250 The hypogeum of San Gavino a mare in Porto Torres (Sardinia, Italy): preliminary investigations the north-west corner) the inscription Pedro Sis[co?] / 1768 Ioas. Other signatures are reproduced on the east wall: in one ashlar (fourth row from the bottom, fifth ashlar from the south-east corner) two, possibly three, can be recognised, including the name Blas (Blaise in Catalan) and the year 1435 (or 1735). In the row above (fifth ashlar from the south-east corner) the inscription Miorch (or Miurch, as the third letter is not easily identifiable: the M being capital and the other characters lower case, the titulus could be understood as a surname, a variant akin to the modern surnames Morch, Mörch, Mørch). The ashlar measures 60.5x30 cm while the total length of the inscription is 39 cm; the height of the letter R is 5.5 cm, that of the H 9 cm (Piras, 2019: 81, footnote 88). Finally, on the south wall, an inscription transcribed as follows: O.S.D.C.I. / D.B. 1696. engraved on the second ashlar (30x55 cm) from the edge of the door, inserted in the seventh row from the bottom of the wall face. Bibliography Angius V., 1847, s.v. Portotorre, in Casalis G. Dizionario geografico-storico-statistico-commerciale degli Stati di S.M. il Re di Sardegna, G. Maspero librajo, Torino 1833-56, XV, pp. 644-660. Botteri M., 1978, Guida alle chiese medioevali di Sardegna, Chiarella, Sassari. Dore P.P., Dallocchio E., Uda M., Ara D., Cinus D., Dotti L., Masia R., 2020, Il ruolo degli speleologi nella pianificazione territoriale, il caso di Porto Torres. Sardegna Speleologica n. 28, Stampa Grafiche Ghiani, Monastir. Funedda A., Oggiano G., Pasci S., 2000, The Logudoro basin: a key area for the tertiary tectono-sedimentary evolution of North Sardinia. Boll. Soc. Geol. Ital. Manconi F., 2001, L’Antiquarium Statale di Porto Torres, Imago Media, Piedimonte Matese. Martini IP., Oggiano G., Mazzei R., 1992, Siliciclastic-carbonate sequences of Miocene grabens of northern Sardinia, western Mediterranean Sea. Sedimentary Geology. Masala F., 1988, Per una classificazione dell’architettura rupestre di età storica in Sardegna, in Fonseca C.D. (a cura di) Il popolamento rupestre dell’area mediterranea: la tipologia delle fonti. Gli insediamenti rupestri della Sardegna, Atti del seminario di studio (Lecce, 19-20 ottobre 1984), Congedo Editore, Galatina, pp. 249-262. Mastino A., Vismara C., 1994, Turris Libisonis, Sardegna Archeologica n. 23, Guide e Itinerari, Carlo Delfino Editore, Sassari. Mucedda M., Cossu S., 1984, Le grotte costiere di Porto Torres. Speleologia Sarda 49. Mucedda M., Grafitti G., 1996, Note sul fenomeno carsico e sulla distribuzione delle grotte in provincia di Sassari. Sardegna Speleologica 10. Piras G., 2005, Inscriptiones Medii Aevi ecclesiarum Sassarensium (saecula XIII-XV), Archivio Storico Sardo, XLIV (2005), Edizioni AV, pp. 359-422. Piras G., 2012, Le epigrafi, i segni lapidari e i graffiti, in Milanese M. (a cura di), Villaggi e monasteri. Orria Pithinna. La chiesa, il villaggio, il monastero, All’Insegna del Giglio, Firenze, pp. 63-112. Piras G., 2013, Chiesette di Balai Vicino e Balai Lontano, in Aa.Vv., Porto Torres. Città del Parco Nazionale dell’Asinara, Porto Torres, p. 25. Piras G., 2016, Testimonianze epigrafiche e gliptografiche della basilica di San Gavino: inquadramento generale della documentazione, in Peralta P., Piras G., Palmieri R., Medas G.L., I segreti delle cattedrali, Cagliari, pp. 31-39. Piras G., 2019, Tituli picti et tituli scariphati. Riflessioni intorno alla scoperta delle firme nei dipinti ottocenteschi della basilica di San Gavino ed al culto dei Martiri Turritani, Carlo Delfino Editore, Sassari. Poli F., 1997, La Basilica di San Gavino a Porto Torres. La storia e le vicende architettoniche, Chiarella, Sassari. Sowerbutts A., 2000, Sedimentation and volcanism linked to multiphase rifting in an Oligo-Miocene intra-arc basin, Anglona, Sardinia Geological Magazine. Spano G., 1856, Nome, sito e descrizione dell’antica città di Torres, Bullettino Archeologico Sardo, II, Tipografia di A. Timon, n. 8 (agosto 1856), pp. 123-125; n. 9 (settembre 1856), pp. 138-144; n. 10 (ottobre 1856), pp. 145-147; pp. 146-147. Spanu P.G., 2000, Martyria Sardiniae, Editrice S’Alvure, Oristano. Zichi G. (a cura di), 2013, Passio sanctorum martyrum Gavini, Proti et Ianuarii, Edizioni Centro Studi Basilica di San Gavino, Muros.
251 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Sapienza Università di Roma, Dipartimento Storia disegno e restauro dell’architettura, Rome, Italy 2 PhD Roma Tre, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy * Reference author: Marco Carpiceci, mobile 335 7076 865 - [email protected] The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia Marco Carpiceci1,*, Fabio Colonnese1 , Antonio Schiavo1 , Rachele Zanone2 Abstract The monastery of Geghard is of particular importance, as it is the only consecrated monument in Armenia to be half built and half carved into the rock. Probably founded in the first centuries its maximum expansion had in the thirteenth century, and from that moment it is as if it had almost crystallized in its ancient appearance. In the year 2000 UNESCO included it in the World Heritage sites. This multidisciplinary research group saw its great potential and took it as a case study, starting from digital surveying, in parallel with the historical-artistic investigation. In this paper we want to expose the first elaborations and the first observations arising from the recent survey campaign, the first cognitive stage prior to the subsequent ‘in-depth’ processing of the data. Keywords: digital survey, rupestrian architecture, Armenian medieval architecture, Geghard monastery. Introduction The early results of the analysis and architectural survey of Geghard monastery, an entry of the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 2000 (fig.1), are here presented in the context of a three-years long research on Armenian architecture led by Sapienza University of Rome. In particular, this paper focuses on those parts and ornaments that are the most ancient and are almost totally carved into the rock of the mountains on which the monastery was later built in a more traditional way. Some of the chapels show an interesting combination of parts that are cut in the rock and structures and complements added to consolidate and decorate. In addition to this, it is important to highlight that the ancient visitors used to carve familiar cross-shape symbols on both natural and artificial walls. In this sense, the paper is a combination of the different disciplinary approaches of the four authors, who dedicated themselves to the spatial experience of the main pilgrimage route, the form and role of the decorative motifs, the history of architectural interventions and the techniques adopted to survey the whole monastic complex and to represent the different qualities of its buildings. A pilgrimage to Geghard Geghard monastery is a sacred place. It is enough to observe the Armenians, but also some ‘spiritually oriented’ tourists, to feel it and to understand the behaviour to adopt, the step to keep, the tone of the voice, the ritual gestures to imitate. The holiness of the place also extends to the rocky spiers around the monastery, which belong to the gorge of the Azat river. It is therefore in its spiritual and landscape context that the monastery must be described and analysed. The monastery is a place of pilgrimage. The destination can be identified in the chapel carved into the rock which houses the sacred spring that generated the entire monument. As such, the path that winds along the northern side of the gorge, slowly proved by the passage of thousands of men over the centuries, is a device of extraordinary interest, precisely in relation to the natural context that surrounds it. To understand the atmosphere that surrounds this place and marks its experience, it may be useful to underline an apparently secondary aspect, which also concerns other monumental and tourist sites in Armenia. Geghard monastery is lacking those elementary safety devices, from the regular steps to the balustrades, from the safety lights to the signs that guide visitors, which are usually found in Western monumental sites open to public. If from the point of view of the authenticity of the place and the ‘visual pollution’, this ‘absence’ translates into significant aesthetic results, from the point of view of the fruition, it may leave one dumbfounded. And yet, it quickly becomes clear that this absence is a fundamental key to understanding the very meaning of pilgrimage. Certainly, it indirectly evokes the difficulties that once the pilgrim had to face to reach the monastery. Not only. Together with the darkness of the interior, the sound of water and chants, and the aroma of incense, this absence contributes to a more intense bodily and spatial experience. Going up or down a steep staircase without the aid of a balustrade requires a mind presence that
252 The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia modern architecture has disused and that instead recalls the challenges of the natural environment. Most of the architecture is invisible from here. The monastery appears carved out of the same stone as the mountain behind it and almost blends in, making it difficult to tell where it begins and where it ends. Furthermore, the opaque walls of the outer enclosure hide the architectural jewels inside. The atrium covered by a barrel vault provides an ‘appetizer’ of the refined stone construction technique of the ancient Armenian builders and leads to the main terrace, also paved in stone. After the gate, the road has disappeared, and a new direction is needed. A rock that emerges like an island from the stone floor seems to promise a safe harbour, a provisional destination. From here one understands that the low enclosure wall closes the rectangular terrace downstream, on three sides, while upstream the complex is divided into secondary terraces that climb the slope to a height of 10-12 metres. On the opposite side of the enclosure, another arched passage opens which orients the visitor steps but only for a few metres, until the stone building of the sanctuary which occupies the middle of the terrace, almost leaning against the northern slope. Yet the entrance to the Gavit or narthex, the real hub of the entire complex, is almost by chance. The portal on the western wall of the building is half-hidden by a tongue of rock which forms a small corridor. It leads to a different dimension. One goes down a step and find him or herself in a cubic environment dominated by the conical vault on four massive pillars. Opposite, the passage to the church opens, which appears to be a bright and seductive destination. The rest of this hall must be deciphered little by little, extracting information from the darkness that envelops the perimeter, interrupted only by three narrow and deep loopholes. In some cases, it is the light of the flames of the slender candles, invariably lit by the visitors, that reveals the fabric of engraved crosses that covers the walls, the complex geometries of the capitals or of the steps that lead to the cell of the bell tower, made up of a series of pieces fit together perfectly. The whole narthex – a curious hybrid between the cave and the building – is the result of a complex stereotomy game, excluding the northern wall, where the bare rock of the mountain reappears, and two secondary unexpected open up passages. These two small doors lead to the chapels carved into the rock. It is therefore necessary to leave once again the main axis of travel, which would lead to the church, to enter the cave with the sacred source, just left from the entrance. The pseudo-square space of the chapel is marked by eight semi-columns supporting a vault. The vertical skylight in the middle, makes the Fig. 1 – The Monastery of Geghard seen from South-East (photo M. Carpiceci).
253 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa niche with the source even darker. If in the narthex, the visitors still talk to each other, albeit in a low tone of voice, in the chapel, the sound of the water flowing from the source in a trickle engraved in the rocky floor imposes a silence that turns into devotion. The other chapels, finely excavated and decorated, has no comparison with the atmosphere of this one. The space of the church, with its apse raised like a theatre stage, seems conceived rather for a mediated and symbolic representation of the sacred which inevitably does not have the ancestral power of the chapel. It stages the meeting of two different dimensions from several points of view. In architectural terms, the natural world, represented by the rock and the source, here meets the human world, represented by the architectural forms obtained through incision and excavation and by the structures added to consolidate and embellish the cave. Moreover, here subtractive, and additive architecture, concentrated in the decorative elements, meet and blend perfectly; and basically, even the additive architecture of the interiors – the narthex, the church, the retaining walls, or the enclosure – confirm to be in close continuity with the natural forms. Even the fact that the surfaces of the whole monastery were treated as a support on which to engrave crosses of every size and shape – the mark left after the pilgrimage that connote individual families – expresses a willingness to welcome and form a collective memory that modern architecture, with its ethereal or stainless surfaces, seems to have forgotten. The history Geghard Monastery is located in a hidden place, dispersed near the gorge of the Azat River, in the historical region of Kotayk about 40 kilometres east of the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. The sacredness of this site, surrounded by “an austere and grandiose scenery of rocks”, dates back to pre-Christian times “when there was the worship of a spring in a cave” (Cuneo, 1988: 136). Hence the original name of Ayrivank (Cave Convent). Probably only in 1250 the convent took the name of Geghard, or Geghardavank (Convent of the Spear), because of the widespread legend of the presence of the Christian relic: the tip of the spear with which Jesus Christ was wounded. The monastery is also known by other names such as Convent of the Seven Churches, or Convent of the Forty Altars (fig. 2). The testimonies of the historian Vardan Patmitch of Fig. 2 – The Monastery of Geghard in 1973 (from Alpago-Novello 1973).
