Caving

RESUMEN: En este artículo se muestra una parte del estudio llevado a cabo por la Agrupación Espeleológica GET en la Torca de Aloños (Villacarriedo, Cantabria). Aunque la cavidad es conocida desde siempre al estar situada en el centro de la población, apenas existía información de la misma en el momento de abordar nuestro trabajo. ABSTRACT: This article shows a part of the study carried out by the Agrupación Espeleológica GET in Torca de Aloños (Villacarriedo, Cantabria). Although the cave was always known because it's located in the center of the village, there was not too much information about it when we started our work.

The Balkan Conference of Speleology - Sofia’2014 was organized as one of the events, marking the 85th anniversary of organized caving in Bulgaria as well as the 50-year anniversary of the Caving Club
“Helictite” - Sofia. It was held from 28 to 30 March 2014 in Sofia.
In this book find place 25 papers. They are written from 48 authors from Bulgaria, Greece, Iran, Russia, Turkey. In the poster session as listeners and participants in the excursions joined also colleagues from Montenegro, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania and Serbia.
There are five main topics of the conference:
• History of Speleology and the study of karst
• Research and research methods of the karst and caves
• Archaeology and Palaeontology
• Biospeleology
• Ecology, Conservation and management of karst and caves; Geotechnical problems in karst
terrains
• Other Topics

The present Almanac is intended for readers, who are mainly among the wide range of cavers, who have a sense of historicism and desire to "dig" in the past. The idea of compiling such book belongs to Mr. Vanyo Gyorev – a member of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Caving Society and appeared in the process of preparing the coming 10-th Anniversary of the Balkan Cavers Camp in Bulgaria. We, the organisers as hosts of the event, turned to speleological or-ganizations in the Balkans with a call to join the initiative by sending us materi-als, containing a brief history of caving in their countries and information on the 3-rd emblematic caves of each country.
Meanwhile, we gathered and summarized the available information about the conducted so far 9 Balkan Cavers„ Camps. Not all responded immediately to the calls. However, after several appeal letters, we managed to gather not all of the requested information.
Unfortunately, in the Almanac there is no data about the speleological ac-tivities in some Balkan countries and also of the most interesting caves on each country. That is way this Almanac is not fully complete. It could be seen only as the first attempt to present some fragments of the history of the organized spele-ology and caving on the Balkan peninsula and of course, for the development of the Balkan Speleological Union!
The publication in front of you is the result of the efforts of many cav-ers and speleologists. The compilation of the Almanac would have been impos-sible without the co-operation of the colleagues from Balkan countries – au-thors of the articles. I would like to express my gratitude to all of them.

