Néti Hole

The Néti-hole is one of the caves in the Aggtelek National Park that is currently filled and not walkable. Together with the other caves of the Aggtelek karst and the Slovak karst, the cave has been part of the World Heritage since 1995.

Description

From Jósvafő to Ny, from the centre of Aggtelek to É, in the Kecső valley, about 15 m higher than the Kecső plateau, in a forest, not far from the section between boundary stones No. XII.10 and No. XII.11, the cave is located. The entrance of the cave was 30 m from the common state border of Hungary and Slovakia. On tourist maps the cave’s location is marked with a hash sign and the name of the cave. It developed in pink‑red limestone of the middle Triassic. It was very prone to collapse as a periodically active spring cave. It is currently not visitable because it has collapsed.

In 1978 the cave was first called Néti-hole in the literature. In the literature the cave also appears under the names Kecsővölgyi I. worksite (Jakucs 1953), Kecsővölgyi I. worksite (Bertalan 1976), Nétilyuk (Jakucs 1953) and Tucsi‑cave (Vid 1978). It was named Tucsi‑cave after the name of its discoverer. The latter name was given to the cave by the locals.

Research history

The book published in 1953, *The Discovery of the Békecave*, describes the exploration of the cave. According to the description, at the upper end of the Kecső valley, 20 m from the border, on the É‑side of the hill, a periodic spring was made walkable, in which László Jakucs and his team were able to descend to a depth of 30 m. The vertical and narrow shaft continues in the deepest part as a horizontal and filled passage. The filling was carried to the end point by water flowing outward from an inner passage, and by removing the debris plug further passages could be explored, but because the worksite is narrow and work is difficult there, it seems easier from Slovakia to enter the unknown passages.

The book titled *Aggtelek and its Region Guide* published in 1957 states that the cave is located where the Kecső Valley meets the state border. In 1952 the Néti-hole was explored to a depth of 30 m; it is a periodic spring shaft cave. According to the book *Aggtelek and its Surroundings* published in 1961, the Néti-hole is at the northern end of the Kecső Valley. The cave is a 30 m deep periodic spring crater, first visited by László Jakucs and his companions.

The 11th card in the manuscript written by Bertalan Károly and completed in 1976 reads that the Néti-hole (workplace I of Kecső Valley) is located in Aggtelek. The entrance to the cave is at the upper end of the Kecső Valley, 20 m from the Czechoslovak state border, on the left bank of the stream. The entrance is a research shaft in the rubble. The 30 m deep cave consists of a vertical shaft. The part of the manuscript describing the cave was written based on three publications. In 1978 four members of the Baradla Cave Exploration Group (Zsolt Borka, Ferenc Borszéki, László Majoros and Ferenc Szilágyi) surveyed the cave, after which Ferenc Szilágyi compiled the length‑cross‑section map of the cave based on the survey. The map depicts the Néti-hole to a depth of 16 m.

According to the 1978 report on the group's work, László Majoros (resident of Aggtelek) showed the cave to the group members during a field walk. During the cave survey they experienced an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, which is why they did not fully measure it. According to locals, a lot of water sometimes flows out of its entrance. The traces of this were also noticed by the group members. They planned to continue further research after acquiring appropriate technical equipment. In the upper part there was debris from collapse, in the lower part there was clay deposition. Their report describes the cave and its investigation, and the manuscript contains the longitudinal section map drawn in 1978. In 1979 the group members visited it several times.

Based on the group report, István Majoros (resident of Aggtelek) showed them the cave. According to their observations, the air in the very narrow shaft is quickly depleted, so they could only explore to a depth of about 20 m. Once they tried, with the help of rescue workers from the Kazincbarcika mine, to replenish the air, but an unexpected rain filled the cave with water. The 1979 report of the group included a description of the shaft research and a gray‑scale photograph showing the cave entrance.

In the 1981 MKBT Report a site plan came to light that shows the caves located in the ENy part of the research area of the Papp Ferenc Caving Research Group. Among the caves indicated on the plan the name Néti-lyuk can be seen. In the book *Magyarország barlangjai* published in 1984, which contains the national cave list, the cave on the Aggtelek Karst is listed under the name Néti-lyuk. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographic location of the caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Bükk Mountains, on which the geographic location of the cave is shown.

In the camp information of the Central Research Camp of the Hungarian Karst and Caving Society of 1988, with minor changes the cave description written by László Jakucs and published in 1953 was re‑issued. According to the study by László Sásdi published in *Karst and Cave* in 1990, new karst springs began to emerge in the upper Pleistocene in the Kecső Valley, the ancient mouths of Néti-lyuk and Imádságos-kút. Since 1995 Néti-lyuk, together with the other caves of the Aggtelek Karst and the Slovak Karst, has been part of the World Heritage.