Zelezna Baba Cave

Zelezna Baba Cave is among the specially protected caves of Hungary. Archaeological finds have been recovered from it. It is located in the Danube–Ipoly National Park. Few caves have formed in young, porous limestone in Hungary. Therefore the Zelezna Baba Cave formed in such rock is special.

Description

On the eastern edge of the Etyek Hills, in the northern part of Sóskút, at the north end of the rock formation on the slope above the Benta stream on the 173‑metre‑high Calvary Hill, a carved, steep rock wall indicating an old stone quarry is recognizable from a distance. At the bottom of the abandoned, overgrown stone quarry, in the middle of the wall, the entrance of Zelezna Baba Cave opens, 6.5 m wide, 5.5 m high, of a transformed, irregular shape, with a horizontal axis orientation.

The cave was created in Miocene (layered, bedding) limestone by dissolution below the karst water level. The rock that encloses the cave may be Sóskút limestone or Tinnye limestone. The single‑level cave’s floor plan is branching. The typical passage type is triangular. The approximately 15 m long outer part was destroyed by stone mining. The two branches of the cave are about 10–15 m long, about 1–1.5 m high, and 2–3 m wide. Some stalactite columns and finger‑like speleothems are visible in the cave, and in some places fossil shells can be observed. The hard rock layer of the ceiling shows many dissolution marks.

The whole cave is characterized by the occurrence of firestone. Quartz pebbles are present throughout the rock. The horizontal extent of the cavity is 46 m. A mink or fox is thought to use it based on abandoned remains. In some places there is mold fungus, and algae are found at the entrance area. The unsealed cave is accessible without permission, with basic caving equipment and is easily walkable.

Bronze Age and Roman archaeological finds have been recovered from its fill. The cave’s archaeological site identifier number is 11446.

The part called Remény-terem got its name because of the possibility of advancing further. The name Zelezna Baba cave first appears in a manuscript written in 1976, and this name first appeared in print in 1984. The cave occurs in its literature under the names Babó-lyuk (Kraus 2002), Babólyuk (Torma 1986), Sóskuti-barlang (Kordos 1984), Sós-kuti-barlang (Bertalan, Schőnviszky 1976), Sóskúti-barlang (Kraus 2002), Sóskúti barlang (Bertalan 1976) and Zelezna Baba (Halász 1963).

Research history

In the 1920s the outer part of the cave was quickly destroyed because of a stone quarry operating here. During mining the rock was cut down to the rock ledge in front of the cave. In a publication written by Miksa Földváry that appeared in the 1935 Forestry Gazette it can be read that, according to the Hungarian Royal Forest Office of Székesfehérvár, the cave is located in the north‑west part of Sóskút, on the calvary side, in a rocky and barren area, and has two narrow entrances. After the narrow entrance there is an antechamber about 8 m wide. In the past one could go further from the antechamber, but it is no longer passable because the cave ceiling has collapsed. Combs and other utilitarian objects were found in it. The cave belongs to the property of the Székesfehérvár provostry.

Arpad Halasz visited the cave on August 20, 1939. In that year he made a photograph showing the entrance of the cave, and a photograph taken from a distance showing the area around the cave entrance. He drew the cave floor plan map sketch and a longitudinal section (K–Ny direction) map sketch. The two map sketches present the cave at a scale of 1:500. He made two site drawings on which the geographical location of the cave can be observed. Arpad Halasz recorded on June 18, 1940 that many oral traditions are linked to the formation of the cave. For example, that there is a iron door 1.5 km from the cave entrance, behind which people were executed. Another story says that a 15 km long tunnel leads to Etyek, but it has not yet been found.

On December 8, 1940 Arpad Halasz recorded a story according to which, during the Turkish rule, the inhabitants of Sóskút fled there when they heard that the enemy was coming. A few days later Turkish cavalry units arrived at the village but found no one there. One scouting unit went into the valley in front of the cave and there found a woman washing clothes innocently in the stream. The unit leader threatened the woman, who pointed toward the cave and said that the villagers were there. The leader immediately cut off the woman's hand, and the cave was sealed with hot tar. The fugitives therefore died. Another version of the story says that hot tar was not used for the sealing. A few decades ago there was a blacksmith workshop in the cave, which was destroyed because of stone extraction.

It is very likely that about a 10–15 metre section is missing from the current entrance. According to a record by Árpád Halász dated 7 December 1941, research in the cave was continued last year, when a human skull fragment and pottery shards were brought to the surface. Traces of human presence can be followed to the innermost part of the cave. The Halász family conducted trial excavations in one or two places, but with little result. The cave floor slopes strongly to the southwest. It ends in a small passage after 60 metres, where humus and clay completely block further progress. Approximately four metres could be advanced after multiple attempts. The passage is angular at the beginning and its ceiling appears to be carved smooth. This may be the artificially widened passage leading to Etyek. For a while light could be introduced and it was seen that after one or two metres the passage becomes comfortably wide and could be entered with proper preparations.