THE LIGHTS OF THE DARKNESS
Summary
The book „The Lights of the Darkness“ is a logical cont-inuation of the author‘s desire share his impressions, knowledge, beliefs and thoughts, related to caving and speleology, which he started describing in his first memoir book, „Underground Diary“. In this book the author writes up the events from the decade following his 50th anniversary – 2003 – 2013. The first chapter, named „Forgotten Memories“, includes interesting events from more than 30 years ago. It starts with a story about the author’s wanderings in the caves of the low and high Tatras in Slovakia in 1983; the next one immediately takes us back to Bulgaria to the „Karvavata Lokva“ (The Bloody Puddle), an area in the Kotel region of the Balkan mountain, where one of the most interesting caves in Bulgaria is situated. A funny story follows, in which the author tells us about a rescue action, organized by a few cavers, who saved a pig that had fallen down a 25 meter-deep precipice. Then the topic is abruptly changed and the author reveals some thoughts about treasure hunting and how it damages caves. After that the author writes about the importance of geophysical methods for the research of underground cavities and shares his experience in this direction. The next chapter is dedicated to another interesting question – the exploration of underground water currents. Here the author takes us back to 1991, when he took part in the experiment of tracing the path of the underground river in the Brashilanovata Cave (The Ivy Cave), Lovech district. This chapter serves as a transition to the events after 2003. The beginning of the second chapter of this book is marked by a lyrical piece of writing that tells about the fate of the ethnic Bulgarians of the Golo Bardo region in East Albania. This region is also the scene of several Bulgarian cave-ethnological expeditions, which the author goes on to describe. The next chapter reveals the plenty of written sources on the earliest interest in caves in Bulgaria – here the most interesting are the numerous quotations from different publications of Bulgarian and foreign authors.  Several chapters, presenting different topics related to speleology, serve as the background of the narrative. Some of those are: a sci-fi essay about underground habitants as an introduction to the next story that traces the „battle“ for the search of a new species of cave beetle, which is not won yet; cave-sanctuaries on the territory of Bulgaria; caves and folklore etc. The book further takes us to Serbia, where four Bulgarians take part in the research of the caves in Belianitza mountain and make several discoveries. In the next chapter the author takes us back to Bulgaria and shares his impressions of the explorations of Cave Club „Helictite“ – Sofia in the Beglichki part of the Vratza Mountain. The next story takes us to Anatolia, Turkey, where five Bulgarian cavers wander through the underground cave cities of Capadoccia. This chapter is a prelude to the next material, in which the cave-sanctuaries on the territory of Bulgaria are described in detail. Then the book once again takes us back to Serbia, near the village of Poganovo, where the members of club „Helictite“ meet the 2007 New Year Eve and enter Vetrena Dupka, the largest cave in the region. The next story tells about the visit of two caves, which are among the most interesting and beautiful tourist caves in Greece – Alistrati and Angitis (Maara). After that the writing goes on to reveal the historical aspect of how and why the first Balkan Cavers Camp in Bulgaria was organized in 2006. The year 2008 marks the participation of the author in the research of the caves near Cherepish railway station – a place closely related to the fate of the rebel group, led by Hristo Botev, the great Bulgarian revolutionary and poet, which is the topic of the next chapter of the book. The next emotional story tells about the cave exploration expedition along the Arda river, in the Rhodope Mountain, during which cave divers pass through the sump of the Goloboitza cave. This expedition sets the beginning of systematic research of this cave, which is over 2.5 km long. The author goes on to tell his memories about a national cave expedition that he led in Albania, and about his participation in the European congress of Speleology in Lans-en-Vercors in France, where he was elected Vice-Secretary General of the European Federation of Speleology (FSE). The book continues with the story about the visit to Vilenitza and the famous Postoinska Jama, two of the most interesting tourist caves in Slovenia. Then the author takes us to the European Parliament, where for four days he participated in the initiative of European Federation of Speleology for the signing by the European Parliament of a written declaration for cave protection. The next two chapters are dedicated to the early history of speleology and cave research in Bulgaria, followed by the story of the expedition in Golo Bardo – Albania. Further on, the book deals with the topic of „Caves and Folklore“ and tells us about an epic journey in Turkey, where the Bulgarian cavers participated in the 3rd Balkan Cavers Camp. Several stories tell us about the role of A. Zhalov in the preparation and organization of the Bulgarian expeditions and events abroad in Voronia, Abkhazia, Georgia, the deepest precipice in the world; Chehi 2, Slovenia; Evren Gunai Dudeni (EGMA), Turkey; Velika Klisura or Gruka I Madh, Kosovo; Tian Shan, Kirgizstan; Tunisia; exploration of the caves of the holy Mount Athos, Greece. After these come the stories about research and travels in Bulgaria and abroad, in Albania, Italy, Russia, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Turkey, China and Czech Republic, and the participation of the author in cave research and expeditions in different areas of Bulgaria.

Welcome to Volume 14 (2020) Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies (JQRSS) comprising papers from first-time authors alongside more experienced writers, all wishing to share their ideas stemming from primary research or through critical discussion articles. A glance down the contents page reveals a range of contributions which may be informative and thought provoking for people at different  points on their journey through education and/or research experience. Reviewers’ comments have been incorporated at the end of papers with a view to stimulating further discussion about a given topic. I hope readers will gain as much from browsing the experiences of others formulated through these pages as much as I have enjoyed working with the authors and editing this volume. Below, an Overview of [current] submissions is followed by the JQRSS Qualitative Researcher Award for the previous year. Then an explanation of the Scope and purpose of the journal is followed by an Open call for papers and JQRSS Operational guidance, which provides both an invitation to submit work and further advice to potential authors. In closing, there are summative comments and editorial acknowledgements.

