Avshalom Cave

Avshalom Cave (Hebrew: מערת אבשלום, romanized: Me'arat Avshalom), known in academic literature as Soreq Cave (Hebrew: מערת שׂורק, romanized: Me'arat Soreq; Arabic: مغارة سوريك, romanized: Mghar Suriq) and popularly as Stalactites Cave (Hebrew: מערת הנטיפים, romanized: Me'arat HaNetifim), is a 5,000 m² cave on the western side of Mt. Ye'ela, in the Judean hills in Israel, unique for its dense concentration of stalactites and other cave formations. It is a popular show cave, as well as a highly valued witness of the climate evolution over the last 185,000 years.

Name

The cave is named after the Soreq/Sorek Valley (Nahal Sorek) and after Avshalom Shoham, an Israeli soldier killed in the War of Attrition.

Location

Avshalom Cave is situated near Hartuv, 3 km east of Bet Shemesh, Israel.

Discovery

The cave was discovered accidentally in May 1968, while quarrying with explosives.

After its discovery, the location of the cave was kept a secret for several years for fear of damage to its natural treasures.

Description

The cave is 83 m long, 60 m wide, and 15 m high.

The temperature and the humidity in the cave are constant year round.^[1]

Some of the stalactites found in the cave are four meters long, and some have been dated as 300,000 years old. Some meet stalagmites to form stone pillars.^[2]

Paleoclimate research: significance

The cave has been the focus of paleoclimate research, which allowed reconstruction of the region's semi-arid climate for the past 185,000 years.^[3] According to the American geologist James Aronson, the Soreq Cave is the Rosetta Stone of climate history in the Eastern Mediterranean.^[4]

Tourism

The cave is now open to visitors, in the heart of the 67-dunam Avshalom Nature Reserve, declared in 1975.^[1] In 2012, a new lighting system was installed to prevent the formation and growth of algae.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Sign at entrance to the cave
• 
  Cave entrance
• 
  Speleothems
• 
  Stalactite meeting stalagmite to form a pillar
• 
  Speleothems
• 
  A stalagmite and stalactite almost touch
• 
  Cave pond almost covered over by calcareous sinter
• 
  Cave formation

See also

• Geography of Israel
• Tourism in Israel

References

1. "List of National Parks and Nature Reserves" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
2. "Avshalom Cave". old homepage of the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority. Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
3. Ian J. Fairchild, Andy Baker (2012). Speleothem Science: From Process to Past Environments. Section III.12.1.2, "Composite speleothem records: Soreq Cave, Israel", pp. 355-358.
4. Eminent Jewish Geologist Voyages to Tiberias to Connect With His Roots, Haaretz, 23 March 2012.
5. Sanders, Edmund (18 September 2012). "Israel's prehistoric Soreq Cave now a clean, eerily lighted place". Los Angeles Times.

External links

• Stalactite Cave Nature Reserve at Israel Nature and Parks Authority website
• Photos of Avshalom Stalactites Cave, Flickr

31°45′21″N 35°01′24″E / 31.75583°N 35.02333°E / 31.75583; 35.02333