Spartacus Cave

Spartacus Cave is one of the caves located on Vaskapu Hill at the edge of Pilisszentkereszt in the Pilis Mountains, within the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Description

In the Vaskapu Valley, a highly protected area, the cave can be approached by climbing up alongside the rock slab located to the D side of the upper branch of the Vaskapu Valley. The cave’s nicely shaped entrance lies at the foot of the second large, continuous rock group in the E–I direction. Behind the entrance a room of impressive size stretches. From the room, which is excellently suited for bivouacking, a single-person, nicely widened tube winds further. In the cave formed in Triassic limestone there are small dissolved stalactites, and in the entrance room beautiful moonmilk can be observed. The easily walkable cave, which can be visited without a permit, is definitely worth a visit; only basic caving equipment is needed for its exploration.

In 1997 the cave was first called Spartacus Cave in literature.

Research History

The book *Pilis Trail Guide* published in 1967 mentions that around the Szoplák Valley Cave area, in the Vaskapu Valley, many small cavities hide among the bushes. The 1974 edition of *Pilis Trail Guide*, in the list of caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains (pages 19–20), notes that among the caves of the Pilis and Visegrád Mountains are the Vaskapu Valley caves. According to the section describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains, a tourist trail marked with a blue square enters the Vaskapu Valley beside a forest hut, and after about half a kilometre, a whole series of cavities and small caves is found in the rocky hillside that runs alongside the trail. These are the Vaskapu Valley caves (rock niches, rock tubes), among which the Pilis Cave stands out for its size, dripstones, and interesting shapes.

The 1991 guidebook repeats the section from the 1974 guidebook that describes the Vaskapu Valley caves, with the difference that the red-marked tourist trail turns into the Vaskapu Valley beside the forest hut. The 1996 cave day tour guide mentions that among the Vaskapu Valley caves, stone chambers and rock pits, the Pilis Cave stands out both for its size, its interesting shapes, and its dripstones.

On May 5, 1997 József Regős surveyed the cave, and on May 9, 1997 Sándor Kraus drew the cave floor plan map and three cross‑section maps based on the survey. The floor plan map shows the location of the three cross‑sections within the cave. The maps present the cave at a scale of 1:100. The map sheet marks the east direction. In May 1997 Sándor Kraus drew a site plan showing the geographic locations of the cavities around the Pilis Cave. The drawing shows the geographic location of the cave marked with the name Spartacus. In Sándor Kraus’s 1997 report it reads that the Spartacus Cave, known before 1997, had its map made in 1997. A significant cave that may need to be identified. The 1997 site plan was included in the report.