Notice: The discussions, statements of fact and opinions contained in the articles of The Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies are those of the respective authors and cited contributors and are set out in good faith for the general guidance of student supported research and the promotion of pedagogical discussion in teaching and learning contexts. No liability can be accepted by the Editor, Editorial Board, Advisory Board, the reviewers or the authors/submitters for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying upon particular statements made or circumstances outlined in this journal.

This report details the joint Chinese-Bulgarian expedition carried out by members  and friends of  Bulgarian Caving Society in collaboration with the Yunnan Institute of Geography & China Exploration & Research Society (CERS)- Yunnan branch. The primary aim of the 2013 joint Chinese-Bulgarian expedition was to continue the exploration of caves in Gaoligongshan Mountain and some unexplored adjacent areas in Yunnan Province of China. Six speleologists from Bulgaria and four from China took part in the survey carried between 4 and 14th November 2013. During the expedition 14 caves with total length of 2302.60◦m and depth of 379.06◦m were studied and mapped. Xian Ren Dong next to Mengnuоzhen village was the most significant cave explored by the team. Its length was measured to be 1863.70◦m. Rich cave-dwelling fauna was collected from 6 of the caves and three species of carabid beetles was proved and described as new to science.

Caving is a type of sports activity done by those who are especially interested in adventure sports in order to investigate and map the caves. The increasing demand for this sport in recent years in Turkey having an abundant source of caves requires these kinds of researches to be conducted. The purpose of this study is to reveal the opinions of the people doing the caving activities professionally in order develop it, do it systematically and utilize it in tourism in a controlled manner. To this end, 19 people who are administrative staff of the federations, associations, groups, clubs, and unions operating in caving field and professionally doing this sport were contacted. In line with the purpose of this study, an interview protocol consisting of three questions, to which the participants were asked to give open ended responses, was prepared. The responses obtained from the study which had been conducted between October and December in 2015 were subjected to content analysis. In analysis, the obtained codes, which are in the topics of what needs to be used during cave sport, determining the problems related to cave sport, and evaluating the ways to utilize caves in tourism, were seized under specific themes. The study was concluded with a number of conclusions and recommendations in the light of obtained findings.

Borneo: Memory of the Caves is the account of an extraordinary adventure, told by the protagonists who made the exceptional discovery of the rock art murals of Kalimantan which are over ten thousand years old. Their findings shed new light on how populations developed between Southeast Asia and Australia.
Since 1988, in mission after mission, a profile of Borneo's ancient populations has emerged, suggesting not only their similarities with the Aboriginal people of Australia, but also the particular relationships they developed with the caves, by creating rock art characterized by an abundance of negative hands. Close to two thousand such hands discovered to date allow for new interpretations of this universal motif.
In this magnificently illustrated work, we discover not only the richness and complexity of an ancient region of the world, but also how today, this heritage is endangered.
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The 10-th Jubilee Balkan Cavers Camp  took place in the recreation area “Ledenika”, located 16 km far from Vratza City, Vratsa district, from 21-st  to 26-th June 2016.  According to the registration data, the Camp gathered at least registered 203 cavers from 12 countries from 4 continents: Bulgaria – 77, Greece – 10, Iran – 5, Macedonia – 4, Moldova – 11, Poland – 24, Rоmania – 25, Serbia - 2, Slovenia - 11, Turkey – 10, Ukraine - 24, USA- 2.

Resumen: Se presentan los resultados preliminares de la primera
campaña de excavación realizada en la Cueva del Ángel en el año
2005, dentro del Proyecto General de Investigación “Estudio sobre
el Pleistoceno medio y superior en depósitos de cavernas: Cueva del
Ángel 2005-2010.”
Abstract: We present the preliminary results of the first campaign
of excavation realized in the Cave of the Ángel in the year
2005, inside the General Project of Research “ The study on the
average and top Pleistocene in deposits of caverns: Cave of the
Ángel 2005-2010.”

The work presents summarized data, most of them unpublished, collected in the period (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005), when 14 Bulgarian speleological expeditions were undertaken in Albania.

