Margitligeti homokköves Niche

The Margitliget sandstone niche is a cave located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Oszoly.

Description

It is situated about 20 m east of the top of the rock ridge opposite the Margit‑liget, on the outskirts of Csobánka, 5 m lower. Starting from the Negyedhármas cave toward the ridge top, heading south on the small path, one can reach the top of the lower rock ledge just before the entrance of the Margitliget sandstone niche. A sandstone block the size of a backpack is wedged in front of the entrance, which makes the cave easy to identify.

The 3 m long cave was formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone under post‑genetic conditions. From the entrance, which consists of a single niche and narrowing fissures, the whole cave can be seen. The cave has no particular significance for further research.

It also occurs in the literature as the Margit‑liget Sandstone niche (Kraus 1997).

Research history

In the 1967 book *Pilis guidebook* it was reported that on the south side facing Oszoly from Csobánka, among the forest‑surrounded limestone rocks, there are several insignificant cavities.

In the guidebook Pilis útikalauz 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. According to the section describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains, there are a dozen small caves among the Oszoly rocks rising above Csobánka. These were mapped and regularly explored by the Szpeleológia Barlangkutató Csoport. 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 guidebook published in 1991 repeats the general description of the Oszoly caves presented in the 1974 guidebook. The 1996 cave day tour guide repeats the description found in the 1991 guidebook, which generally presents the Oszoly caves. On May 31, 1997, Sándor Kraus drew the floor plan map of the Margitligeti Homokköves cave with a cross‑section.

On May 31, 1997, Sándor Kraus drew a site plan showing the geographical location of the Margitligeti‑szirt caves. The site plan is based on a survey conducted on May 29, 1997. The site plan shows the geographical location of the cave labeled Homokköves. In Kraus’s 1997 report it is stated that the cave named Margitligeti‑Homokköves‑fülke, which was unknown before 1997, had its map drawn in 1997. The 1997 site plan was included in the report. The book Magyar hegyisport és turista enciklopédia published in 2005 mentions that in the Oszoly forest, rock blocks and small cave openings alternate sporadically.