Szeleta Pothole

Szeleta Shaft is one of the highly protected caves of Hungary. It is located in the Bükk region area of the Bükk National Park. It was Hungary's eighth deepest cave.

Description

The entrance to Szeleta Shaft is on the Little Fennsík, near the Szeleta cave, east of the Szeleta cave, on the Szeleta summit, next to the tourist trail marked with a red square. The cave entrance is at the bottom of a periodically active water sinkhole. It developed in Triassic limestone as a relatively young, periodically active water sinkhole cave. The entrance shaft series carries water during rainy periods, and its horizontal part periodically conducts water. A permanent water source emerges in the Spring Hall. Four siphons are located in its narrow passages. The horizontal extent of the cave is 125 m.

The entrance of the very flood‑prone cave is difficult. It is a favored roost of the large horseshoe bat. With the permission of the Bükk National Park Directorate, using rope‑technical equipment and electric lighting, the closed cavity system can be visited. One group per day may visit, consisting of at most 8 persons. In case of an accident, evacuation from the cave is not possible.

The cave appears in literature under the names Szeletai mine cave (Kordos 1984), Szeletai mine‑cave (Bertalan 1976), Szeletai‑shaft (Balázs 1960), Szeletai shaft (Kadić 1938), Szeleta Shaft (Kordos 1977), Szeleta‑summit water‑sinkhole cave (Bertalan 1976), Szeleta‑summit‑water‑sinkhole cave (Kordos 1984) and Szeleta shaft (Schőnviszky 1937). The name Szeleta Shaft was first published in the study by József Kerekes that appeared in 1938.

Research history

Károly Sebős examined the cave in 1931. The 1932 issue of Barlangvilág mentioned the cave, citing Ottó Kadić, which is the first published mention of the shaft. József Kerekes observed the water sinkhole in operation during meltwater in 1937. In the manuscript written by Ottó Kadić and completed in 1952 it is stated that the cave’s small entrance leads into a very narrow fissure 43 m deep, ending in a small chamber.

In the Hydrological Gazette of 1955, in a study written by Sándor Borbély, it is mentioned that during the cave explorations of the Hungarian Hydrological Society's Zsomboly Research Working Committee in the Bükk Mountains, no active water passage was found, except for the Szeleta pothole. In the Szeleta pothole they also only saw that there is water beneath it, but they could not reach the water. The cave entrance is located 550 m from the Hámor temple, at the Szeleta summit, at an altitude of 380 m above sea level. The two‑storey cave was known up to a depth of 14 m until now. In 1952 they began to excavate a very steep narrow passage, 4 m long, clogged with debris, on the second level of the Szeleta pothole. This leads into a fissure passage that is 40–50 cm wide on average, 8.7 m long and slopes stepwise. At the bottom of the fissure passage begins shaft number 3. The shaft is 8.4 m deep, and beside it runs another, similar shaft.

The work committee uncovered the pothole to a depth of 30 m in 1952. In 1952 further research was halted by rainy weather. The members of the work committee on 8 March 1953 again tried to find the continuation of pit 3. At the bottom of the pit they opened a narrow passage, where – after removing a rock curtain – they managed to get to the top of an 8 m pit. Descending the pit, a little farther they found a 6 m deep pit, then a 12 m pit, and finally a 4 m pit. From there they could not proceed further. Later, from the 12 m pit, they descended through a wider crack to a depth of 92 m. From there a crack runs downwards, averaging 10–15 cm wide. It cannot be entered deeper. The pothole is very corroded, and at several points very beautiful stalactite formations and stalactite deposits are visible. Slightly damp, a weak water movement can be observed even in the driest period. A stone dropped into the fissure opening from pit VIII splashes in the water. The study contains a sketch map of the Bükk Mountains (figure 1) showing the geographical location of the Szeleta pothole. The publication includes the length‑section map of the cave (figure 3).

Balázs Zoltán reported in 1960 that the members of the Hungarian Hydrological Society Pothole‑Research Work Committee had uncovered the then‑known 14 m pothole to a depth of 92 m. László Kordos supplemented this information in 1984, stating that the exploration began in 1952 and reached the 92 m depth in 1955 by Olivér Láner. According to a table compiled by Emmi Buczkó and published in the 1961 issue of the Karst and Cave Research, the Szeleta pothole is the 8th deepest cave in Hungary. The 90 m deep cave is located in Felsőhámor. The Miskolc Pothole‑Research Group surveyed the cave, which formed in middle Triassic anisian limestone.

At the end of 1970, the 90 m deep cave was the 12th deepest cave in Hungary. The cave explorers of the Herman Ottó Karst and Cave Research Group visited it three times in 1975 to become acquainted with the cave and to examine research possibilities. The group members discovered an until then unknown 50 m section of the cave in 1976. The depth of the pothole then increased to 110 m. In the manuscript titled *Hungary’s Cave Register*, completed in 1976, it is written that in the Bükk Mountains, at Hámor near Miskolc, the Szeleta pothole is also known as Szeletai akna-barlang and Szeleta-tetői viznyelőbarlang. The easternmost cave of the Szeleta ridge’s karst chain opens at 380 m above sea level. The narrow cave with eight levels is 92 m deep. The part of the manuscript concerning the cave was written based on one literary work.