"Historiographycal review of geological, hydrogeological , morphological studies and the spreading of surface and underground
Karst was made. The work discribes also the arhaeological, palaeontological and biospeleological exploration of
Bulgarian caves from the beggining of the XX Century to the founding of the Bulgarian Caving Society in 1929. The attached
Bibliographiacal reference of the scietific papers published in this period reflects the results of cave and Karst studies during
this time. The bibliographical review contents descriptions of 169 works, classified in 12 subjects."

The article presents the results of the exploration under the project “Exploration of the caves of Mount Athos as integral part of the world natural, cultural and historical heritage” under the patronage of Euro Speleo Projects - European Federation of Speleology.
During two expeditions carried out in 2011,2012, 2013 and 2014  the international team of cavers form Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Turkey explored 155  caves with total length 1.500 m. The caves wewre  divided into three main categories - caves associated with the lives of Saints, cave chapels, caves-cells, usual and sea caves and artificial caves (water catchments and reservoirs).

En 2000, puis en 2006 et 2008 s'est déroulée, dans l'archipel de Madre de Dias au Chili, une série d'expéditions géographiques et spéléologiques franco-chilienne d'envergure. Les prospections menées tant sur les iles que sur le littoral ont permis la découverte de nombreuses cavités. Parmi celles-ci, la grotte du Pacifique, découverte le 21 janvier 2006 contient des peintures pariétales et des restes archéologiques au sol. C'est la première découverte d'un art pariétal attribuable sans ambiguïté aux Indiens Kaweskar, peuple de nomades de la mer aujourd'hui presque disparu.
ln 2000, then in 2006 and 2008 a wide-ranging series of Franeo-Chifean geographical and speleological expeditions took place in the Madre de Dias Archipelago (CHILI). The research carried out both on the islands and on the littoral enabled the finding of numerous caves. Among them, the Pacifie Cave, discovered on 21 January 2006, contained parietal paintings and archaeological remains on the floor. This is the first discovery of parietal art that can be unambiguously attributed to the Kaweskar Indians, a nomadic sea people now quite vanished.

Résumé français: on présente une interprétation géomorphologique du réseau de Bunant ainsi qu'un essai de datation sur la base d'arguments (paléo)tectoniques. L'évolution karstique du réseau actuel fait suite à l'histoire d'un premier réseau primitif (anté-Priabonien) d'orientation inconnue, probablement indépendant de l'actuel, mais connecté aux galeries/puits supérieurs du gouffre de "La Merveilleuse" (-300m.). Le système "moderne" est lié à la reculée du torrent de la Louvatière, en relation avec le début du creusement du "canyon" de la Filière, dès la fin de l'Oliocène puis au cours du Mio-Pliocène jusqu'à l'actuel.
Nous avançons des arguments (paléo)tectoniques qui permettent une datation de la karstogenèse: l'écoulement du torrent souterrain dans une direction SW-NE est contraint par la demi-flexure de Bunant et les failles/diaclases N130°. Ces accidents tectoniques sont apparus lors de la mise en place de la nappe des Préalpes Médianes (klippe de Sulens) à l'Oligocène sup., début de l'inversion des structures dans le massif subalpin. Ils sont donc antérieurs au creusement du réseau qu'ils contraignent. La cavité est relativement "jeune", essentiellement Mio.-
Pliocène.
Les étapes de l'exploration sont présentées en galerie photo. Ouvrir avec Adobe Reader DC pour les photos "plein écran".
English abstract: The evolution of the "modern" Bunant/Parmelan karstic system is presented, with a tentative chronological datation based on (paleo)tectonic arguments. The Bunant flexure in hauterivian-urgonian limestones (SW-NE direction) and a N130° network faulting constrain and pre-date the direction of the subterranean flow. These deformations are of late-Oligocene to Mio.-Pliocene  age, related to the thrusting and settlement of the Median Prealps klippe (Sulens). on the autochtonous Bornes massif. We conclude that the Bunant system is rather young, mainly of Mio.-Pliocene age and still active in depth.