254 The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia the thirteenth century, and the oral tradition, agree in attributing the foundation to St. Gregory the Illuminator (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 14). The presence of a real monastery is dated back to the 8th century. Between the 9th and the 10th century is dated the first looting, as well as the first important fire by the Arabs, which caused its destruction (Cuneo, 1988: 136). This historical phase is particularly remembered in the year 923, when Nasr – viceregent of the Arab caliph in Armenia – looted the properties of the monastery, destroying precious and unique manuscripts, and burning the entire religious complex. The earthquakes of that period did the rest. Thus, nothing remained of the original structures of Ayrivank, which included, in addition to places of religious worship, housing and services. Around 1214 Prince Prosh began a reconstruction and excavation of the convent, under the guidance of an architect named Galdzak, as reported in an inscription. Of the same years (1215 according to another inscription placed on the arch of the entrance of the southern gate) is the construction of the main church, Katoghike, built thanks to the will of the generals of Queen Tamar of Georgia, Ivané and Zakaré and their sons Shahanshad and Avag (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 16). In the last two decades of the thirteenth century there were reconstructions and other important constructions of new buildings. The inscriptions date this work to 1283, commissioned by Prince Prosh, who died in that year. He had bought the convent from Avag, son of Prince Atabek Ivané, making it the sepulchre of his family. In particular, he built the main gavit – west of the Katoghike – whose North-West sector is in communication with another space, called the first rupestrian church. From there you enter the Avazan, the basin, from which flows the miraculous spring. Also, the northeastern sector of the gavit is in communication with another room carved into the rock, dating back to 1283, also built by the architect Galdzag and used as a burial place of the princes Prošyan. From this burial chapel you can finally access the second church, coeval to the previous space. At an upper level of the above-mentioned rooms, passing from the outside and entering through a narrow corridor, carved into the rock, there is the second gavit, dating back to 1288, said to Papak and Ruzukan, which, unlike the main one, is entirely rocky (Cuneo, 1988: 138). The name of Prosh Khaghbakian and his actions have come to posterity thanks to the Armenian historian Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi (of Ayrivan) “who engraves on the wall of the cave, where he has long lived and worked, the name of the prince, asking that his memory be honoured forever” (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 16). Other records of the Prošyan dynasty date back to 1475, when two of their descendants are remembered: Father John, Bishop of Geghard, and his brother Stephen (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 17). During the 17th century, new changes took place in the architecture of the convent. In 1655 “Soulé, son of Tgha, of the city of Tbilisi, financed a series of restoration works in the convent; the interior of the dome of the main church is entirely rebuilt” (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 17). Unfortunately, on June 4, 1679, an earthquake struck the plain of Ayrarat and the convent was severely damaged. We can find the event narrated in the writings of Father Soukias: “he says that huge boulders, detached from the nearby mountains, fell into the valley, partially burying the convent and causing serious damage”. Only in 1696, “by Abbot David, they undertook reconstruction and restoration works” (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 17). The restoration work was continued by the vardapet Daniel of the royal family Prošyan, who succeeded Abbot David in 1705: this is remembered by a plaque placed on the main door of the convent. Later the whole complex entered a phase of decline: the main church became a place of shelter for the Karapapakh nomads and their flocks, especially during the winter. It was not until 1828, that is after the passage under the Russian Empire, in the aftermath of the Russo-Persian War, that the monastery returned to its original activity thanks to some monks from the city of Echmiadzin. After the First World War, in 1932, the architect T. Thoramanian, with the collaboration of S. Barkhoundarian and Taragros, “discovered and excavated the room located high outside the walls and built by the Mkrtitch in the years 1250-1290”. This hall collapsed completely in 1967 (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 17). Between 1969 and 1972 are dated the last restoration works that define the current state of the convent: “the western part of the courtyard is enlarged; a two-storey building that contained the monks’ cells disappears and that was located in the south-western side of the courtyard and in its place another one-storey one is built; numerous khatchkar are found and brought to light, which are placed with taste very doubtful on the walls of the secondary buildings made from scratch in the convent” (Alpago-Novello, 1973: 17). The sculpted decoration of the Geghard monastery To the eye of the art historian, the sculptural decoration of the Geghard monastery appears fascinating and extremely interesting due to the variety of its figurative repertoire. The extent of the sculptural apparatus is indeed remarkable, both outside and inside the church (Alpago-Novello 1973). The external decorative apparatus is developed on some portions of the façade, on the main portals and their tympanums, as well as on the cornices and the drum of the dome. The reliefs alternate between floral and geometric motifs and representations of birds, lions, and other animals. Of particular interest is the sculptural group on the south façade, where the observer is attracted by the jutting and rather realistic representation of a lion attacking an ox. On the same façade is the southern portal of the church decorated with fine ornamental carving. The beautifully carved tympanum presents an original composition, as it is decorated with depictions of pomegranates and vine
255 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa leaves intertwined with each other from which hang bunches of grapes. The pomegranate and the vine are in fact symbols of fertility, abundance, life, and the richness of God’s gifts. These images are juxtaposed with those of two doves - decorative elements very common in 13th-century Armenian monumental portals - placed between the arch of the portal and its outer frame (fig. 3 - A). The tambour of the dome, on the other hand, shows a surface marked by a series of blind arcades characterised by carved reliefs at the apex of each arch and a very rich figurative repertoire; in fact, one can recognise various species of birds, human masks, various animal heads, small rosettes, and depictions of jar-like furnishings. These representations together contribute to an unusual sculptural frieze with a highly original composition; the lower portion of the drum, on the other hand, is characterised by a frieze composed of a geometric motif delimiting its diameter. This type of frame corresponds with the contemporary decoration of the dome of the Church of St. Gregory in Ani (year 1215) commissioned by the wealthy merchant Tigran Honents. The western portal, i.e. the entrance leading to the Gavit, differs greatly from the decoration of the southern portal and is preceded by a series of steps; the portal is framed by a projecting cornice characterised by a series of half-columns inlaid with floral and geometric motifs ending in an ogival arch. The ornamentation of the tympanum shows a certain finesse in the carving of the stone and consists of floral whorls with petals of various shapes and intertwined branches with oblong leaves. Both in terms of the shape of the arch and the type of decoration, the portal is influenced by elements from Islamic art (fig. 3 - B). The interior decoration of the Prošyan rock sepulchre is also relevant. The Prošyan tomb and the second rock church of St. Astvatsatsin were excavated in 1283 probably by the same architect Galdzag whose name is engraved at the base of the dome of the first room excavated to the west (Avazan) (Khalpakhchian, 1980). The sepulchre consists of two rooms: a larger one, which served as sacristy, and a second smaller one connected to the first by two arches (fig. 4 - A). The poor lighting has favoured the sharp outlining of the reliefs decorating the walls. Of interest is a high relief of primitive iconography carved on the north wall, above the arches of the smaller room. The composition features at its apex an ox head bitFig. 3 – A) Southern portal; B) Western portal (photo R. Zanone).
256 The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia ing a ring to which are attached two facing lions with their heads turned towards the viewer. The tails of the lions end unusually with dragons, heads looking upwards. Just below the two animals is a carved eagle with half-opened wings depicted in the act of holding a lamb in its talons. These two animals depicted together probably represent the coat of arms of the family of the Prošyan princes (Der Nersessian, 1977). The reliefs on the eastern wall are equally interesting. The entrances to a small chapel and the church of St. Astvatsatsin have rectangular frames and are surmounted by a voluminous carved cross (fig. 4 - B). The chapel portal features carved reliefs with animal-bodied figures and human faces; these are harpy-like birds with crowned female heads, which are also often depicted as marginal miniatures in the pages of manuscripts. On the portal of the entrance to the church of St. Astvatsatsin, on the other hand, two human figures appear with slightly bent elbows, dressed in long robes and their heads surrounded by haloes. The hollowed-out interior of the church features numerous decorated and sculpted surfaces with rosette motifs and various geometric inlays; the main decorations can be found, for instance, on the lower and front wall of the chancel platform, which shows a decoration with a geometric motif of alternating diamonds and squares. On the front of the staircase leading to the altar, a fairly realistic representation of a goat catches the eye, while on the sides of the chancel walls, two khachkars can be seen. Of particular interest is the one carved to the left of the apse of the altar, which is decorated at the base of the cross with two male figures; the first figure portrayed in profile holds a spear pointing downwards in his left hand, while the second appears in the act of blowing a horn raised upwards. Equally interesting are the decorations on the dome carved into the rock, the only source of light in this rocky environment. On the curved surfaces, pomegranates are again sculpted, like those seen in the outer southern portal, surmounting compositions of geometric and arabesque motifs. The interior of the drum is decorated with a series of arches with coupled columns and blind windows, making this part similar to the exterior decoration of the dome of the main temple. Finally, the variety of sculpted decoration also includes the numerous khachkars carved or engraved on the rock surface of the various rooms of the monastery complex, both inside and outside. They appear richly ornamented and present a varied iconographic repertoire that includes geometric and floral motifs, but also human figures (Alpago-Novello 1977). Fig. 4 – A) cave tomb of the Prošyan; B) decoration of the western wall (photo R. Zanone).
257 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Detection From the first approach to Geghard’s site, we realize its singular peculiarity. The rock is not only a scenic backdrop as in other Armenian situations, here it is an integral part of the architecture. The Monastery, in fact, is partly excavated and partly built. But the rock is not only a coexisting element, it is a generator of matter. The plateau, of volcanic origin, which constitutes this territory, has an altitude of about 2100 m above sea level, and the rivers over time have created gorges hundreds of meters high. These are tuffaceous rocks of the same age and conformation as those of Cappadocia, in which man has been able to dig environments functional to his existence. The South Caucasian region was around 1000 BC was occupied by the Urartean people of which cave cavities with external wall elements also remain (Piotrovskij, 1944). As happened in different areas of the Middle East, already in the first centuries, the caves (hives and not), dug on the volcanic rocky fronts, may have been affected by hermit life. With good approximation we can hypothesize that our site was an ascetic place as early as the fourth century, a period in which Christianity also spread at the ‘political’ level both in the West, with Constantine and Sylvester, and in the East with Tridates and Gregory. At the beginning of the fifth century, with the birth of its own alphabet, the Armenian civilization was unified and consolidated. The oldest written records in the Geghard area date back to the seventh century. Perhaps the structuring of a real fortified monastery can be traced back to this period, even if the ‘eremitic’ area remains present and characterizing. The small ascetic population was composed of idiorrhythmic monks like those of Mount Athos; that is, religious totally autonomous among themselves and also with regard to the life of the monastery. However, it could happen that someone from the monastery could decide to take refuge in complete contemplative isolation and move into this sort of mystical limbo. The area in which Geghard extends is about 125 m by 80 m and the wall enclosure has an approximately rectangular shape, although the upper side has a median cusp that brings it closer to a pentagon (fig. 5). Fig. 5 – Geghard monastery, General plan of scans (processing M. Carpiceci).
258 The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia The longitudinal orientation is East-West like that of all the churches in the area. It must be remembered, however, that this orientation never has, in Armenia, the precision of a compass. The reason could be identified by the fact that the direction was not determined at the spring and autumn equinoxes, but at the more general concept of sunrise and sunset with variability throughout the year. The imprecision is however greater in the excavated environments than in the built ones. From the large arch to the west, you enter the courtyard of the monastery. At the centre of the courtyard/ square we have the sacred core. You enter from the gate of a structure built against the rock: it is the main gavit. This closed structure was a sort of sheltered meeting place that everyone could access. It has a tetrastyle square shape, therefore divided into 9 elements (or sectors): a quincunx. The location is west of the church (Katoghiké) and together they form the classic East-West oriented arrangement of most of the Armenian sacred nuclei of the thirteenth century (fig. 6). The peculiarity of this gavit is that it is not only the pronaos of the Katoghiké, in fact its northern wall is rocky, carved into the rock, and on it open the entrances, precisely, to the excavated environments. The nine sectors have different shapes and sizes, since the central one is larger and therefore, we have square shape for the angular and rectangular for the medians. Even the covers also reflect the game of diversity. At the centre a pyramidal roof is enriched by complex construction elements that transform it into a vault with Arab-inspired stalactites and with an oculus of light in key with a small lantern. The South sector is also covered with a ‘stalactite’ decoration on a truncated pyramid with a rectangular base. The two corner sectors towards the Katoghiké, North-East and South-East, have an L-shaped surface because an element is inserted inside which there are two pairs of overlapping environments that limit the surface; the cover is therefore resolved with two-barrel vaults (fig.7). The North, West and South-West sectors are Fig. 6 – Geghard monastery, the central nucleus with the excavated and built rooms (processing M. Carpiceci).
259 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa barrel covered with a lowered direction. The East sector is covered in a pavilion always with lowered lines, while the North-West sector is covered with a round cross. From the North-West sector you can access the rocky heart of the Monastery, the place that contains the miraculous spring. Inside, the apse hall has an orientation very close to the South-West North-East direction and a square cavity to the North-West houses the Avazan, the water basin with the source. From the North-East sector of the gavit there is access to a pair of underground excavated rooms forming the mausoleum of the Prošyan princes. Back in the courtyard of the monastery, we climb to a higher level and there, through a long corridor, we enter the interior of the mountain. After about ten meters, on the right there is an environment of perimeter shape and size very similar to the gavit of the lower level (fig.8). The covers, however, do not follow the setting of the main narthex; here we have for the central sector the ‘excavation’ of a dome on a cylindrical drum and the remaining sectors do not have covers similar to canonical vaulted forms, limiting, mainly, to being a horizontal conclusion of intrados, accompanied by the hint of a shell on the walls. The next action will be to elaborate correct classical representations (sections and elevations) and to analyse the infinite panorama of geometric decorations present and widespread on all architectural surfaces. The subsequent elaboration will consist in the elaboration of a model for contour lines (isoipse) with equidistance of 10cm, to represent the distribution of paths and rooms together with the current three-dimensional morphology. Subsequently, the main vertical positions for which to repeat the operation of Multiple Equidistant Sections (EMS) will be determined (Carpiceci, 2013; Carnevali, Carpiceci, 2020). The EMS technique will also be applied to sculpted architectural surfaces, in which multiple sections can contribute to their best and objective definition. The equidistance will be calibrated according to the depth of the glyph and the projection. Fig. 7 – Geghard monastery, the main gavit, the point cloud of the intrados (processing M. Carpiceci).
