Solymári quarry No 3 Cave

The Solymári quarry No. 3 cave is one of the caves located in the Budai Mountains of the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Solymár, on Zsíros Hill.

Description

Almost 2 km north‑east of the centre of Solymár, near the well‑known and tourist‑map marked Solymári‑Devil’s Hole, under its main entrance and on the side of the large, no longer operating stone quarry, is the Solymári quarry No. 3 cave. It is situated in the Budai Landscape Protection Area. The entrance to the Solymári quarry No. 3 cave is located in an open‑air rock outcrop on the upper part of the quarry’s bauxite waste dump, at an altitude of 337 m above sea level. The entrance is 0.6 m wide and 0.4 m high, natural, slope‑aligned and triangular in shape.

The cave, reachable by an easy walk and then on difficult (steep) terrain, formed in upper Triassic Dachstein limestone. Its formation was influenced by tectonics, freeze‑thaw rock disintegration and corrosion. The cave’s spatial form is simple. Its slope ratio is inclined and its characteristic cross‑section type is irregularly shaped. The freely viewable cave is easily walkable.

In its literature the cave also occurs under the name Solymári quarry No. III cavity (Turi 2009).

Research history

The book published in 1958 titled *Budapest természeti képe* mentions that in Pál Jablonkay’s 1935 book there is a note that at the level of the Solymári stone‑hole opening, 6–8 other openings can be seen in the quarry wall. According to Sándor Láng, these have since been excavated and openings of karst passages can be observed at other points. Based on the openings in the quarry wall, Pál Jablonkay thought that there was once a polje here. Sándor Láng considers this impossible based on the surface forms.

In the manuscript completed in 1976 and written by Bertalan Károly it reads that the karst spring vents of the Solymári quarry are located on Solymár in the Buda Hills, on Sziklás Hill. These are situated in the quarry beneath the Solymári Devil's Hole. The vents were discovered by the exploitation of the mine. The part of the manuscript describing the karst spring vents was written based on two literary works. In the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the summary name of the Solymári quarry karst spring vents appears among the caves of the Buda Mountains. Related to the list, the geographic location of these cavities is shown on a 1:500 000 scale map presenting the geographic position of the caves of the Danube‑Zug Mountains.

Borzsák Sarolta and Egri Csaba surveyed the cave in 2005, and then Borzsák Sarolta, using the survey data, prepared on August 25 2004 the plan map, longitudinal section map and cross‑section map of the Solymári quarry cave No 3 (Solymár, cadastral cave unit 4773). The map sheet marks the east direction. On the plan map the longitudinal and cross‑section positions in the cave can be observed. Egri Csaba prepared the cave photographic documentation for the National Cave Register on August 25 2004.

On August 25, 2004, Atilla Csaba and Sarolta Borzsák wrote the cave register sheet for the National Cave Register. The register sheet states that the cave No. 3 of the Solymári quarry is located in the settlement of Solymár in Pest County, in the Buda Hills, in cadastral area 4773. The entrance of the cave is in the quarry, on a hillside, in open terrain, at an altitude of 337 m a.s.l. The thoroughly surveyed cave is 3.2 m long, 3 m wide horizontally, 1.9 m high vertically, 0.4 m high and 1.5 m deep. The floor of the practically intact cave is essentially intact.

The simplest approach is from the ruin of the Zsíros-hegy mountain lodge. From the ruin, follow the marked tourist trail toward the Solymári-ördöglyuk up to the edge of the quarry. From there, after 20–30 m on the small side trail on the D side of the quarry, descend about 10 m into the steep, unstable quarry pit. This is hazardous even in dry weather, but in snowy, wet conditions it is practically possible only with rope belaying. The small entrance of the cave is in a scree of loose stones falling from the slope. The narrow and sloping cave can be traversed only by crawling. There are no significant or abundant mineral formations. The cavity is of cadastral significance only. Because of the unstable and rocky debris floor, it is very difficult to climb out of the cave on foot. The cave cannot be turned around inside. It is insignificant for further exploration, but not far from it there is an extensive cave system.

Members of the Anubis Cave Exploration Group and the Adrenalin Cave Exploration Association cleaned the floor of the cave originally about 3 m deep, called Solymári quarry No 3 cavity, in 2009, thereby increasing the cave’s depth to about 8 m. They discovered descending and ascending encouraging passages in which airflow is clearly perceptible. They intend to continue the work in a cavity that is definitely suitable for further exploration.