Kis-lapos Cave

Kis-lapos Cave is one of the caves located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, situated in Oszoly. It is also presented in tourist guidebooks.

Description

In the outskirts of Csobánka, on the D wall of the fourth rock group’s upper part located from the Óra-fal to the east in Oszoly, the entrance is about 8 m above the Two-Entrance Cave. The cave was formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone under phreatic conditions. After the flat entrance of the cave, one can reach a small spherical chamber. This spherical chamber is the end point of the cave. The mostly crawlable cavity is dry, filled with stone rubble, sand and humus. Mosses can be observed at the entrance. It has not been explored, but it is insignificant for further passage.

In 1975 the cave was first called Kis-lapos Cave in the literature. In the literature the cave also occurs under the names Kis-cave (Kordos 1981), Kislapos-cave (Kárpát 1991), Kis-lapos cave (Bertalan 1976), Kis-Lapos-cave (Kraus 1997), Kis-Lapos cave (Kordos 1970) and Lapos-cave (Dely, Mezei 1974).

Research History

In the book *Pilis guidebook* published in 1967 it is mentioned that on the southern side facing Oszoly of Csobánka, among the forest‑surrounded limestone rocks, several insignificant cavities can be found. According to the notice published in the 1969 Karst and Cave Research Bulletin, in August 1969 the Speleology Cave Research Group placed fixed points in the eight smaller and larger cavities on the Oszoly side and the Oszoly side during a camp organized in Kevélyek. On 22 March 1970 and 26 April 1970 László Kordos examined the cave’s climate with an Assmann aspiration psychrometer. In 1970 László Kordos surveyed the cave with a lost‑point device and a mining compass. Based on the survey László Kordos prepared and drew a 1:100 scale plan map and a longitudinal section map. According to the survey the cave is 4.5 m long and 1.8 m deep.

In the 1970 report of the Speleology Cave Exploration Group there is a detailed description of the cave and its research history. The report states that the entrance of the Kis-Lapos cave is on the D-i side of the upper part of the fourth rock group extending from the Oszoly Óra wall to É. A flat opening slopes downward, then forms a small cavity that creates a dome chamber. The cave was probably formed by water flow in Upper Triassic white Dachstein limestone. The completely dry cave is filled with humus. The cave can be visited without equipment. Earlier researchers are unknown and are not mentioned in the literature. In 1970 the members of the Speleology Cave Exploration Group examined it. The annex of the report includes the 1970 maps.

In the book Pilis guidebook published in 1974, in the list of caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains (pages 19–20) it is mentioned that among the caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains are the Oszoly caves and the Lapos cave. According to the section describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains, there are about a dozen small caves among the Oszoly rocks rising above Csobánka. These were mapped and regularly explored by the Speleology Cave Exploration Group. Most of these small caves are not very spectacular, but they must be mentioned because some of them provide excellent bivouac possibilities in the Oszoly rock walls regularly visited by tourists, especially rock climbers, and in their vicinity. The entrance of the Lapos cave is on the D-i side of the upper part of the fourth rock group rising from the Óra wall to É, through which one can reach a small cavity forming a dome chamber.

In the 1975 MKBT Report the 1970 report section concerning the cave was published together with the maps contained in the report. The Kis-lapos Cave opens on the D side of the upper part of the fourth rock group located east of the Oszoly Óra wall. It is a cavity beginning with a flat entrance and consisting of a spherical chamber. It formed in Dachstein limestone. It is filled with humus. The results of the climate measurements are shown in Table 1. László Kordos surveyed it in 1970 with lost points. 4.5 m long and 1.8 m deep. Previous researchers are unknown. The publication contains a site drawing on which the geographic locations of Csúcs Hill and the Oszoly caves can be seen. The drawing shows the geographic location of the Kis-lapos Cave.

In the manuscript written by Károly Bertalan and completed in 1976 it is stated that the Kis-lapos Cave, also called Lapos Cave, is located in the Pilis Mountains, in the Kevély group, at Pomáz. Its entrance is on the D side of the upper part of the fourth rock group located east of the Oszoly Óra wall. The entrance is a flat opening sloping inward. The 4.5 m long and 1.8 m deep cave consists of a single sloping passage and a small spherical chamber forming a small cavity. The part of the manuscript concerning the cave was written based on a manuscript.

In the 1981 issue 1–2 of the Karst and Cave journal it was made public that the Kis-barlang has the cave registry number 4820/28. In the nationwide cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the cave appears among the caves of the Pilis Mountains under the name Kis-barlang with the name variants Kis-lapos-barlang and Lapos-barlang. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographical location of the caves of the Dunazug Mountains, indicating the cave’s geographical position. The guidebook published in 1991 repeats the cave description from the 1974 guidebook and the general description of the Oszoly caves. In the 1991 compilation written by József Kárpát it is mentioned that the Kislapos-barlang (Csobánka) is 5 m long and 1 m deep.