260 The rupestrian churches in the monastery of Geghard, Armenia Bibliography Alpago-Novello A. (a cura di), 1973, G(h)eghard, Documenti di Architettura armena 6, Ed. Ares Milano, p. 73. Alpago-Novello A. (a cura di), 1977, (terza edizione, anno prima pubblicazione 1969), Khatchkar, Documenti di Architettura armena 2, Ed. Ares, Milano. Carnevali L., Carpiceci M., 2020, Sante e Santi in criptis. Architetture rupestri nell’Italia centro-meridionale, https://iris.uniroma1.it/ handle/11573/1386388, Roma, pages 300. Carpiceci M., 2011, Survey problems and representation of architectural painted surface, Thee International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science 38, p. 5. Carpiceci M., 2013, Cappadocia Laboratorio-Rilievo (2007-2015), In Filippa M. and Conte A. (eds.), Patrimoni e Siti Unesco, memoria, misura e armonia, Proceedings of the 36th International Conference of Teachers of the disciplines of the Representation, Gangemi Ed., Roma, pp. 221-229. Cuneo P., 1988, Architettura armena dal quarto al diciannovesimo secolo, De Luca Ed., Roma. Der Nersessian S., 1977, L’art arménien, Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris, pp. 174-179. Di Bennardo A., 2016, Simbologia del Quincunx tra la Sicilia e il Vicino oriente in età tardo antica, in Catalioto L., Pagano G., Santagati E. (eds) Sicilia Millenaria. Dalla microstoria alla dimensione mediterranea, Proceedings of the Convegno di Montalbano Elicona (ottobre 2015), Leonida Edizioni, Reggio Calabria, pp. 97-134. Khalpakhchian O., 1980, Architectural Ensembles of Armenia, Iskusstvo Publishers, Mosca. Piotrovskij B., 1944, История и культура Урарту (The History of Urartu and its Culture), Erevan. Fig. 8 – Geghard monastery, The rock gavit of the upper level, the point cloud of the intrados (processing M. Carpiceci).
261 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 2 Montana Caving Club, Baia Mare, Romania 3 Cavers’ Club, Cluj-Napoca, Romania * Reference author: [email protected] Làjos Bethlen’s crypt (Chiraleş, Romania): a geological viewpoint Tudor Tămaş1,2,*, Codruţa Valea1,2, Szabolcs Attila Kövecsi1,3, Eusebiu Szekely1,2 Abstract The crypt of Count Làjos Bethlen from Chiraleş (Romania) was built between 1815 and 1818 in a small cliff face on his property, with the purpose of burying the earthly remains of the count and his wife. At present, the crypt is affected by various degrees of weathering and vandalism. A detailed survey of the crypt was done along with constructing sedimentological logs and sampling for lithology, palaeontology, and mineralogy; the samples were taken from inconspicuous places along the walls and were studied by means of X-ray diffraction and optical and electron microscopy. The crypt ensemble is 40 m long and has two entrances leading to two tunnels, 15 and 13 m long, that connect in a central chamber, decorated with bas reliefs. This chamber connects to the smaller tomb chamber. The cavity was dug in late Sarmatian (middle Miocene) weakly cemented sands, sandy clays and silty clay sediments with occasional rip-up clasts, deposited in a delta channel facies. The fossil remains identified consist of reworked foraminifera, probably Badenian age, and fragments of limonitized wood. The secondary deposits found along the galleries consist of goethite crusts and gypsum crusts and crystals, as well as mirabilite and thenardite in the alcove and the main entrance area. Keywords: XIX century crypt, lithology, mineralogy, late Sarmatian deposits, Chiraleş, Romania. Introduction and historical background: what was it like and what is left A large number of artificial cavities are known to exist in the upper Oligocene - Miocene continental and deltaic deposits of NW Transylvania; they represent mostly mining adits, storage cellars or even supposedly hideouts (Kádár, 1901), with ages estimated to vary from the early - late middle age to the communist period. Among these objectives occurring across 3 counties and which did not receive much attention from a caving viewpoint, the crypt of Lájos Bethlen from Chiraleş (Hungarian: Kerlés), located in BistriţaNăsăud County in Romania, stands out as a historically well documented site with a particular designation (fig. 1). At present, this artificial cavity is the only remaining vestige of a formerly famous domain with a small castle and garden (Pataky, 1847; Makkai, 1941) (fig. 1). A simple internet search gives a quite large number of hits regarding tourist visits to the crypt, conveniently located on the side of the county road 151 (47° 5’ 27.546” N, 24° 18’ 51.5514” E). Many of these also document its poor state of preservation. To our knowledge, no speleological or geological investigation was done so far at the site. Therefore, we decided to document the cavity by the means available to us: we surveyed the cavity in detail, completed sedimentological profiles and sampled the crypt for paleontological and mineralogical analyses. This paper presents the results of our investigations. Count Lájos Bethlen (1782 – 1867) took over the propFig. 1 – a) Location of Chiraleş in Northern Transylvania; b) Drawing of L. Bethlen‘s park and castle, with the crypt in the little cliff underneath, from Kőváry (1853).
262 Làjos Bethlen’s crypt (Chiraleş, Romania): geological viewpoint erty in Chiraleş in 1803 (Nagyajtai Kovács, 1861), then proceeded to build the castle, where he settled with his wife Klára by 1810, according to his autobiography (Makkai, 1941). The crypt in a small cliff facing towards the Şieu river was dug between 1815 and 1818: “…cut a thirty-two öl tunnel and into its depths I finished my crypt, with the three Parcae statues, with great skill, with a foreign sculptor, in two and a half years. This crypt now hides the remains of the best, holiest woman - my dear partner in faith Countess Klára Bethlen - who died in 1839, October 30, at the age of forty-nine” (Makkai, 1941). After being liberated from a term in prison in 1826, Bethlen continued working on the property until 1848, when much of it was damaged during the revolution (Kőváry, 1853; Hegyesy, 1917; Bíró, 1943); other than old drawings and some photos, very little is known, since the building plans were also destroyed during the looting (Zador and Rados, 1943). Bethlen spent most of his last living years afterwards trying to repair the damage. He died on March 16, 1867, at the age of 85 and was buried in the crypt (Lukinich, 1927). An article 13 years after his death documents the state of the property, by then inhabited by his daughter Klára, and gives a description of the crypt: “At the bend in the tunnel, a rusty door creaks open […] In one half of the cavern, two plaques on the wall show who sleeps further inside: Count Lájos Bethlen, the creator of the garden and crypt, with his loving wife: Countess Klára Bethlen. On the side of the sleeping count, the traveler reads from a slanted stone slab: “Pax vobi” and on the side of the countess, death stares […] A large alcove is cut into the side of the hollow with a grouping of mythological statues: three Parcae carved in larger than life proportions […]. The corridor going up from the other exit of the crypt leads to the slope from where you can get down on a narrow path” (Ödön, 1880). Over the years, many visitors of the castle and park inscribed their names in the rock on the cliff face at the entrances, and there were several verses of poems carved in the rock, now affected in various degrees by weathering and vandalism. By 1898, the monography of the region - then known as the Szolnok-Doboka county - has a last note on the heirs of the property (Kádár, 1901); the castle was not inhabited after 1900. The crypt containing the remains of the count and his wife was then desecrated during World War I (Bordás, 2011), while the castle, still existing in a precarious condition in 1943 (Zador and Rados, 1943) was completely demolished after World War II, with the installation of the communist regime. At present, although the crypt is relatively well known and frequently visited, it lies in a very poor state of conservation. Materials and methods We surveyed the cavity with a DistoX2 and PDA, using the Pocket Topo software (Heeb, 2014), drawing lithological cross-sections and sampling for sedimentology, paleontology and mineralogy. The samples were so chosen as to not affect any inscription or sculpture still left in the cavity and on the cliff face. For microfossil identification, the samples were prepared using the method proposed by Armstrong and Brasier (2005): they were dried in the oven, then soaked in water and boiled for one hour, washed over a 64 µm mesh sieve, and the resulted residuum (> 64 µm) dried again for 24 h in oven at 50°C. The foraminifera were determined under the optical microscope. To obtain the granulometric fractions, we used a set of sieves ranging from 4 mm to > 32 µm. The dried sediment was placed on the largest mesh sieve and with a help of sieve shaker the samples were vibrated for 5 minutes. After this step the percent participation of each fraction was calculated. Mineralogical samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy. Results and discussion Survey and description of the cavity The general situation of the entrances to the crypt and the alcove is shown in figure 2a and the survey of L. Bethlen’s crypt is presented in figure 2b. Based on our survey, the crypt ensemble is 40 m long, including the tomb chamber - a bit shorter than thirty-two Transylvanian öl, which would measure ca. 60 m (1 Transylvanian öl = 1,866 m - Bogdán, 1990). Assuming our references for the length measurements in the era are correct, we can only infer that Bethlen’s estimation was exaggerated. The empty alcove (or niche) between the two entrances (fig. 2a, b), 2.5 m deep, was said to be initially decorated as a hermit shelter. The tunnel starting from the main, lower entrance (2.4 x 2.4 m) is 15 m long and has a roughly semicircular cross-section, with notches on the sides corresponding to clay intercalations with lower resistance to digging, and possibly also affected by weathering later on. This tunnel leads, after a 90º turn to NW, to a central elliptic chamber, 6.2 m long and 5 m wide, with a higher ceiling (4 m) dug along a more resistant bedding plane within the massive sand strata (fig 2b). The ceiling has been shaped as a cupola, but the encounter of several parallel fissures oriented SE-NW, almost parallel to the cliff face at the surface, may have caused its irregular shape of its western side (fig 3). The unstable rocks fallen along the direction of these fissures were probably removed during the digging stage. The only art features left from the initial work are encountered in this part of the cavity, namely the bas-relief sculptures surrounding the entrance to the tomb chamber: one can recognize a seated winged silhouette holding an hourglass and a scythe (the Grim reaper) on the left of the entrance, the owl at the top, a few branches and leaves and some tools (fig 4, 5). The right knee of the statue was damaged and has traces of mortar from an unsuccessful attempt of restoration (fig 5). Opposite to the tomb entrance there is a 2.3 m wide niche dug for the three Parcae statues. The empty tomb chamber (3.8 x 2.3 m), which was probably gated (Bor-
263 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa dás, 2011), contains two rectangular excavations, 0.62 m and 0.4 m deep: the one on the left, where Klára Bethlen was deposed, was separated by a brick wall which is now partly broken (fig 2b, 6). The one on the right uncovers 4 centimetric clay layers with various gypsum crusts deposited at their surface. One such less resistant layer also occurs in the ceiling of the low chamber and was partially removed during the initial digging of the cavity (fig 6). A trapezoidal, 2 x 2 m cut in the SW wall of the central chamber (probably marking a door frame) marks the connection to a smaller tunnel, curved almost symmetrically to the former. This tunnel, 13 m long, ascends on the angle of the bedding and has an ogival cross section until the second entrance (2.6 m high and 2.1 m wide), where the ceiling is flat, dug along another bedding plane. The second entrance leads to a narrow ledge on the cliff face, 3 m above the road level, and in the past a railing was emplaced here to descend after the visit (Ödön, 1880). Fig. 2 – a) The cliff face at the side of county road 151 with the entrances to L. Bethlen‘s crypt indicated (photo C. Valea); b) Map of L. Bethlen‘s crypt indicating the main features and the location of samples (orange dots) (drawing C. Valea).
264 Làjos Bethlen’s crypt (Chiraleş, Romania): geological viewpoint Description of the deposits The sediments exposed by L. Bethlen’s crypt are represented by siliciclastic deposits - sands, sandy clays, and black clays, with a few levels of rip-up clasts. To constrain the depositional environment of these deposits, two sedimentological profiles were studied (fig. 7). The first, longer profile is located on the cliff face, between the lower entrance and the alcove, where the height of the profile is ~7.5 m. The succession is made up of decimetric to metric medium-grained, well-bedded or parallel laminated sands, with three distinct levels of rip-up clasts in the middle part of the profile and erosional surfaces, while toward the top, two decimetric parallel laminated siltic levels were identified. The second profile is situated 4 m inside the tunnel starting from the lower entrance, on the left wall. Here an approximately 2 m high profile was described, consisting of decimetric levels of mediumgrained sands with rip-up clasts at the bottom and Fig. 3 – The Central chamber of the crypt facing NW towards the tunnel leading to Entrance 2, with the cupola and the SENW fissures in the ceiling. Part of the bas-reliefs are visible on the left hand wall, right above the door frame leading to the tomb chamber (photo T. Tămaş). Fig. 4 – Longitudinal view of the SW wall of the Central chamber, with the position of the bas reliefs and the door leading to the tomb chamber (drawing C. Valea). Fig. 5 – Sculpture of Death on the left of the tomb chamber entrance, with mortar traces visible on the knee. Gypsum crusts along the thin clay layers and debris resulted from weathering are visible below the sculpture (photo T. Tămaş).
