eocene limestone, in the Szépvölgyi Limestone Formation. It was created along a tectonic fault due to mixing corrosion of thermal waters rising from depth.

From the entrance area one can reach the lower level through a narrow passage leading downwards. The most spectacular part of the cave is located about 30 m from the entrance, a nearly regular spherical chamber, a spherical dome with a diameter of 4–4.5 m. Most formations are found here. The characteristic speleothem types of the cave are the circular and elliptical types. Observed in the cave are spherical domes, spherical columns, wavy-surfaced dripstone flowstones, dripstone poisoning, pea stones and cauliflower-like pea stones. The pea stones developed up to a distinct line, indicating the former water level height. The floor is excavated and, due to the dry, clayey, stone‑debris fill, the cave is dusty. On the outer side, ancient remnants, moss animals, and Pecten species can be seen in the host rock. Bats occur there in summer. The entrance is reachable by rock climbing. Rope protection is recommended for the approach. The easily walkable, unrestricted cave can be visited freely with basic caving equipment.

In 2004 the cave was first called Keleti quarry No 3 cave in the literature. In the literature Keleti quarry No 3 cave also appears as cave 3 (Acheron 1993), cave 3 (Fehér, Fritz 1996), 3rd cave (Kárpát 1984), 3.cave (Kárpát 1984), 3rd cave (Kárpát 1992), 3rd cavity (Kárpát 1983), Keleti quarry 3rd cave (Gazda 2004), Keleti quarry 4th cave (Leél‑Őssy 1995), Dome cave (Leél‑Őssy 1995), Mátyás‑hegy DK‑i quarry 3rd cave (Kárpát 1983) and Mátyás‑hegy‑DK‑i quarry 3rd cave (Kárpát 1983). It may be that the names Mátyáshegyi 5th rock cavity (Bertalan 1976) and Mátyás‑hegyi 5th rock cavity (Kordos 1984) are variants of the name Keleti quarry No 3 cave.

Research history

According to the statements of nearby elderly residents, many cavities existed at the quarry floor level when the quarry was operating. The many small caves in the wall of the upper quarry yard and the numerous cave indications and formations suggest that quarrying destroyed a large cave, or the upper part of a large cave. The caves visible today are remnants of this large cave. From the 1943 Cave World it is known that Károly Bertalan and Béla Albert, within the systematic study of the caves around Buda, examined 14 small cavities in the Mátyás‑hegy and Kecske‑hegy quarries.

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

The report published in the 1963 Karst and Cave Exploration Bulletin mentions that the BEAC Cave Exploration Group explored the K side quarry of Mount Mátyás in 1962. A few openings are visible in the rock face of the quarry, of which two (in their present condition) can be called caves. No one has yet worked on their investigation. Geologist Gábor Láng mapped the cavities. The characteristic dome chambers indicate the chambers’ karstic origin. The largest is about 4 m in diameter. In addition to the exploration of the Barit Cave, the investigation is promising at two other sites.

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 much 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 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.