An international expedition of the project “Cave research of the Holy Mountain Athos – Greece” took place  7th to 15th October 2016 . This phase of the project was organized by the Bulgarian Caving Society (BCS) and was held under the leadership of Alexey Zhalov (BCS and Speleo Club “Helictit” – Sofia). The participants were: K. Stoichkov from Speleo Club “Helictit” – Sofia; Ilya Agapov from the Russian Geographical Society (St. Petersburg); Nemanja Miloslavlevich from Speleology Commission of the Mountaineering Union of Serbia (Cave club “Dvig” – Vladichin Han, Serbia).  Transport for the expedition was provided by Dimitar Genov from BCS and our good friend Stoyan Grebenarov. The expedition was supported with the substantial logistical support of the dignitaries of the Slavo-Bulgarian monastery “St. Georgi Zograf". As usual, the work of reaching the natural karst  sites was difficult due to the  surrounding thick and extremely spinney  bushes  – the explorers had to make their way with the help of clippers. In spite of the broken ground in the vicinity of the monastery 21 new features with a total length of 390 m were found. As usual, they could be divided into two categories – natural and artificial cavities. Eight of the surveyed features  are natural karst sites  5 of them are caves and are 3 – niches. The longest explored cave reaches 23 m. Seven of the caves are formed due to karst processes and two of them have tectonic origin. There is certain proof that 4 of the  caves were used by the monks as shelter, place for living or economic  purposes. The biggest one is  called, “The Big Cave with the Wall”.  The artificial caves could be divided into 3 categories: for water supply, for drainage galleries and channels. The Bulgarian monks call the catchments «mothers”. They are built under the ground in order to provide drinking water and water for the other needs of the monastery. During the expedition 5 such objects were explored and studied.  They are all functioning, but now the water is supplied by using of plastic pipes. The longest reaches 63 m and was built in 1862. There a bat colony with approx. 250 bats is found. It  now  appears that these are horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae). In the two longest underground catchments rich biospeleological material was collected. The second in length “mother” – so called “Aeroto” is 53 m, and the third - the catchment  the “Vikentieva cheshma” (the fountain of Vikentii) - 43 m.
Six underground drainage canals were also explored  on the territory of the monastery. These collect and drain  surface or foul water. It is interesting to add, that in most of the features embrions, or even bigger formations – mostly tube stalactites (macaroni) can be seen. After this expedition the number of underground objects, explored during this project reached  176. It is expected that our research will continue in April 2017.

The Phlegraean Fields are a volcanic area placed west of Naples (Italy). They supported an important ancient settlement, favoured by rich crops and several natural harbours, for both civil and Navy ships. The area lacks fresh water springs, so in Augustean times the Aqua Augusta Campaniae was built. It tapped the Serino springs, in the Apennine mountains, and in a 105 km course it supplied several cities and the imposing Piscina Mirabilis at Misenum, a water tank servicing the Thyrrenian Roman Navy. The city of Puteoli was supplied also by the Campanian Aqueduct, a less known but archaeologically intriguing aqueduct. It dates back at least to the I century b. C., but its features could support an origin related to a more ancient settlement. The Aqueduct still operated till the beginning of the XX century. The diffusion of the public water distribution network caused the oblivion of its course and accesses. In the framework of an ongoing research project about phlegraean aqueducts, we were able to find the entrance to a stairway placed along the ancient Campanian road. The stairway allowed access to the Aqueduct in the past, but its first section was filled with rubbish. We nevertheless explored it and produced a speleological survey. The stairway is not straight but it is composed by five sections, it is lined in opus reticulatum and reaches a depth of 62 m from the surface, with a 180 m spatial development. Unfortunately it ends with a tuff mud filling, just few meters before reaching the underground aqueduct course. We had the initial rubbish removed in the framework of the national Puliamo il Buio (Clean up the Darkness) initiative in 2011. The paper provides the cave description and a brief comparison with some other known cases of stairways reaching ancient underground aqueducts.