265 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa top. Sedimentological structures such as erosional surfaces are visible throughout the section at various levels, while trough and planar cross-beddings were observed in the first half of the profile. In the top part a decimetric finer level with clay and silt was encountered. This is covered erosionally by medium-grained parallel laminated sands. Based on the sedimentological observations and the sedimentary structure types encountered, we infer that the rocks in which Bethlen’s crypt was dug were deposited in a submarine channel. This depositional environment is also proven by the observed U-shaped surface seen on the cliff face, usually associated to channel type deposits. The main mineral phases identified in the composition of the deposits include quartz, muscovite, and feldspars with subordinate calcite and clay minerals (kaolinite and chlorite). The intercalated clay/silty clay layers contain dominant quartz, muscovite and chlorite, with lesser kaolinite and smectite. Traces of pyrite could also be detected in the clay layers. The foraminiferal fauna is represented by very poorly preserved, reworked Badenian (middle Miocene) assemblages. Due to their poor preservation, we could determine them only at the genus level. The most frequently encountered generas are Elphidium spp., Cibicides spp., and Cibicidioides spp., with some broken Milliolids in fewer numbers, and a few pyritized/limonitized wood fragments at various levels. Unfortunately, the reworked fauna did not allow us to constrain the age of the studied deposits, in consequence we refer to previous studies which consider these deposits to be of late Sarmatian (middle Miocene) age (Răileanu et al., 1967 and references therein). Mineralogy of secondary deposits The secondary minerals identified in Làjos Bethlen’s crypt are represented by goethite, gypsum and somewhat surprisingly, mirabilite and thenardite. Several samples containing goethite Fe3+O(OH) were collected from rust-colored films occurring on the walls of the cavity, usually near the clay layers, obviously as the result of pyrite oxidation. In one particular Fig. 6 – Tomb chamber, facing E towards the brick wall delimiting K. Bethlen‘s tomb. Chisel marks visible in the ceiling, where a less resistant layer was encountered by the digger (photo T. Tămaş).
266 Làjos Bethlen’s crypt (Chiraleş, Romania): geological viewpoint case, goethite was identified covering small fragments of fossil wood (probably pyritized) we found in the walls of the central chamber. Gypsum CaSO4 ·2H2 O forms crusts of white to grey color, translucent crystal aggregates, and millimetric colourless acicular crystals, usually 2-3 mm long. The samples were collected from the clay intercalations occurring near the base of the right wall of the central chamber, and at various levels on the right side of the tomb chamber. In the crusts, gypsum crystals are lamellar euhedral monoclinic prisms, generally 5-10 µm in size, associated after (010) (fig. 8). Mirabilite, Na2 SO4 ·10H2 O, and thenardite Na2 SO4 were sampled from the alcove near the main entrance as white, soft cotton-wool fibrous crystal aggregates, always lining the edge of clay clasts (fig. 9a). Occasionally they occur along with milimetric dots of white powdery material, most likely thenardite. Similar smaller size crystals were noticed in the entrance tunnel just after Entrance 1 of the cavity, but the amount was too small to be sampled. Two different samples were taken in sealed plastic bags from the same spot in the alcove in 4 December 2022 and 5 February 2023, in very different temperature and relative humidity conditions (ca. 1°C and rain/ persistent fog, vs. -12°C and clear). The samples were analysed by XRD at ca. 24 hours after collection (fig. 9b). While both mirabilite and thenardite were present in the first sample, only thenardite was found in the second when, according to weather data, the local relative humidity values fell below 60 during a week long episode of below freezing temperatures. Depending on the conditions of temperature and relative humidity, mirabilite may either dissolve or transform into thenardite (Steiger and Asmussen, 2008; Donkers et al., 2015). In this location, mirabilite occurs only within 3 m from the entrance of the cavities (2.5 m in the case of the alcove) and, although protected from the direct action of rainwater, it is exposed to high temperature and humidity variations throughout the year, therefore a mirabilite - thenardite association/transition is possible during favourable conditions (Germinario and Oguchi, 2022). At a first observation it would appear that the mirabilite crystals grow from capillary fissures in porous and soft rocks, at the contact with the compact yellow rip up clay clasts. All these secondary minerals indicate a local source of sulfate ions derived mainly from the weathering of the iron sulfides inside the late Sarmatian deposits, particularly in the clay layers, with the formation of iron oxy-hydroxides and gypsum. Ca2+ ions are available through the dissolution of calcite in the deposits, while the altered plagioclase feldspars with an intermediary composition, may also constitute a sufficient source for both calcium and sodium in the composition of the sulfates identified. Acknowledgements We thank T. Săsărman from Chiraleş - one of a few people who try to protect L. Bethlen’s crypt from vandalism and degradation - for invaluable information during this work. We also thank A. Mureşan who helped with figure 1, as well as the Valea family for their support during fieldwork. S.A. Kövecsi acknowledges the POCU/993/6/13/153310 project: “Development of advanced and applied research skills in STEAM+ Health logic” for financial support. Fig. 7 – Sedimentary log of the studied sections (details in text) (drawing S. A. Kövecsi).
267 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Bibliography Armstrong H.A., Brasier M.D., 2005, Microfossils, 2nd edition. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Oxford, Carlton, 304 pages. Bíró J., 1943, Erdélyi kastélyok. Singer & Wolfner, Budapest, 210 pages. Bogdán I., 1990, Magyarországi hossz- és földmértékek, 1601–1874. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 663 pages. Bordás B., 2011, Barlangsír és egykori Bethlen-kastély együttese, Kerlés. http://lexikon.adatbank.ro/mobil/muemlek.php?id=374 (retrieved 28.06.2023) Donkers P. A. J., Linnow, K., Pel, L., Steiger, M., Adan, O.C.G., 2015, Na2 SO4 ·10H2 O dehydration in view of thermal storage, Chemical Engineering Science no. 134-2015: pp. 360-366. Germinario L., Oguchi C.T., 2022, Gypsum, mirabilite, and thenardite efflorescences of tuff stone in the underground environment, Environmental Earth Sciences no. 81-2022, art. 242, pp. 1-12. Heeb B., 2014, The Next Generation of the DistoX Cave Surveying Instrument, Cave Radio & Electronics Group (CREG) Journal, no. 88-2014, pp. 5-8. Hegyesy V., 1917, Gróf Esterházy Kálmán életeből, Erdélyi Múzeum no. 33-34 (11-12) - 1916-1917, pp. 24 – 51. Kádár J., 1901, Szolnok-Doboka vármegye monographiája, IV - A vármegye községeinek részletes története (Hagymás–Lápos). Demeter & Kiss, Deés, 567 pages. Kőváry L., 1853, Erdély földe ritkaságai. Román katholikus lyceum nyomdájában, Kolozsvár, 264 pages. Lukinich I., 1927, A bethleni gróf Bethlen család története. Athenaeum, Budapest, 591 pages. Fig. 8 – a) Gypsum crusts and limonitized wood fragment at the base of the eastern wall of the Central chamber (photo T. Tămaş); b) SEM image of gypsum crystals in a crust taken from L. Bethlen‘s tomb. Fig. 9 – a) Mirabilite crystals occurring around rip up clasts in the sand wall of the Alcove (photo T. Tămaş); b) XRD patterns of the two samples collected from the Alcove on 4 December 2022 and 5 February 2023 (M - mirabilite, Th - thenardite, Q - quartz, C - calcite, Ort - orthoclase, Mu - muscovite).
268 Làjos Bethlen’s crypt (Chiraleş, Romania): geological viewpoint Makkai L., 1941, Gróf Bethlen Lajos önéletírása. In: Makkai L. (ed) Erdély öröksége. Erdélyi emlékírók Erdélyről, 10. Két ország ölelkezése (1791–1867), pp. 1–51. Franklin-Társulat, Budapest. Nagyajtai Kovács I., 1861, A cserhalmi ütközet 1070-ben és helye, körülményeikkel, Az Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület Évkönyve, no. 1,1- 1859-1861, pp. 89-106. Ödön J., 1880, A cserhalmi tetőn, Fővárosi lapok, no. 205 - 1880, pp. 1014-1015, Atheneum, Budapest. Pataky F., 1847, Helyleirások erdélyiből, IV. In: Vahot, I. (ed). Pesti Divatlap. Szépirodalmi közlöny a társasélet, irodalom és művészet körében, 36-1847, pp. 1135-1138, Pest. Răileanu G., Rădulescu D., Marinescu F., Peltz S., 1967, Geological map of Romania, 1:200000, 11. Bistrita. Geological Institute of R.S. Romania, Bucharest. Steiger M., Asmussen S., 2008, Crystallization of sodium sulfate phases in porous materials: The phase diagram Na2 SO4 ·H2 O and the generation of stress, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, no. 72, 17 - 2008, pp. 4291-4306. Zador A., Rados J., 1943, A klasszicizmus épitészete Magyarországon. A Magyar tudományos Akadémia Kiadása, Budapest, 428 pages.
Mining and extraction works
Roberto Bixio, 2003 Ligurian Mine Rendering of the operations of emptying the prehistoric mines of Monte Loreto as part of an archaeological mission. (Computer graphics, 26×18 cm)
271 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Speleological club «Poshuk», Odesa, Ukraine * Reference author: [email protected] Exploration of the Quarries of Moldavanka District in Odesa City (Ukraine) Igor Grek1 , Yevheniia Pechenehova1 , Nataliya Moldavska1,*, Yuliia Pelovina1 , Mike Shyrokov1 Abstract Old quarries of Moldavanka district can be characterized as the most uncommon and exciting areas of Odesa catacombs. Underground system K-24 explored by us is one of the biggest in this district. It was used as shelter by partisans and local citizens in the period of World War II. A number of natural caves intersects the quarries in this area. The 20th century was remarkable due to colossal support setting works and construction of bomb shelters, that were performed in several stages and changed the appearance of this underground system. We combined a number of various approaches in our work. The first one is exploration of inscriptions and graffiti on walls of the mines. These images differ from each other with their content, style, spelling and handwriting peculiarities, as well as technique of performance, which allowed us to single out inscriptions and graffiti specific to certain period or to various social groups. Another approach connects relative chronology of development of mines to their structure and technological peculiarities of quarrying. Mining technologies have been changing throughout the years, which made it possible to identify different areas of the mines that had been developed or supported in different periods. The authors also compared materials of their observations on site with the data obtained from 19th century publications and scientific papers of modern researchers. Methods of photogrammetry were also used in order to document the most interesting objects in the catacombs of Moldavanka. Keywords: underground systems, images on walls of mines, limestone quarries, tools and technologies for extraction of stone blocks, Moldavanka district, Odesa catacombs. Introduction The most interesting and unusual areas of Odesa catacombs are located in Moldavanka district. There are grounds to suppose that the first quarries appeared there in 1820-1840s (Pelovina, 2021). This is one of the biggest underground systems located directly under city blocks (Pronin, 2021). It was used as shelter by partisans and local citizens in the period of World War II. A number of natural caves intersects the quarries in this area (Pronin, 2009). In the 20th century some works were performed, including connection of separate mines into one underground system, support setting works and construction of bomb shelters. The labyrinth resulting from these works was named K-24. Historical Data The quarries described by us in the present article are located under the territory which was part of Moldavanka suburb in the 19th century. 1814 year plan permits to identify the location of this suburb approximately between current Serednia, Dalnytska, Balkivska and Stepova streets (Dontsova, 2016). At present there are no exact data as to the period when quarrying began in Moldavanka. However, one can suppose that the oldest quarries are in the areas that were built up first. Some documents enable to date quarrying indirectly. For example, a report by Odesa police chief as of January 8, 1832, to the Minister of Justice says: “In the fourth section of Moldavanka in lieutenant Pomianovskyi’s house, a retired under-officer Stepan Vorobiev, who had been a miner, was killed by rock fall…”. It is important to note that initially Moldavanka was formed as an agricultural suburb and had typical therefor building development with few buildings and large land lots for gardening and growing of grapes. Twenty or thirty years after that large land lots were divided and passed into ownership of more landowners. Urban area appeared there. The following advertisement from newspaper “Odeskii Viestnik” as of August 26, 1850, shows this process: “Land lot of 3 720 sq. sazhens (1 sq. sazhen equals 49 sq. feet) with large building for sale in the opening Novo-Konna square, coming out to two streets, fit for larger establishments and for quarry, dividable for 12 lots” (Dontsova, 2016). Obviously, the new stage of building development is related to further development of quarries in Moldavanka. As evidenced from the quoted document builders preferred to mine for their construction directly at their land lot. Already in 1861 old mines had caused problems for
272 Exploration of the Quarries of Moldavanka District in Odesa City (Ukraine) development of the city and the Municipal Council established a committee to elaborate recommendations to control collapses and slides. Report of the committee about the catacombs of Moldavanka highlights (Zavadovskiy, 1864: “…unfortunately, a large part of underground mines, where the highest quality rock was quarried in the past, and probably is being quarried now, is located in Moldavanka suburb”; “…it is known to me from my personal inspection in Odesa territory that some mines (quarries) spread to several kilometers. The number of mines in Moldavanka is so great (although they are not so long) that with minimal exposure they look like almost endless underground passages”; “…even the appearance of this area, especially in the direction of Vodiana gully, represents wonderful chaos of pitfalls and holes covering the area of about 3.7 km in length and 1.6 km in width”. In 1874, in a note to city administration about the catacombs of Moldavanka, mining engineer N. Dunin-Barkovskii remarked (Dunin-Barkovskiy 1874): “…It is an entire network of continuous mines spreading from Vorontsovka outskirts in different directions almost to St. Peter and Paul’s church. These mines are peculiar because many shafts are connected with each other by uninterrupted chain of passages, having open exits (adits) at the same time. So that one can enter these mines or shafts or adits and walk in various directions for 1-4 kilometers and then exit somewhere to the surface or to gully or even to some local inhabitant’s cellar. These are the interested catacombs of Odesa city. They obviously serve as free night or day shelter for many night trades people, as well as storage place for various goods. One may see not only traces of human residence, but that of domestic animals like horses or cattle”. Description of Quarries The part explored by us in the underground system K-24 has length of about 5200 m. Analyzing the directions in which the mines had been developed, we determined 30 areas belonging to different mines. The scheme in figure 1 illustrates location of the mines and areas of second stage of mining. Figure 2 shows fragment of a plan of the catacombs in areas 19, 21, 22. Depth of the old quarries in the explored area varies from 14 to 22 m. It increases eastwardly and one may notice that longer and, probably, newer quarries are located in this direction (areas 19, 22, 24 in figure 1). Fig. 1 – Scheme of development of the underground system in Moldavanka. Originally separate quarries are highlighted in different colors (cartography I. O. Grek).
