Szabó József Cave

The Szabó József Cave is among the specially protected caves of Hungary. It is located in the Pilis Mountains in the Danube–Ipoly National Park. It also appears in tourist guidebooks.

Description

It opens in the forest of the Nagy quarry, also called Tölgyfa quarry, on the outskirts of Budakalász, on the Ezüst Hill, east of the 405‑metre elevation point, at 107°, in the forest. The large entrance is clearly visible in the abandoned stone mine. Tourist maps also mark its location.

Its horizontal, axis‑oriented entrance reached its present form by artificial intervention and was created at the intersection of two cracks. Like the Papp Ferenc Cave, its cavity system can be divided into two main parts. The upper part developed in the Hárshegy limestone, while the lower part in Dachstein limestone. It acquired its present shape under the influence of warm‑water and cold‑water processes. Evidence for this is that cold‑water deposits are found on warm‑water formations. The occurring sinlecs were considered by Szablyár Péter to be warm‑water formations, a claim refuted by Kordos László. The cave is not closed, but can be visited with permission from the Danube–Ipoly National Park Directorate.

It was named after József Szabó. In literature the cave also occurs under the name Szabó József Cave (Bertalan 1976).

Research history

The cave was discovered in 1963 during limestone mining. In 1965 József Kollár (quarry worker) notified the researchers of the Szabó József Geological Technical School about the existence of the cave, who then explored it. The researchers of the technical school sealed the cave in 1965 with a iron door that was brought from the Solymári Devil’s Hole. The first publications about the cave appeared in the 1965 issues of the journals Turista and Karst and Cave Research Information. Various examinations were carried out in it. Szablyár Péter surveyed the cave in 1965 and, using the survey data, drew the longitudinal cross‑section map of the cave.

Based on samples taken from the cave, Szablyár Péter conducted a speleothem distribution study in 1966. In 1966 the cave and the quarry were surveyed, and on the basis of that data the cave floor plan map and the extended section map were compiled. The cavity system is described in detail in the book Pilis útikalauz, which was published in 1967. Kordos László examined the speleothem distribution of the cave samples in 1968. Kordos László and Wehovszky Erzsébet investigated the water content of the cave fillings in 1969. Szablyár Péter determined the calcium carbonate content of the rocks by calcimetry. Water analyses and climatological measurements, as well as biological examinations, were also carried out in it by the cave researchers of the Szabó József Geological Technical School.

In the 1973 report of the Fényes Elek Cave Exploration Department it is mentioned that the department, through hard work, uncovered about a 60 m new section of the cave in February–March 1973. In the book Pilis guidebook published in 1974, in the list of caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains (pages 19–20), it is noted that the Szabó József cave is located between the caves of the Pilis Mountains and the Visegrád Mountains. The part describing the caves of the Pilis Mountains contains a description of the Szabó József cave that matches the description of the Szabó József cave presented in the guidebook published in 1967. In the manuscript completed in 1976 and written by Bertalan Károly it can be read that the Szabó József cave is located in the Pilis Mountains, in the Kevély group, in Budakalász. Its entrance is in the Tölgyfa quarry (Large quarry) at the Üröm Silver Hill, 405 m from K at an azimuth of 107°, at an altitude of 336.24 m above sea level. There is a cemented iron door at the cave‑like entrance. The probably phreatic, stratigraphic‑boundary‑formed, significant cave is 100 m long and 15–20 m deep. The section on the cave was compiled based on three source works.

In 1976 the Szabó József cave in Budakalász, located in the 4800 (Pilis Mountains) cave-cadastral area, became a cave of national significance. A map sketch was published in the 1975–1980 Karst and Cave Research, showing the geographic locations of the caves studied by the Kevély group from a hydrochemical perspective. The geographic location of the Szabó József cave can be seen on the figure. In the 1981 Karst and Cave 1–2 semester issue it was made public that the cadastral number of the Szabó József cave is 4820/6. In the 1983 Karst and Cave there is a figure showing the longitudinal cross‑section of the Pilis Mountains from Pilis Hill to the Danube. The drawing shows the geographic locations of the significant caves of the area and the elevations at which the caves are situated. The figure includes the Szabó József cave located at 336 m above sea level. The cave is 55 m long and 10 m deep.

In the national cave list of the book *Caves of Hungary* published in 1984, the cave appears among the caves of the Pilis Mountains under the name Szabó József cave. Associated with the list is a 1:500 000 scale map showing the geographic location of the caves of the Dunazug Mountains, indicating the cave’s geographic position. The book states that if one cannot descend into the Papp Ferenc cave, two larger nearby cavities with similar geological characteristics can also be visited: the Szabó József cave and the Arany‑lyuk, a dome‑chamber opening in a bowl‑shaped form in the Ezüst‑nyereg. In the 1986 Karst and Cave bibliography regional bibliography section, the cave is listed under the name Szabó József cave. According to the compilation, two of the works published in Karst and Cave deal with the cave.