Ősi Cave

Ősi Cave is among the specially protected caves of Hungary. It is located in the Pilis Mountains within the Danube–Ipoly National Park. Prehistoric and Bronze Age archaeological finds have also been uncovered from it.

Description

The cave is located in a forest on the north side of Pilis Mountain, near Klastrompuszta, in the lower rock cleft on the east side of the Csévi ridges, on a highly protected area in the outskirts of Pilisszentlélek. Its entrance opens to the northeast, 60–70 m from the entrance of Rejtekút Cave, below Legény Cave and Leány Cave, under Bivak Cave, at an altitude of about 443 m above sea level. Currently, further passages can be reached only through a narrow funnel.

The cave formed in Upper Triassic Dachstein limestone by dissolution below the karst water level. In its south‑northeast part, massive collapses block the presumed further passages. The floor of the cave is covered with debris, which is probably related to the prehistoric collapse that covered the entrance. In the past the cave had two lower entrances, but these were blocked by the collapses and are now covered by slope debris. The sealed cave can be visited with permission, using electric lighting, by a research group and for research purposes.

Because of its untouched speleothems, it can be inferred that the cave has not been excavated by treasure hunters since prehistoric times. During the excavation, prehistoric and Bronze Age pottery, bones of domestic and wild animals, as well as human bones were found.

The cave also occurs in literature under the name Csévi‑ridge Cserepes Cave (György 2009).

Research History

The Ariadne Karst and Cave Research Association uncovered the cave by demolition in February 1999. Hungarian archaeological research records state that on 12 March 2000, during a field survey, they entered Ősi Cave, which opens under the Csévi ridges above Klastrompuszta (Esztergom, Komárom‑Esztergom County, Copper Age and Bronze Age). The cave’s entrance is on the east side of the ridges, near Legény Cave and Leány Cave, at roughly the same elevation (500 m a.s.l.), below Bivak Cave. Currently it can be approached only through a very narrow funnel that opens to the surface. Previously there was probably another entrance: massive collapses block the passages in the south‑northeast part of the cave. Compared with the surface slope, it is conceivable that old, collapsed entrances existed in this area.

The floor of the cave is everywhere covered with debris, which is certainly related to the collapse that covered the entrance. The collapse occurred long ago (probably in prehistoric times). This is indicated by the fact that in the Torch Chamber a thick flowstone covers the collapse material. This made it possible for the cave to remain untouched since prehistoric times, at least from humans, and for treasure hunters, as well as the large cave excavations of the first half of the 20th century, to spare the unknown-age and thickness fill. The Ariadne Karst and Cave Research Association discovered the cave in February 1999. One member of the association, István Deák, informed the authors about the finds from the cave, who entered the cave with the association's assistance at the above date.

Already during the first visit following the discovery, pottery shards and human bones were found. In the niche called the Bone Chamber, in situ human bones as well as various vessels of different preservation lay on the surface. The cave researchers documented the finds and the circumstances as precisely as possible given the possibilities (plan view drawing, photographs, slide and video). The pottery was first taken to the Danube–Ipoly National Park, then to the Esztergom Museum, where they were classified into the Baden culture (catalogue number: 99.59.1–16.). The human remains are at the Hungarian State Institute of Geology.

Other phenomena besides human and animal bones also indicate human presence in the cave. In some places the dripstones are clearly broken intentionally, elsewhere soot traces could be observed on the walls. During the exploration, the authors collected finds from several points (pottery, animal and human bones of various colors and preservation). Some of the bones were probably introduced into the cave by human activity, while for others (e.g., the badger and the fox) this is practically excluded. At the deepest point of the cave (Torch Hall) bone fragments (possibly including human bones) were collected, as well as a rim fragment and a side fragment from elsewhere. On the flat corridor between the Entrance Hall and the Torch Hall, the authors found bones that appear recent, elsewhere certainly fox remains and two pots.

In the entrance hall several, including some assemblable human skull caps were taken from the debris. On the surface of the Unaltered chamber several phalangeal bones lay. Among the pots they found in the cave, the unadorned fragments collected at point number 2 are mostly Bronze Age, the smooth-surfaced rim and side fragment found at point number 7 and in the chamber called Bone Chamber may be from the Baden period. László Bartosiewicz (Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Science Department of Archaeology) identified the bones found in the cave. The varied assemblage includes bones of several domestic animals. Among these, the remains of predators may even be from recently living stray animals. Noteworthy are the many human bones as well as the associated foot bones of a goat. The pots and animal bones, except for the Bone Chamber and the Unaltered chamber, are all certainly in a displaced state. They are mainly found in narrow fissures, at the edges of passages, in peripheral locations. Because of the cave’s pristine condition and the archaeological and anthropological finds uncovered, in addition to nature protection status it would be very important to have archaeological protection as well.

In the 2000 study on Karst Development there is a figure showing the geographical locations of several caves and freshwater limestone occurrences in the Pilis Mountains. The figure shows how large the vertical extent of the Ancient Cave (named “Ancient” on the drawing) is and at what altitude it is located.