273 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa All the quarries in the system can be divided into two types: 1. 19th century quarries contain 4-5 m wide passages and triangular-shaped faces, which are specific to them (fig. 3). In the roof one may notice traces of tools (crowbar) with width of the functional part up to 5 cm, which is also typical of other Odesa mines of the beginning and middle of 19th century. Height of such mines varies from 2.0 to 3.3 m. In four cases (areas 1, 3, 22 and 23) development took place in two benches. Length of this type of mines varies from 40 m in Fig. 2 – Map of the eastern part of the underground system (mapping K. K. Pronin, supplemented I. O. Grek).
274 Exploration of the Quarries of Moldavanka District in Odesa City (Ukraine) area 21 to 630 m in quite large quarries 19 and 24 in the eastern part of the explored system. Some of these early mines were connected already in the 19th century (e.g.: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 or 23, 24 and 25, fig. 1). However, the majority of them were connected with cross slits later. Inclined shafts (areas 3, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28, fig. 1) as well as regular mine shafts were used as entrances. Inclined shafts are more specific to smaller quarries. Probably, the oldest ones. 2. Parts of the quarries were developed in 1930-s and 1950-s in order to connect separate areas of the underground system, and also to mine rock for support setting or for construction of bomb shelters (fig. 1). Total length of such mines developed in 1930-s makes up 75 m, whereas in 1950-s – 930 m. As a rule, these are straight passages with rectangular faces (fig. 4), up to 2.5 m in width. It is interesting to note that before cross slits were made in 1938-1939, neighboring areas had been surveyed by horizontal boring. Horizontal boreholes were marked with numbers and dates with thin graphite or pencil, in some cases lengths were also specified. Such boreholes are found almost in the entire territory that we explored. Graffiti and Images The explored area contains datings of 1829 and 1832 rarely found in Odesa catacombs (fig. 5). Some images Fig. 3 – A typical triangular face in the early quarries in Moldavanka (photo Y. Mishchenko). Fig. 4 – Rectangular face. Photo from the archive of mining technician A. Okolsky. Early XX century.
275 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa of that period, e.g. image of sailing-ship may be used for indirect dating (Pelovina 2021). 19th century miners’ graffiti in general are not numerous in Moldavanka catacombs. There are almost no inscriptions here due to illiteracy of greater number of population. On the contrary, there is a large number of inscriptions remaining after support setting works. The latter took place in the 20th century in several stages and the inscriptions illustrate the process of these works. Everyday life topics in graffiti depict the inner world of people of certain period and social standing. All such images in Moldavanka catacombs were performed in primitive style in one color. Topics of the images here are similar to those in other quarries in Odesa and the suburbs, including those specific for various periods. Among them are religious images (crosses, churches), technological wonders of the past (ships, clocks, trains, etc.) and everyday life topics (houses, trees, portraits in profile) (Grek et al., 2021a and 2021b) (figs. 6, 7). Soviet period inscriptions contain many political slogans (that in fact depict the official point of view). For instance: “Everybody, go to elections to Verkhovna Rada”, “Beria is the enemy of soviet people, 1953”, “Away with Stalinism! 1956”. Humorous inscriptions and graffiti are also typical of this period. During World War II citizens used Moldavanka catacombs as shelters. Inscriptions of this period remained in the explored area. Mostly there are calendars, where number of days spent in the shelters had been marked, dates, surnames and addresses of local residents (fig. 8). Fig. 5 – Dates of different times illustrate the stages of mining in the western part of the underground system. The earliest date “1829” is carved, “May 4, 1915” is written in charcoal, “26.12.1938” is written in fine graphite or pencil (photo N. Moldavska). Fig. 6 – Miner’s drawing. Two miners with saws are depicted as a coat of arms with the dome of the church in the middle (photo Y. Mishchenko). Fig. 7 – Religiosity, characteristic of XIX century people, is manifested in the image of crosses, churches and priests (photo N. Moldavska). Fig. 8 – Calendar with marks of local residents, drawn on the wall in the quarries of Moldavanka (photo Y. Mishchenko).
276 Exploration of the Quarries of Moldavanka District in Odesa City (Ukraine) Conclusion There are grounds to suppose that the first underground quarries in Moldavanka occurred in 1820s-1830s. The earliest quarries are small, about 100 m long. In 1840-1870s stone extraction continued. This stage is characterized with large quarries of up to 700 m length, with shaft in the center of the extraction area. It is obvious that some of them were connected with each other already in the 19th century and small underground systems appeared. In early 1880s mining in Moldavanka stopped because it was prohibited by municipal authorities. In late 19th – early 20th century support setting works in Moldavanka catacombs start. Various technologies have been used in this process uninterruptedly even up to the present time. The first documents, in which the idea to use Moldavanka catacombs as bomb shelters was expressed, are dated 1929. With this purpose mapping and exploration of certain directions with horizontal boring were performed in 1930s. Afterwards some parts of the quarries were connected with each other. The first shelter construction works are dated 1940. But the main extent of the work was performed in 1950- 1960s. At the same time mining of special narrow tunnels connecting separate mines was done. The stone extracted during such work was used for large-scale support setting of the catacombs. Thus, the development of one of the most complicated underground systems in Odesa was finished. When the Russian-Ukrainian war started on 24th of February 2022, local residents restored some bomb shelters: cleaned them, routed electricity and telephone communication cables, brought stock of water and medications. Despite the fact that some areas of Moldavanka catacombs are in the status of monument and are protected by the government, construction and reconstruction works of the district still take place. Consequently, even now there is danger of destruction of the quarries as a result of support setting. That is why the most interesting objects in the quarries were documented with photogrammetry. Bibliography Донцова Т., 2016, Молдаванка: записки краеведа. – Одесса: Черноморье, 2016 г. С. 512 (Dontsova T., 2016, Moldavanka: Notes of local history expert. – Odesa: Chernomorie. 2016. p. 512). Дунин-Барковский Н., 1874, Записка о каменоломенных и домовых минах в г. Одессе и его окрестностях, составленная по распоряжению технически-строительного комитета городской управы, техником Дунин-Барковским. 1874 г. (Dunin-Barkovskiy N., 1874, Note on quarries and mines under houses in Odesa city and its suburbs, drawn up under order of technical and construction committee of municipal administration by engineer Dunin-Barkovskyi). Грек И. О., Доброер Н. В., Масленко В. В., Мищенко Е. Ю., 2021(a), Граффити каменоломен у села Ильинка (Одесская область, Украина) // Спелеология и спелестология. Набережные Челны. 2021. №1. C. 125–134. (Grek I. O., Dobroer N. V., Maslenko V. V., Mishchenko Y. Y., 2021(a), Graffiti of quarries near the village of Illinka (Odesa oblast, Ukraine) // Speleologia i spelestologia. Naberezhnye Chelny. 2021. №1. pp. 125–134). Грек И. О., Масленко В. В., Печенегова Е. Ю, 2021(b), Граффити каменоломен 57-З в окрестностях Одессы // Спелеология и спелестология. Набережные Челны. 2021. №2. C. 59–70 (Grek I. O., Maslenko V. V., Pechenehova Y. Y., 2021(b), Graffiti of quarries 57-З in the vicinity of Odesa // Speleologia i spelestologia. Naberezhnye Chelny. 2021. №2. pp. 59–70). Пелевина Ю. О., 2021, Старейшие рисунки и надписи в системе каменоломен К-24 в г. Одесса. Сборник материалов ІІI научно-практической конференции. – 2021. – Одесса. – С.118–125 (Pelovina Y. O., 2021, The oldest drawings and inscriptions in the quarry system K-24 in Odesa city, Collection of materials of the ІІI scientific-practical conference. – 2021. – Odesa. – pp.118–125). Пронин К. К., 2009, Естественные пещеры Причерноморско-Азовской и Молдавско-Подольской карстовых областей. Симферополь–Одесса. «Сонат». 2009 г. С. 124 (Pronin K. K., 2009, Natural caves of the Black Sea-Azov and MoldavianPodolsk karst regions, Simferopol–Odesa. “Sonat”. 2009. p. 124). Пронин К. К., 2021, Каменоломни города Одесса. Сборник материалов ІІI научно-практической конференции. – 2021. – Одесса. – С. 45–57 (Pronin K. K., 2021, Quarries of the city of Odesa. Collection of materials of the ІІI scientific-practical conference. 2021. – Odesa. – pp. 45–57). Завадовский И. С., 1864, О ломке и резке камня на Одесской городской земле. «Ведомости одесскаго городскаго общественнаго управления» № 72. 1864 г. С. 340–346 (Zavadovskiy I. S., 1864, On breaking and sawing stone on Odesa municipal land, “Vedomosti odesskago gorodskago obshchestvennago upravleniia” №72. 1864. pp. 340–346).
277 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Israel Studies Department - Ashkelon Academic College - [email protected] Quarrying Methods in the Cave of Zedekiah in Jerusalem at the Ancient time (Israel) Avraham (Avi) Sasson1 Abstract The historical and archaeological testimonies teach that the Cave of Zedekiah was used as a quarry from the First Temple period to the end of the Second Temple period, and possibly even a bit later. The archaeological remains and the unique nature of the rock in the cave indicate that this was a governmental quarrying site, as was already suggested in the past. The remains of the yards and the work areas bear evidence of the methodical and economic organization of the work within the cave. The cave contains signs of singular quarrying methods that, to the present, have not been located and characterized in other quarrying sites in Palestine, such as the “column” method and the “windows” method. These and other testimonies lead us to determine that the cave was mainly active in the Second Temple period, using technologies that were imported from throughout the Roman world. The quarrying remains in the cave of Zedekiah constitute a sort of catalog of ancient quarrying methods, as we learn of them from the grooves, trenches, yards, and many other testimonies in the rock. Keywords: Zedekiah cave, quarrying sites, quarrying methods in ancient Jerusalem. The Cave of Zedekiah, that is one of the largest quarry-caves in Palestine, is located at the foot of the northern Ottoman wall of the Old City in Jerusalem, between Damascus Gate and Herod’s Gate, below the houses of the old city (Map 1). This site was already known in early periods, and popular legends and traditions were woven about this cave in relation to the construction enterprises of Kings Solomon and Herod, and especially to the construction of the Temple. This was also the source of the wide range of names given to the cave, such as “King Solomon’s Quarries,” the “Caves of the Kings,” “Ma’arat el-Hajr” (the “Cave of Stones”), “Ma’arat el-Kitan” (the “Cotton Cave,” since it served as a store for cotton). The cave whetted the curiosity of various researchers and travelers, although few actually were physically present at it. Most of the researchers who explored the cave and its surroundings were attracted by the aura of mystery that enveloped it, and did not pay attention to the technological aspects reflected within the walls and most remote corners of the cave, that attest to the similar and traditional quarrying methods employed in Palestine. The different quarrying marks in the cave represent various methods that are known from ancient times (the Bronze Age) to the late Ottoman period. From this respect, the Cave of Zedekiah, with the traces of quarrying within it, constitutes a physical “catalog” of the quarrying technologies and methods in use in Palestine (Safrai and Sasson, 2001). The background of the folklore that developed around the cave is connected to the story of the flight of King Zedekiah (II Kings 25:4). This was followed by the development in the Talmudic literature and the commentaries of traditions concerning a large cave that was situated below Jerusalem, and from which one could arrive at Jericho1 . Legends and beliefs connected with the Cave of Zedekiah continued to develop until the end of the 1 Tanhuma, Num. 1:9; Rashi on II Kings 25:4; idem on Jer. 39:4; idem on Ezek. 12:13, followed by commentators such as R. David Kimhi and Metzudat David, ad loc. T Eruvin 3:13, ed. S. Lieberman (New York, 1962), p. 101; BT Eruvin 61b. Map 1 – Interior of the Cave of Zedekiah, on the background of the topography of the city (source: Warren, 1884).
