Szinlő Cave

Szinlő Cave is one of the caves located in the Budai Mountains in the Danube–Ipoly National Park, in Biatorbágy.

Description

The entrance of Szinlő Cave is located at the foot of the wall of the Gesztenyés quarry (Országház quarry) on the outskirts of Biatorbágy. The abandoned quarry is situated on the K side of the road connecting Biatorbágy with Sóskút, about 1.5 km from Biatorbágy towards D. The quarry wall on the Ny side exceeds 20 m in height. At this place, extremely large, human-made square-section tunnels extend horizontally into the rock. On the É side of the quarry, the lower side, there are three cave entrances, of which two (Szinlő Cave, Guillotine Cave) open directly next to each other. Behind the É side cave entrance the relatively narrow Szinlő Cave can be seen.

The cave formed along a tectonic fracture in middle Miocene (Sarmatian) limestone (Tinnyei Formation) due to tectonic displacement, freeze-thaw weathering, collapse and corrosion. The cave, which has a simple (crack) spatial form, is horizontal. Its characteristic cross-section type is a crack. The floor of the crack cave runs almost horizontally, sloping inward only at the entrance area because of rock blocks that entered from the surface and other debris. A significant part of the crack is divided by a false floor formed by fallen and then jammed large rock blocks. There is no formation in the cavity; the porous walls are covered by spider webs in some places.

Because of the narrow dimensions of the passages, few people visit the cave, therefore there is little trash inside. There is a lot of litter in the cave entrance. The cave's precisely measured length is 12 m, to which at least another 3 m is added. After the aforementioned length the fissure narrows so much that only a small child could pass through it. After the narrowing, a laser rangefinder could measure another 3 m, where it appears that the passage widens. The easily accessible, freely visitable cave can be traversed using basic cave passage equipment.

In 1990 the cave was first called Szinlő Cave in the literature. The cave received its name because of its silt‑like deposited layers, whose formation involved corrosion, but due to the genetics of these forms they cannot be considered true silt deposits.

Research History

According to the 1990 report of the Acheron Cave Research Department, the department members examined the Gesztenyés quarry (Biatorbágy) located at K from Bolha Hill in July 1990. Directly next to the entrance of Guillotine Cave is the entrance of Szinlő Cave, named by the department members. Szinlő Cave is about 20 m long, a narrow fissure cave. A straight corridor leads to a small chamber at the end of the cave, which above connects to a silt‑like, spherical channel. Based on this, the department concluded that the cave most likely developed secondarily as a cold‑water cavity fissure cave. An intense draft flows out from the end point.

The members assumed at the entrance that the cave connects to one of the artificial galleries, but during mapping it turned out that it is 20 m away. It is about 10 m from the entrance of the Guillotine cave and the Szinlő cave to the entrance of the Szilikózis cave. The manuscript includes the map of the Chestnut stone quarry. (The map marks the east direction.) The map was made by Zoltán Szabó in 1990. The map shows the floor plan of the Szinlő cave and its location relative to the other two caves.

In 2005 Attila Gazda surveyed the cave, and using the survey he compiled on 20 March 2005 the floor plan map of the Szinlő cave (Biatorbágy) and three cross‑section maps. On the floor plan map, which indicates the east direction on the map sheet for its use, the positions of the three cross‑sections in the cave can be seen. According to the register sheet of the Guillotine cave made in 2005, one part of the Guillotine cave reaches those more porous, crumbly layers that are also collapsed in the neighboring Szinlő cave, forming the (pseudo)shapes that gave the Szinlő cave its name. A portion of the looser rock material has also crumbled in the Guillotine cave, becoming detached.

According to the register sheet of the Szinlő cave dated 20 March 2005, based on a BTI cadastral survey, the entrance of the Szinlő cave (cave cadastral area 4710, Pest County, Biatorbágy, Etyeki Hills) is at the foot of the quarry rock wall. The cave entrance is 1.3 m wide, 3.5 m high, natural, fissure‑shaped and oriented horizontally. The thoroughly surveyed cave is 12 m (plus at least 3 m) long, 4.5 m vertical extent, 3.5 m high, 1 m deep and 12 m (plus at least 3 m) horizontal extent.

Periodically dripping water appears in the cavity. Szinlő can be observed in the cave. The element of the cavity related to the host rock is the collapsed layer head. Debris, locally formed inorganic fill: rubble, rock debris, other materials dead from the host rock. Near the cave entrance soil, humus occurs. Thematic processing: map, photograph, cadastre, description. Competent nature protection authority: Danube–Ipoly National Park. The easily accessible cave can be traversed without a permit using basic caving equipment, but some passages are impassable. The practically untouched cave floor is trampled. Related documents: map.