For several years, numerous examples of ghost rocks have been described in Belgium and in France. They correspond to decalcified pockets but also include big weathered networks of soft alterite. This phenomenon is present in several different geological and geomorphic contexts. These features illustrate one step in the geological history of the area, and their genesis implies certain geological, hydrological and morphological conditions. Exploration of mines allows us to study many examples of ghost rocks, linked or not with mineralization. At the top of the alterite we have found a thick level of laminated sediments that shows the existence of previous water circulation in the gap between the ghost rock and the vaulted roof. In some places the alterite has been progressively removed by seepage, to form little rooms. In one mine, large karstic galleries have reused old weathered sections and eroded the initial ghost rocks. These examples show how the formation of ghost rocks prepares some carbonate plateaus for more "classical" karstification by forming gaps that can be used by underground water flow. Hydrogeological systems can expand quickly and extend their catchment areas by utilizing these discontinuities.

Caving, as a cave activity, allows human beings to experience unique experiences, through an intense involvement with the cave environment, aiming at discovering and contemplating the environment. The human relationship with nature, through caving, can be a fundamental variable to try to understand the benefits that the activity in cave environments can provide to the body. This study aimed to analyze the benefits of caving on the well-being of its practitioners in the relationship between human beings and nature. This is a research with a qualitative approach, developed with the Speleogroup Peter Lund and the Association of Environmental Agents of the Peruaçu Valley with 30 individuals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, processed at IRAMUTEQ, through similarity analysis. The results were interpreted from the structural approach of understanding the benefits of caving in the well-being of its practitioners in the relationship between human being and nature. The analyzed results were structured based on the interviews, showing that caving promotes the well-being of its practitioners, through a relationship mediated by the presence of natural elements, and by the peculiar characteristic of the cave, such as silence and darkness. Emotion presented a positive benefit from the caving activity, as an emotional element linked to pleasure. Caving provided the acquisition of new attitudes and values ​​to improve the quality of life. In this relationship, nature became an important partner in promoting physical and mental well-being, which can be assimilated through the bodily senses and introspection with the cave environment. Caving proved to be an activity that restores health, well-being, through the body's relationship with nature and with the cave.

The aim of this paper is to explore the sensory dimensions of a first-time caver. As part of my doctoral research within the topic of the senses in sporting performance, this is an attempt to investigate how the senses may be evoked, articulated and made sense of. The title is worded to reflect my unfamiliarity with caving; one foot in the cave which could just as easily have been one foot in the senses. This is but one foot and hopefully more feet will follow. Having spent the past few months immersed within the sensory literature of prominent anthropologists and the embodiment linkages with phenomenology I have finally begun to wrangle with the issue of how do I collect sense data? This paper is one step in that direction, detailing our efforts to capture sense-language data (you can’t capture senses any more than sensations – only reports of these feelings – adrenaline traces are traces of adrenaline, not feelings of adrenaline) and thereafter to use a structured method for data interpretation; the ‘body-anchored interview’, after Stelter (2010). The paper concludes that whilst it is a foot that has been placed carefully and intentionally, there being a desired direction in mind for the research, detours may be taken, detours which may not always be a nuisance and may lead to new discoveries.

Neuland entdeckt" Stille. Der dumpfe Schein der Lampe. Ein keuchender, vom Fließwasser durchtränkter Körper kämpft sich einen 30 cm breiten Schlot hinauf. Die scharfen Kanten der Felsen schneiden sich selbst in den abriebfesten Schlufanzug und die Handschuhe ein. Die Gestalt verrenkt unter Mühen den Kopf, um nach unten zu blicken. Nach dem freihängenden Aufstieg in dem beinahe senkrechten, 30 m tiefen Schacht ist von dem Kameraden, der unten auf das alles entscheidende Signal wartet, nichts mehr zu sehen oder zu hören. Während er sich mit der rechten Hand an einen Felsenvorsprung klammert, tastet der Mann nach einem an seinem Sitzgurt befestigten Hammer und versucht die enge Spalte zu erweitern. Ein kurzes Klirren ertönt und der Körper quält sich durch den entstandenen kleinen Spalt, bis er endlich nach unten das erlösende Kommando "Neuland entdeckt" durchgeben kann. Es hatte beinahe 20 Jahre gedauert, als am 30. Dezember 2006 Christian Schasching und ich mit der Durchsteigung des Bergmilchkamins, einer äußerst schwierigen Passage, wieder Tropfsteingruppe mit Poolfingers in der so genannten Qualitätssicherung, Ost-Territorium. Der Erstbefahrer der Gasselhöhle: Franz Pergar als Werkmeister der Solvaybetriebe inmitten seiner Lel;rlinge, um 1911. an jener Stelle Neuland entdeckten, wo noch Jahrzehnte zuvor sämtliche weitere Bemühungen wegen Aussichtslosigkeit eingestellt worden waren. Auf den Spuren von Wilderern und Holzfällern Bereits 1918 hatten vier Ebenseer Solvay-Arbeiter, darunter der Werkmeister Pergar, auf den Spuren von Wilderern und Holzfällern, eine merkwürdige Tagöffnung im Achselwald -auf der Südflanke des Gasselkogels -entdeckt. Als Teil des Erlakogelmassivs am südöstlichen Ende des Traunsees gelegen, war der Hauptdolomit, in dem sich die Höhle ausgebildet hatte, für seine Feinklüftigkeit und seine lediglich portalähnlichen Ausbruchsnischen bekannt, die einen Höhlensucher häufig enttäuschen. Nichtsdestotrotz war das, was Pergar und seine Kollegen 1918 entdeckten, eine Tropfsteinhöhle, wie sie für die Nördlichen Kalkalpen nach wie vor einzigartig ist. Vermutungen, wie so