278 Quarrying Methods in the Cave of Zedekiah in Jerusalem at the Ancient time (Israel) 19-20 centuries (Ben-Ami, 1947; Vilnay 1973, 1974; Berkovits, 2000; Michelson et al., 1996). This article will present the archaeological testimonies to the quarrying methods used in the cave, in order to draw scholarly attention to the technological and organizational aspects of the quarry learned from them. We will not discuss economic aspects, despite the importance of the topic, since we shall examine this in a separate article. The modern archaeological study of the cave is in progress, and it is our hope that this article will provide archaeologists and other researchers with points for thought and attention in future research. The geological section contains different types of limestone, mainly of the ba’anah formation of Turonian limestone, in the Judea group (Avnimelech 1957, 1968; Rot and Flexer, 1977). The thickest and dominant stratum is of the meleke type, a dense and crystallized soft limestone, despite the hardness of this rock. It is relatively easier to quarry and work than other types of hard limestone, since it is originally relatively soft, and hardens only upon exposure to air (Schik, 1887; Canaan, 1933). A small part in the cave is mizzi yahudi rock, that also was used for construction of the city’s houses in different periods. The History of the Discovery and Research of the Cave The memory of the cave progressively waned during the course of the medieval period, both in Jewish and other traditions (Prawer, 1991; Bahat, 1996; Gil, 1996; Ben-Dov, 1986; Vilnay, 1993; Yaari, 1976). The first to explore the cave in the nineteenth century was the American researcher Dr. James Thomas Barclay (1807-1874), in 1852 (Barclay 1858; Schur 1988, 1992; Ben-Arieh, 1984; Luncz, 1970; Yaari, 1976; Clermont-Ganneau, 1899). Charles Wilson, who came to Jerusalem in 1864, described the remains of the quarrying technology (fig. 2) (Wilson 1866, 1880; Conder and Kitchner, 1882). Charles Warren was the first to actually examine the engineering and topographical (Warren, 1884). The Frenchman Charles Clermont-Ganneau explored the cave in 1873-1874 (Clermont-Ganneau, 1899; Barclay, 1858). In 1904 stones were quarried in the cave for the construction of the clock tower in Jaffa Gate that was erected in honor of the sultan Abdul Hamid II (BenArieh, 1984). Methods of Quarrying in the Cave The maximal length of the cave that is exposed at present is some 230 m., with its maximal width reaching more than 100 m., and with an average height of approx. 15 m. The total area that is known today is approx. 25,000 sq. m. At its entrance, it is very close to ground level, and its continuation descends to the south, with no additional exit (Ben-Dov, 1986). A recently initiated study indicates that there are additional chambers of which the explorers of the cave in previous centuries were unaware (Seliger 2007, 2012). It is difficult to determine just how the cave was quarried. The quarriers proceeded from the higher part of the cave (the current entrance) southward (fig. 3) (Avnimelech 1966a, 1966b; Warren, 1884). The lower part of the cave exhibits traces of stone blocks that were removed from the ceiling of the cave. In other words, in these extensive portions of the cave, it was also quarried from below to above, in addition to the usual extracting of rock from the center to the edges. At the same time, the cave was also deepened. Many stone blocks were removed from the walls of the cave, that at present is four m. high or more, while these walls were patently much lower in the past. The quarriers were careful to leave in the center of the Fig. 1 – The northern wall overlooking the facade of the entrance to the Cave of Zedekiah (source: Barclay, 1858). Fig. 2 – General view of the cave in Wilson’s drawing (Wilson, 1866).
279 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa cave large columnlike stone blocks that were meant to support the ceiling and prevent the collapse of the cave (fig. 4). A number of quarrying methods that were common in ancient technology were employed in the cave (Map 2), along with a number of special methods that were preferred by the quarriers of the Cave of Zedekiah. “Backyard” Quarrying This method, that was common throughout Palestine, created “working yards,” a sort of closed or open “backyard,” generally with three rock faces. The “backyard” walls were formed during the process of quarrying, with the rock removed from these faces, as the quarriers dug steps in the. The “backyard” in early quarries was generally square in shape, with the walls at right angles or close to this. The nature of the quarrying in the Cave of Zedekiah, however, was influenced in great measure by the natural infrastructure, karstic erosion, and the rock strata, so that the backyards that were created are not symmetrical and methodical as was the practice in regular quarries (Map 2). The backyards attest in certain measure to the manner in which the work in the cave was organized, for the courtyards were suitable for work by one or two workers in each yard, and even more in some yards. “Stepped” Quarrying The most efficient method of quarrying, in terms of the work invested by the individual quarrier, is the “stepped” method. In order to facilitate the process of quarrying and the extraction of the stone from the bedrock, the quarriers made steps, whose size matched that of the stones. This enabled them to reach almost all the corners and faces of the stone being removed. This quarrying method was the most widespread of all the quarrying techniques known, both in Palestine, and throughout the world. This method was employed both in “backyard” and in cave quarries. The steps were made both to provide access to all the corners of Fig. 3 – Section of the past and present strata of the Cave of Zedekiah and its surroundings (source: Warren, 1884). Map 2 – General plan of the Cave of Zedekiah and the location of the quarrying methods used in it. Fig. 4 – Remains of the quarried supporting column in the cave ceiling. To the right of the column: remains of upper quarrying in the ceiling (courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority - picture 728321).
280 Quarrying Methods in the Cave of Zedekiah in Jerusalem at the Ancient time (Israel) the stone, and to create a working path for the quarriers who were working on a higher level. Additionally, this method enabled several quarriers to work in the same backyard or work area, with each one working on a different level. This method as well was both the result of planning by the quarriers, and a function of the quarrying process itself. Interestingly, in the Cave of Zedekiah itself, this method was not clearly dominant among the other quarrying methods. In our opinion, this ensues from the advantage offered by the nature of the stratification within the cave, that enabled efficient and maximal quarrying, without leaving the remains generated by the steps. It may be assumed that additional stepped quarries will be located in the lower strata of the cave, that are currently covered by waste, and that are under the meleke rock. Quarrying at an Angle The most common method in the Cave of Zedekiah is the “angled” method. It is somewhat similar to the “backyard” method but is characterized separately because of its predominance in the cave. In this method, the walls of the small yards were quarried at an angle of approximately 45o from the cave wall, thus creating small and angled yards (fig. 5). This method provided the quarrier with easy access to all corners of the stone. The cave contains the quarrying angles, sort of quarried columns, measuring 30-50 X 40-50 cm, with the height of the “column” averaging 160-180 cm. This means that the quarriers intended to extract relatively large stone blocks. In some places this sort of column was clearly cut into two or even three stones, and the quarriers intended to divide it into even smaller stones. The angled method was the dominant procedure in the inner section of the cave. We did not find any parallels to this method or reports of it in other Palestine sites; it may have been characteristic of a certain period, but, at present, we do not possess sufficient evidence to draw such a conclusion. Quarrying in the Floor In this method, the stones were dug up from the surface of the bedrock, both in the stage of the opening of the quarry or of the yard, and, frequently, during the leveling of the ground, as preparation for the building of houses. A quarry of this type is of extremely low output, since the number of workers in it is limited, and it is characteristic of areas in which the rock strata are horizontally fractured, thus making possible the speedy quarrying and detachment of the stones. If these quarries did not develop into yards, they would leave hardly any trace. Traces of this type of quarrying are visible in the floor of the Cave of Zedekiah, mainly in its higher and exposed part. “Ceiling Quarrying” - Upper Quarrying The use of this method, that is parallel to floor quarrying, also was spurred by the stratification of the bedrock, since the stratification facilitated the severing and removal of the stone from the ceiling. In upper quarrying, the quarrier follows the natural horizontal fissures in the bedrock ceiling. In the places where the fissure is several centimeters in size, a large iron crowbar is wedged in it, between the rock stratum and the ceiling, and the stone is detached by pulling the bar down. In the places where the fissure is too small, a hammer and chisel are used, to quarry while proceeding upwards (the reverse of the usual direction), in preparation for the final detachment of the stone. This method is not common in open quarries, and was typical mainly of caves, in which the quarrying is done from the low entrance upwards. The infrequent use of this method ensues from the physical difficulty and awkwardness ok working in this direction. Traces of this quarrying method are visible in a number of spots in the ceiling of the cave. “Column” Quarrying This, too, is a method rare in Palestine, in which the stones are quarried vertically, along the walls of the cave (figs. 6, 7). This method entailed the digging of channels the entire height of the wall, thereby forming between them a sort of series of columns, that usually reached a height of 180 cm., and with an average width of 55 cm. These channels were generally about 10 cm. wide (as was common in ancient quarries - corresponding to the fist of the quarrier), but wider channels, with a maximal width of 25 cm., also were found. We did not find evidence of secondary quarrying to split the stone blocks into smaller pieces, thus leading us to believe that monumental stones were quarried here, for use in a structure constructed of stones the length of the “column” height. Fig. 5 – Section of a quarrying wall employing the “quarrying at an angle” method.
281 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Until now, scholarly research contains no reports of the use of this method in Palestine, possibly because the researchers did not pay attention to this detail, or because it did not in fact exist. This method made partial use of the natural lengthwise fissures in the cave, that facilitated the work of the quarriers, as we have also seen regarding the other methods employed in the cave. It should be noted that this method does not relate to the cut columns remaining in the cave, that were left by the quarriers to support the roof and prevent its collapse. These columns are part of the adjoining quarrying, with each column intended to support the cave in each of the areas using different quarrying method. The “Windows” Method This method as well is unknown in the scholarly literature, and it, too, most probably made use of natural fissures in the bedrock. In this method, stones, generally square in shape, were extracted from the wall of the cave in a process that created a niche in the wall (fig. 8), thus forming a sort of alcove or blocked window in the quarry wall (fig. 9). These typically measured some 100 X 70 cm. The final thickness of the stones has not been determined, but it did not exceed 20 cm., because this method was not suited for the extraction of large stones. Fig. 6 – Remains of the column method of quarrying (photograph: Avraham Sasson; photograph 20/304). Fig. 7 – Facade and section of a quarry face using the “column” method.
282 Quarrying Methods in the Cave of Zedekiah in Jerusalem at the Ancient time (Israel) Were Stones Removed with Wet Wooden Beams? Several scholars who examined quarrying technology mentioned an additional method for removing stones from the bedrock, in which wooden wedges were inserted in the rock. These wedges were moistened, leading them to swell, thus bursting the rock. This method was probably used in European quarries, and possibly also in the East in the nineteenth century (Avitsur, 1976; Durkin and Lister, 1983). Many other scholars, however, oppose this interpretation (thus, e.g. Roeder, 1965). In her description of this method, Dworakowska showed that large cylindrical holes were cut in the rock, into which the wooden beams were inserted. The circular shape was necessary in order to split the rock in a more or less straight fashion. The moistening process, under European conditions (Austria-Germany), took at least twelve hours. Dworakowska is of the opinion that this method was not used in antiquity (Dworakowska, 1987). There is no evidence in all the quarries of round holes, but only of the small trapezoidal holes characteristic of iron wedges. The method of wet wood splints should have left traces of the wedge tracks in the bedrock that remained after the removal of the quarried stone, or, alternately, the use of these wedges will leave behind split and torn rock, but there is no evidence of this. The literary sources frequently mention the iron wedges, traces of which were discovered in excavations, while the sources are silent regarding their wooden counterparts. Material from Palestine confirms Dworakowska’s conclusions. Quarries in Israel contain no evidence of the use of wood beams. The stone remaining after the removal of the rocks in the dozens of quarries that were examined is almost straight and is suitable for the quarrying of additional stones. Furthermore, the bore holes for wedges that were found (see above) indicate a series of closely-spaced wedges. These holes sufficed to split the rock, with no need for the wetting method. Consequently, this method was not used in Palestine. One possible reason for the disregard of this method may have been its lack of precision and its relative slowness. It was suited, at best, for the detachment from the bedrock of large stone blocks, from which the stones used in construction would then be cut. As we have seen, however, and as the stepped quarries attest, the quarriers were accustomed to cut the small stones directly from the bedrock, thereby canceling any advantage to be gained by the detaching and removal of a large stone block directly from the earth. This is especially so since the climatic conditions of Palestine militate against the use of the tremendous quantities of water required by this method, although some scholars suggested the use of such a technique in this land (Ben-Dov,1986; Magen and Dadon, 1999; Amiran, 1951; Ritmeyer, 1989). Our proposal regarding the method of quarrying, however, seems to be more accepted in current scholarly thought (Shiloh and Hurwitz, 1975). It was also suggested that the wide quarrying channels in the Cave of Zedekiah resulted from the use of moistened wooden wedges, a theory advanced, for example, by Wilson (Wilson, 1880) and in the reconstruction by those initiating the “History of Stone Museum in the Cave of Zedekiah” (Ariel, 1986). Fig. 8 – Facade and section of a quarry face using the “windows” method. Fig. 9 – Remains of “window” quarrying in the cave wall (photograph: Avraham Sasson).
283 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Work Tools Used by the Quarriers Quarrying tools The testimonies to the quarrying tools have survived in the form of the grooves and the bore holes in the cave walls. The tools used in the quarrying operations in the cave generally resembled those known to us from the historical sources and the archaeological testimonies. We will not discuss this issue at length, but we will describe a number of tools that left distinct traces in the walls of the cave (fig. 10). Marks were left by two chisels, one narrow (2-3 cm. in width), and the other 5-6 cm. wide. Most of the quarrying channels were made with these chisels. At the same time, use was made of a quarrying axe, that leaves circular quarrying marks characteristic of one who quarries while standing, swinging an axe at arm’s length. A few traces of drill bits were discovered. The Moving of the Stone within the Cave A number of open-ended holes and rock-cut stone rings were discerned to the right of the cave entrance, that were used for hitching animals, or to anchor ropes in the cave roof. This may have been the central point from where the stones were transported, and a base for a system of ropes used to lift the stones, an apparatus that is known from other locations throughout the world. Here the quarriers might have also loaded and unloaded other burdens possibly connected with the cave’s functioning in the Ottoman period as a storehouse. It is noteworthy that rings of this type have not yet been found in the lower part of the cave. There are no testimonies regarding the method for moving the stones within the cave. From our knowledge of other sites, we may assume that there were paths on which the stones were dragged, using the moving techniques common in that period. Quarrying within a Cave - Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages We know of many cave quarries in Palestine, the largest of which is the Cave of Zedekiah. Quarrying within a cave possessed a number of advantages, along with economic considerations for this type of quarrying: 1. the utilization of geological strata: as we have seen, the horizontal geological stratification is extremely clear and pronounced. The horizontal fissuring between the strata makes stone removal easier for the quarriers. At times large stone slabs would be quarried, from which smaller stones would then be cut and dressed on the floor of the cave. In this method, the dressing phase requires less work and time, since the natural stratification provides the initial dressing. Making use of the geological strata enables a better classification of the types of stones in accordance with building type. Thus, it was possible to set aside the meleke stones for Jerusalem’s public structures. 2. Similar to their utilization of the horizontal strata, the quarriers also made use of the lengthwise fissures that were formed by karstic activity. These fissures led to the development of a quarrying method that is unique among all the techniques known to us, that of “columns”, that is, vertical quarrying. 3. Quarrying into the cave does not harm agricultural areas or those earmarked for construction, since it penetrates under the rock strata on which a settlement is built. 4. The relatively high humidity within the cave softens the bedrock to a certain degree, thus facilitating the quarrying and the detachment of the stone. 5. From the perspective of the quarriers, the climatic conditions and the shade provided by the cave created more congenial basic working conditions, including the ability to work on rainy days, that was not possible in open quarries. Disadvantages 1. The transport of the stone was one of the factors influencing the choice of quarry locations, and as a general rule their opening was based primarily on this consideration. Accordingly, many quarries are built close to roads. Large quarries were usually dug above the construction site, with the stones rolled down in various manners. The Cave of Zedekiah was inferior from these two aspects, because the stone was quarried in a relatively low location, that required it to be lifted from the bottom of the cave to ground level, and then transported to the construction site. 2. In light both of the above and of additional technical drawbacks, the stones extracted from the cave were not among the large stones known to us from Jerusalem, such as the stones of the Western Wall, but were building stones of medium size. 3. The work in the cave was convenient from the cliFig. 10 – Reconstruction of work in the quarry and the detachment of stone with wooden wedges (source: Ritmeyer, 1989).
284 Quarrying Methods in the Cave of Zedekiah in Jerusalem at the Ancient time (Israel) matic aspect, but required the intensive use of artificial lighting, a need that did not exist in open quarries. A number of niches for oil-lamps were found in the cave, but the economic significance and extent of the use of oil has not yet been examined. Acknowledgments This research was supported by the research fund of the Ashkelon Academic College. I wish to express my thanks for their support. This work had its beginnings in a joint study that I conducted with Prof. Zeev Safrai, Quarrying and Quarriers in the Land of Israel (Hebrew; Elkana, 2001). Parallel to our work, the Israel Antiquities Authority has begun an archaeological study of the cave, under the direction of J. Zeligman. His excavations are as yet unpublished; my thanks to him for his cooperation and for the initial information and photographs that he made available to me. 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285 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Università degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Milan, Italy 2 Club Alpino Italiano, Gruppo Grotte CAI Gallarate, Varese, Italy 3 NArraTURAE, Borgomanero, Novara, Italy 4 GEOEXPLORA Geologia & Outdoor, Baveno, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy 5 Guida delle Aree Protette dell’Ossola, Varzo, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy 6 WAY4WARD, Rome, Italy 7 Ente di Gestione delle Aree Protette dell’Ossola, Varzo,Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy * Reference authors: Luca Palazzolo, [email protected] - Daniele Piazza, [email protected] Antrona Valley’s Gold Mines: from ore deposits to cultural opportunity for mining heritage (Piedmont, Italy) Luca Palazzolo1,2,*, Alex Briatico2,3, Enrico Zanoletti4,5, Andrea Basciu6 , Flavio Caffoni2 , Andrea Martinelli2 , Luca Miglierina2 , Elena Mileto2 , Antonio Moroni2 , Luca Nardin2 , Giulio Oliva2 , Renato Oliva2 , Roberto Piatti2 , Edoardo Rota2 , Marco Ulivi2 , Marco Venegoni2 , Daniele Piazza7,* Abstract The Antrona Valley falls within a very complex area on a geological and tectonic level, since during the Alpine orogeny there were important shifts along the faults, which led to intense deformations and which brought lithological units of different provenances and origins into contact, forming the so-called metalliferous “veins”, mainly rich in gold and silver. These veins are made up of quartz, associated with sulphides such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, blende, chalcopyrite. Gold is mainly contained in pyrite and arsenopyrite, as free gold, in the form of very small particles. From a lithological point of view, the deposits are mainly located in gneissic rocks, mica schists and ophiolitic green rocks. In Valle Antrona the gold-silver veins, object of research with the creation of mines also highly developed, are: i) Mottone and Mee field, in the valleys of Trivera and Mottone, in the gneiss formations; ii) Prabernardo and Locasca field, along the Ovesca stream, in the gneiss formations; iii) Asino and Cama field, downstream from Alpe Cama, developed on contact between gneiss and green rocks. The MINERALP project is an Italy-Switzerland Interreg Project, working on a wide area across the two nations in western Alps, where a huge mining activity developed in the previous centuries, with a great impact on local communities and landscapes. A big heritage made of places (mostly abandoned), knowledge and Man’s memories about the hard work in mines and quarries. What is needed is keeping this heritage still alive and give the opportunities to discover it as a new way of tourism, enriched with culture and adventure. The MINERALP project consisted in the recovery of 3 ex-mining sites (Kreas Mines in Alagna Valsesia, Gula Mine in Valsesia and Taglione Mine in Antrona Valley), the implementation of already recovered sites (Val Toppa Mine and Pink Granite Quarry in Baveno), the setting up of new visitor and document center (Valle Antrona and Saint-Marcel) and information points (Baveno). Within this framework, we studied the Prabernardo - Locasca field bringing to light nineteen gold mines. Among them, seventeen were unknown, while Taglione Mine and Polveriera Mine were adapted for tourist purposes. For all the mines, we carried out geophysical, biological and archeological studies to collect all the information useful to catalog mine and evaluate their usability. Aerology of Taglione Mine was studied using an ultrasonic anemometer, while the other mines were studied via hot-wire anemometer. As results, we discovered that Tony Mine is connected with other two mines (Miniera sopra Taglione and Frisa 2), while it is not connected with Taglione Mine, despite it was projected as Tony’s shallow. Some mines were catalogued as “not accessible” since the support wood is rotting, and from a biological point, mines are inhabited by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Meta menardi. Finally, we obtained 3D survey for each mine and we mapped all the ancient miners’ trails in order to project a mining park accessible to organized groups, encouraging safe tourism. Keywords: MINERALP Project, Antrona valley, gold mine, Taglione mine, tourism. Introduction Geological framework The Antrona Valley is placed in a geologically and tectonically complex area, where significant displacements occurred along faults during the Alpine orogeny. These shifts resulted in intense deformations and brought together lithological units from various sources and origins, creating the metalliferous “veins” that are primarily rich in gold and silver. These veins consist of quartz, accompanied by sulphide minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, blende, and chalcopyrite. The gold is predominantly found in pyrite and arsenopyrite as free gold particles of very small size. From a lithological perspective, the deposits are primarily located within gneissic rocks, mica schists, and ophiolitic green rocks.
286 Antrona Valley’s Gold Mines: from ore deposits to cultural opportunity for mining heritage (Piedmont, Italy) In the Antrona Valley, the gold-silver veins that have been extensively studied and developed through mining operations are as follows: i) The Mottone and Mee field, located in the Trivera and Mottone valleys within the gneiss formations. ii) The Prabernardo and Locasca field, situated along the Ovesca stream within the gneiss formations. iii) The Asino and Cama field, downstream from Alpe Cama, developed at the contact zone between gneiss and green rocks. MINERALP project The MINERALP project is an Italy-Switzerland Interreg Project that operates across the western Alps, encompassing a vast region spanning both nations. This area has a rich history of mining activity that significantly impacted local communities and landscapes. It holds a valuable heritage comprising abandoned locations, accumulated knowledge, and the memories of people who endured the hardships of working in mines and quarries. Preserving this heritage and offering opportunities for exploration has become essential, creating a novel form of tourism that combines cultural enrichment and adventure. The MINERALP project involved the restoration of three former mining sites: Kreas Mines in Alagna Valsesia, Gula Mine in Valsesia, and Taglione Mine in Antrona Valley. Additionally, existing restored sites such as Val Toppa Mine and Pink Granite Quarry in Baveno were enhanced, while new visitor and document centers were established in Valle Antrona and Saint-Marcel, along with information points in Baveno. Antrona Valley Whitin this project, the main area of study and research in the Antrona Valley focused on the region above the locality of Locasca, identifying and marking the entrances of the following: Priest Gallery (903 meters above sea level), Chietta Vein or Gallina Mine (960 meters above sea level), S. Barbara Gallery – Polveriera (865 meters above sea level), Taglione Gallery (880 meters above sea level), Toni Gallery (950 meters above sea level), Frisa 1 Gallery (1060 meters above sea level), Frisa 2 Gallery (1018 meters above sea level), Cava del Bosco Gallery (1121 meters above sea level), Frisa 3 Gallery (950 meters above sea level), Boscone Gallery (elevation not present on historical maps), Santa Barbara Gallery (elevation not present on historical maps), as well as minor excavations and test pits of no exploratory significance (but later discovered and cataloged during the exploration and campaign phase). The entrances marked on old surveys have been reported by also historical records, which state: “Near the village, there are two tunnels that extend about 500 meters into the mountain. They advance for 350 meters into the rocks until reaching and intersecting the “Cava del Bosco” and “Toni” veins, then continuing for about 100 meters in the northwest-southeast direction, without finding any significant mineralization. The Taglione tunnel opens at an elevation of 880 meters, and the Toni tunnel at 950 meters. Other tunnels that have become inaccessible were opened at: La Chietta, 960 meters; Prete, 905 meters; Frisa 2, 1018 meters; Frisa, 1060 meters. In the Taglione tunnel, after passing the Toni vein, a large mineralized water vein is encountered a few meters ahead” (Bruck, 1986). We also studied the area near Mulini Alp, since some historical documents reported that: “Regarding the Mulini area, there were marked but poorly defined cultivations. In the same area, on another survey from the late 1800s, there was a projected downward tunnel at an elevation of 1468 meters above sea level, connecting the MEE cultivation located at 1642 meters above sea level.” The second cultivation, known as Miniera Fajot, according to the documents is said to be located within the Trivera Stream, but it has not been found to date. In this context as well, confirmation of the “Ribasso in Progetto” or “Ribasso Mulini” (lowering in the project) comes from some traces of historical documentation: “From the village of Locasca, a mule track with 52 switchbacks leads to the Mulini. Just below, in the Trivera Stream, the Fajot tunnel opens. The Ribasso Mulini is at an elevation of 1462 meters, beyond the reach of the MEE mine’s vein column 2. From the Ribasso Mulini, a cableway departs to the Locasca facility, and another one arrives from the upstream Ribasso Mee” (Bruck, 1986). Materials and Methods With respect to the mining sites above Locasca, apart from the Taglione Mine and the Toni mine, there was poor knowledge about the other entrances. This is also due to the topography of the area, as it is characterized by nearly vertical walls, interspersed with extensive and visible rocky ledges. Over the years, this terrain configuration contributed to the loss of trails that connected the various mining sites after mining activities were abandoned. Moreover, no official references were found, except the Bruck’s report, and we based our search on oral communications with peoples from Locasca (Antrona Valley). However, during field exploration, we discovered traces of rock steps and footholds on some rock walls, allowing for movement between the different sites situated at elevations ranging from 880 meters to 1,120 meters. Specifically, the mines were found and studied with over 20 field visits, as follows: – Taglione Mine and Polveriera (Taglione’s powder magazine) were already known to the Park Authority; – Toni Mine was known to the Gruppo Grotte Gallarate due to previous explorations; – Gallina Mine, samples at turn 9 of the road con-
287 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa necting Locasca to Mottone, and the Ribasso Progettato were known to Flavio Caffoni, a former resident of Locasca and a member of the research group; – Frisa 2 Mine, Frisa 3 Mine, Cava nel Bosco Mines, Priest Mine, Boscone Mine, and Santa Barbara Mine were identified through the digitization of a 20th-century map and its georeferencing. – The mines above Toni and Taglione Mines were identified during a search expedition for Frisa 1 Mine, which has not yet been located. On the other hand, for Mulini Alp, the entrance of Ribasso Progettato was known by Gruppo Grotte Gallarate for previously exploration, while the entrance of Fajot Mine is still unknown. All the GPS positions of found mines have been deposited to the databases of Federazione Speleologica Piemontese and are available only for Corpo Nazionale del Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS). Survey We created a GPS track for each exit to locate the entrances in order to map also ancient trail. For each track, a statistical algorithm was developed to correct the track itself using three Garmin Etrex 30 devices simultaneously and generate the modal track. The entrance was georeferenced using a MobileMapper120Field device, utilizing GPS and GLONASS networks with associated error below 3 m in position and below 10 m for elevation. For the survey, a modified DistoX LEICA with a digital compass and non-magnetic battery was used, which communicated with a handheld device running the TopoDroid application. The surveys were drawn in CSurvey. Anemometric Studies Each mine was studied from an environmental perspective to determine its aerology. For each mine, details of the air circulation were recorded on its respective data sheet. A hot-wire anemometer was used as a probe to first identify the presence of air circulation and, if present, the point of maximum airflow. A measurement grid was then created for each mine, using at least 9 points, three at the bottom, three in the middle and three at the top of gallery. The measurement grid was recorded both at the mine entrance and at any branching points, including secondary ones. Subsequently, an ultrasonic anemometer with an AIO Compact sensor and Alpha-Log datalogger was positioned to measure any micro-air circulations in the Taglione and Gallina mines. For each mine, the ultrasonic anemometer was placed at the convergence point of multiple galleries and near the entrance at a height compatible with possible airflow. Approximately one month of sampling was conducted for each mine. In the case of the Taglione Mine, the ultrasonic anemometer was also moved along the main gallery to map the entire Mine. Results Of the dozen known or mapped mines, only Frisa 1 Mine remains unretrieved, while 12 other new mines or mine samples have been found (fig. 1). The most interesting area is undoubtedly the one above Toni: Taglione Mines, where five new mines have been discovered. Only one of them is positioned above the central gallery of Taglione Mine, while the others intersect the Toni faults (fig. 2). Fig. 1 – Overview of the Locasca – Mulini Alp area from SwissTopoMap, Federal Office, Swisse.