Thanks to recent developments in Internet editorial information sharing, a prototype of a caving reference bibliography and virtual library for the Lombardia region (Northern Italy) is proposed. It relies on the following components: 1) the Google Earth© tool as a user interface, in order to position caves on the land and as a starting point toward bibliographic queries; 2) static generation of web pages representing single caves bibliography and references to titles; 3) Internet references (URL) pointing to specific titles available in the Internet, so as to quickly browse them. Presently, the Lombardy caving bibliography collects 4,800 references related to 4,200 caves. Books or magazines related to 1,150 references are freely available in the Internet. Problems and potential developments are discussed.

The most long-lasting and systematic are the Bulgarian explorations of Albanian karst and caves. It starts in 1991 and continued up to date. During this period 26 Bulgarian speleological expedition were held in Albania and 272 new caves were discovered and surveyed. Seventeen of them are deeper than 100 m. The most important vertical caves are: BB-30 (-610 m); Shpella Cilicokave (-505 m) and B33 (-205 m). The most important cave is the scandent cave Shpella e Majes te Arapit .

Идеята за организирането на Балканските Пещерни Събори се появи през есента на 2006г. Нейн радетел е настоящия президент на Балканският Спелеоложки Съюз – Алексей Жалов и бивш
Зам.председател на Българската федерация по спелеология (БФСп).Първият Балкански Пещерен Събор на територията на България през 2007г. В последвалите години се състояха още 8 събора: Гърция ' 08 ,Турция 09, Румъния '10, Република Македония 2011, Словения 2012, Черна Гора' 2013, Сърбия' 2014,Хърватска 2015. Членовете на новосъздаденото Българско Пещерно Дружество, поощрявани и подкрепяни от Община Враца и Дирекцията на Държавен природен парк „Врачански Балкан“ поеха инициативата за организирането на 10-ият Юбилеен Пещерен Събор.Юбилеят се състоя в местността „Леденика“,която се намира на 16 км от Гр. Враца, Област Враца от 21-ви до 26-ти юни 2016г.  Според регистрационните данни в сбора взеха участие 203 участници от 12 държави и 3 континента както следва: България –
77, Гърция – 10, Иран – 5, Македония – 4, Молдова – 11, Полша – 24, Сърбия – 2, Румъния – 25, Словения – 11, Турция – 10, Украйна – 24, САЩ – 2. От българска страна, в сбора участваха пещерняци
от Враца, Видин, Дряново, Етрополе, Ракитово, Русе (клубове „Приста“ и „Академик“), Пловдив,Мездра, София (клубове „Екстрем“, ‘Вертиленд“, „Кейвинг“, „Хеликтит“), Стара Загора, Трявна,
Чепеларе, Хасково, Шумен.

La Cueva de la Ceza, localizada en Noceda-Folgoso (Courel), es una de las más significativas en la espeleología gallega. Desde las primeras exploraciones de esta cavidad en 1982 hasta la actualidad ha acogido una gran cantidad de actividades en espeleología. En las últimas jornadas de iniciación infantil
a este deporte, organizadas por el Espeleo Club de Descenso de Cañones (EC/DC), se produce el hallazgo de un hueso con grabados. En este artículo se deja constancia de todo lo acontecido y los estudios realizados.

Ceza Cave, located in Noceda-Folgoso (Courel), is one of the most significant in Galician caving. From the first explorations in 1982 to date has received a lot of speleology activities. In the last
meeting of initiation to caving in childhood organized by the Canyoning Caving Club (EC/DC) comes the discovery of a bone with engravings. This paper contains a record of what happened and first results.

Laurent Bruxelles, géomorphologue à l’Inrap,  vient de co-publier un article sur la datation de Little Foot (StW 573), célèbre petit australopithèque, tombé voici plusieurs millions d'années dans une grotte profonde de  grotte de Silberberg, Sterkfontein, en Afrique du Sud. Depuis sa découverte en 1997 dans la grotte de Silberberg, un squelette, Little Foot, fait l’objet d’une fouille très minutieuse.Repéré dans des circonstances exceptionnelles, cet australopithèque est le plus complet jamais mis au jour, et constitue un élément unique dans la connaissance des origines de l’Humanité. Si son âge, compris entre 2 et 4 millions d’années, pose toujours question, une équipe de chercheurs français, en collaboration avec l’Université du Witwatersrand (Johannesburg), apporte aujourd’hui d’importants éléments sur sa datation.

Langkah kaki kami terus bergerak semakin masuk lebih dalam. Setelah tidak lebih dari lima menit melintasi permulaan lorong Gua Barat yang berlantai tangga beton, suara gemuruh aliran sungai mulai terdengar dan tidak lama kemudian lorong berbelok ke kanan. Di titik tersebut aliran air sungai yang mengalir di dalam Gua Barat mulai terlihat. Suaranya yang bergemuruh sempat menciutkan nyali.

In the territory of Bulgaria up to date there are 6050 natural and artificial caves explored. This number do not include the hundreds to thousands of artificial galleries but there is no unified data base for their number, distribution and classifications. They have been dug through during different historical times and for different purposes. They are Ancient and Middle Age mines and artificial galleries for water derivations, geological studies, military sites, tunnels, etc.
About 1000 of the known caves are used for religion purposes. Such are the rock monasteries, crypts, monk cells and churches, covering a large time span – from Antiquity to XIV century and later. The monk dwellings were initially built in natural caves, later they were enlarged and adapted for the needs of the monk life. The religious caves are found almost over the entire territory of Bulgaria - the areas of Sofia, Vidin, Vratsa, Lovech, Pleven, Haskovo, Kârdjali, etc.
Many of them are concentrated in NE Bulgaria (because of the type of karstification of the rocks there) - the Plateau of Shumen (Osmar, Troytsa), the Plateau of Madara and Provadiya, the regions of Targovishte, Razgrad, Silistra, Varna (best known is Aladja Manastery ), Russe, South Dobrudja, in the area of Kamen Bryag village (Yaylata), cape Kaliakra and Tyulenovo. Such have been discovered in the area of Russenski Lom, in the gorge of Provadiyska Reka River from Provadiya to Kosovo Railway Station. Entire monastery complexes have been found on the cliffs of Dobrudja Black Sea Coast. Fragments of ceramics have been found in the mine and they show two ages - I-III and XII-XIII centuries A.D.
The study of the rock dwellings started as early as the end of XIX century. In 1896 the book by K. and H. Škorpil "Primitive Men in Bulgaria" was the first detailed descriptions of rock monasteries in Bulgaria— North Black Sea Coast, the areas of Provadiya, Shumen and the valley of Russenski Lom.

Franeo-Chifean geographical and speleological expeditions look place in the Madre de Dias Archipelago. The research carried out both on the islands and on the littoral
enabled the finding of numerous caves. Among them, the Pacific Cave, discovered on 21 January 2006, contained parietal paintings and archaeological remains on the floor.
This is the first discovery of parietal art that can be unambiguously attributed to the Kaweskar Indians, a nomadic sea people now vanished.