288 Antrona Valley’s Gold Mines: from ore deposits to cultural opportunity for mining heritage (Piedmont, Italy) The “Scavo in faglia sopra Toni - Over Toni I” is particularly interesting (fig. 3). After descending about 15 meters, a well and a subsequent horizontal gallery are observed. However, the gallery is inaccessible due to precarious ceiling conditions that make it unsafe for exploration. Access to these mines is via a dry-stone staircase that leads to a very exposed traverse on rock. None of these mines have air circulation. From the same area, it is also possible to reach Frisa 2 Mine, which should be the longest mine in terms of linear gallery length according to the maps. Unfortunately, its entrance has collapsed, rendering it inaccessible. Despite the collapse, there is a small opening approximately 20 cm high where air flow of about 1 m/s is present, suggesting a direct connection with Toni. To understand the further real connections of Toni Mine (fig. 4A), it was necessary to study it in relation to Taglione. Two methodologies were employed for this purpose: i) direct examination by ascending the chimneys present in Taglione Mine and ii) Instrumental analysis. For the direct examination, excluding the presence of descending shafts in the Toni gallery, the focus was on ascending chimneys in the Taglione Mine. The “high areas” of Taglione Mine can be summarized as four locations: three chimneys and a larger chamber (fig. 4B). At the intersection, approximately 70 meters from the entrance, where a safety grate was installed, there is a vertical chamber reaching up to 6 meters in height from the floor. This area was ascended without the use of safety equipment as it was immediately determined that there was no further passage. In the same area, there is another chimney measuring five meters in height; approximately 350 meters from the entrance, another chimney extends to a height of 15 meters. The chimney was initially ascended freely and then with the aid of self-tapping anchors for safety points. The top of the chimney Fig. 2 – Focus on over Toni/Taglione area. In red are represented the miners’ trail discovered during the study. Blue pins represent discovered mines, while white lines are the Taglione and Toni Mines’ survey. Images from Google Earth.
289 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa was not reached as it was closed and impassable after a few meters. About 360 meters from the entrance, another chimney with a height of 10 meters is found. It was also partially ascended without the use of anchoring equipment. Similarly, the top was not reached as it was closed and impassable. The unexplored high areas due to unsound rock conditions were illuminated with high-intensity LED torches. The visual result was that all chimneys in Taglione Mine were completely blocked. This finding is also confirmed by the anemometric study (fig. 5), which certifies essentially zero airflow in Taglione Mine, except for local effects of micro-air circulation due to barometric or seasonal phenomena. For instance, near one of the chimneys where the lighting wire passes, a weak flow of dry air braking the condensation of water on the wire was observed, unlike throughout the rest of the mine. Based on these findings, it can be stated that the two galleries, Taglione and Toni Mines, are not directly connected by traversable sections. Taglione Mine appears to be a cavity without connections to other systems, while Toni is likely connected to Frisa 2 Mine and the Over Toni I. However, certainty regarding these connections is lacking due to a lack of direct verification of viability. Such a connection would explain the convective airflow measured in Toni (wind speed of approximately 2 m/s). Regarding the study of underground meteorology, inconclusive results were obtained in each of the other mines above Locasca, as there is no convective air cirFig. 3 – Edoardo Rota at the entrance of Over Toni I. (photo Luca Palazzolo). Fig. 4 – A) Toni and B) Taglione Mine surveys.
290 Antrona Valley’s Gold Mines: from ore deposits to cultural opportunity for mining heritage (Piedmont, Italy) culation present, and barometric-type circulation is not measurable for the volumes. However, it is possible to hypothesize the presence of sub-convective circulation due to seasonal changes, although it is not possible to relate this phenomenon due to its complexity and slow nature, which is beyond the scope of the data acquisition campaign. Minor mines (samples) or vertical mines were not tested with the instrumentation. The Ribasso Progettato mine (fig. 6), on the other hand, showed convective airflow in the anemometric analysis using a hot-wire anemometer (approximately 3 m/s). There is a potential connection with the Mee mine. Most of the airflow comes from a 49-meter chimney and flows through the left side branch. Beyond the left side branch in the main branch, there is no airflow, only pockets of “stagnant air” near the pipe deposit, where decomposing organic material (wood) is present. Other secondary branches on the left contribute to the overall airflow in Ribasso Progettato. NuFig. 5 – Ultrasonic anemometer at Taglione Mine (photo Luca Palazzolo).
291 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa merous artifacts of mining archaeology, such as shovels, picks, oxidized fuses, carts, and metal water pipes, have also been found in this mine. Ribasso Progettato is the only mine that still has cart tracks among the many explored and has specific tourist potential after general safety measures are implemented, as certain parts are currently unstable. Specifically, the entrance is viable but unstable as the reinforced concrete structure has partially collapsed. The gallery has water presence for about 200 meters due to both the collapsed entrance and some deposits of material. All galleries up to the end, where the connecting chimney with the upper system (Mee) is located, are self-supporting and safe to traverse. Structures located outside the mine were used for initial intervention. As mentioned in some documents, this was the midway point between the cable car to the Locasca facility and the one coming from Ribasso Mee upstream. Remnants of grinding stones used for material processing can be found near the Mulini residences. “The most important mining area is undoubtedly the one known as Mottone Mee, which was exploited to a certain depth (as far as the means of the old cultivators allowed). The Morandini family, who installed about a hundred small mills at the location known as Fig. 6 – Survey of Ribasso Progettato.
292 Antrona Valley’s Gold Mines: from ore deposits to cultural opportunity for mining heritage (Piedmont, Italy) “Molini,” mined this area. The minerals in the Antrona mines are not entirely amalgamable but contain visible free gold and gold finely disseminated in sulfides. Especially at depth, amalgamation does not yield satisfactory results, but the mineral is suitable for cyanidation. The “Anglo Italian Mining Co.” was the first company to establish significant treatment facilities. Around 1875, they built large “aratras” in Locasca, where the current mineral treatment plant is located, capable of grinding and amalgamating 800 kg of ore per day. The Swiss company that managed it from 1898 to 1901 constructed a large workshop in Locasca, consisting of a crusher, a battery of ten Kupfer piles, and a cyanidation.” (Bruck, 1996). Conclusions and Future Perspectives Within the MINERALP Project, around twenty mines have been identified in the area above Locasca and Alpe Mulini. Among the many mines, Taglione is about to be opened to the public for tourism purposes, aiming to raise awareness among citizens about the immense work carried out by miners in the valley. Overall, the studied area shows potential for tourism and cultural development. The area above Locasca is characterized by a unique terrain, although the overlying mines may not have significant tourist appeal. However, it could be possible to create an equipped “miner’s trail” connecting the various mines, involving the local sections of the Italian Alpine Club. Of particular interest is the Toni Mine, which requires specialized studies to ensure its safe utilization for tourism, addressing the areas categorized as structurally compromised. The Mulini/Trivera/Mottone area is the most significant extraction zone, with Mulini featuring a miners’ village that holds considerable potential for tourism. Its development would require addressing elevation differences and creating support points in the area, as well as ensuring the structural stability of the mine for tourism purposes. Overall, the research and working group prioritize the creation of a hiking trail that allows access to the following mines: Prete Mine, Frisa 3 Mine, Boscone Mine, and Santa Barbara Mine. Subsequently, it would be interesting to extend the trail for experienced hikers, connecting the Cava nel Bosco Mines and potentially creating an equipped trail with chains leading to the Risalita sopra Toni. The group believes that these mines are traversable with simple precautions, based on their preliminary assessments and knowledge. Further attention can be given to the Toni Mine and Gallina Mine, as they present more significant structural challenges. Lastly, the research and working group maintains the opinion that Ribasso Progettato has the highest potential, once the entrance and other structural elements are secured. It is also conceivable to revitalize existing structures in proximity to this mine by creating support facilities. Bibliography Bruck R., 1986, La miniera d’oro di Pestarena, Ed. Com. Montana V. Anzasca (as integration of private report of Ing. Bruk R. for a mine company).
293 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Gruppo Speleologico CAI Varallo, Vercelli, Italy 2 Società Valsesiana di Cultura, Borgo Sesia, Vercelli, Italy * Reference author: [email protected] Ancient mines in Valsesia (northeastern Piedmont, Italy): 25 years of historical research and speleological exploration Paolo Testa1,* , Riccardo Cerri2 Abstract In the Sesia valley, south of Monte Rosa massif, several metal deposits of varying importance are present; in the past they were subject of mine prospecting and at times intensive exploitation. At the head of the valley (Alagna), some significant Au-bearing quartz veins are in close connection with the main goldfield existing in the neighbouring upper Anzasca valley (Macugnaga), all of them belonging to the broader ‘Monte Rosa Gold District’; in the same area, a large Fe-Cu stratified ore is linked to the ‘Pietre Verdi’ geo-stuctural domain. In the middle and lower section of the valley, several even if small Ni-Co deposits are genetically related to the ultramafic rocks of the igneous Basic Complex within the Ivrea-Verbano Zone, whose intruded sequence (Kinzigitic Series) also show some interesting iron-rich bodies. These ore deposits boast a centuries-old mining history, the earliest records of which date back to the 13th century AD, although the activity can only be tracked with continuity from the 17th century onwards. The study of the mines in a systematic manner began some twenty-five years ago, involving researchers from various local institutions and university departments with different expertise for a comprehensive and correct approach to the subject. Since then, a series of thorough publications (books and articles) has been produced, largely filling the existing knowledge gaps. At the same time, synergy has been implemented with the Gruppo Speleologico CAI Varallo, who has gained over time great experience in dealing with stability issues in ancient mines and developed techniques to safely progress in an often unsafe environment; in recent years a close cooperation has been also established with the neighbour Gruppo Speleologico CAI Biellese or 3D topographic surveying. At present, almost all the main mining areas in the Valsesia region are catalogued, have full historical documentation and detailed underground surveys. Keywords: Sesia valley, gold, copper, nickel and iron ore deposits, mining history, underground exploration and survey. Introduction Valsesia is located in the north-eastern sector of Piedmont region, south of Monte Rosa massif (Italy), involving a portion of the Alpine range characterised by some unique geological and structural units to which several mineral deposits of varying size and importance are associated. These deposits have in past times undergone a varied history of mine prospecting and exploitation, developed in some places at least from the 13th century AD, although the activity, based on documentary evidence and mining remains, can only be tracked with continuity and confidence from the 17th century onwards. For these ore deposits, this article gives a brief overview of their characteristics, the size and development of the underground workings, the related mining history and what has been achieved in the course of speleological exploration. Metal deposits Four main groups of metallic mineral deposits can be identified, based on their type as well as specific lithotectonic association, namely (fig. 1): a) Au-bearing Fe-Cu sulphides within quartz- (carbonate) veins belonging to the so called ‘Monte Rosa Gold District’. Individual veins containing disseminations and/ or concentrations of sulphides are developed along direction even for kilometers, but discontinuously and with limited thickness (1-2 m), although typically grouped in swarms. They are located in the uppermost part of the Sesia valley (Alagna: Kreas-Santa Maria, Bors, Jazza, Mud, Salati-Vincent) in close connection with the main goldfield existing in the neighbouring upper Anzasca valley (Macugnaga). Minor irregular veins/stockwork bodies are also hosted along the Canavese Line fault systems in the upper part of the tributary Mastallone valley (CravaglianaRimella: Gula l.s.)1 . b) Fe-Cu or Mn stratified deposits within the ofiolites l.s. (‘Pietre verdi’) and quartzites-calcscists respectively. In the important iron-copper deposit located just 1 At Gula main site, a small type c) sulphide concentration is crosscut by an Au-bearing stockwork body developed along a tectonic discontinuity.
294 Ancient mines in Valsesia (northeastern Piedmont, Italy): 25 years of historical research and speleological exploration Fig. 1 – Geological-structural distribution of ore deposits in Valsesia.
295 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa south of of Alagna village (Fabbriche), sulphides are distributed in layers or elongated and/or stretched lenses, from a few mm to some m thick, always concordant with schistosity and very continuous in direction and dip. Minor concentrations of manganese oxides and silicates are present in a higher position inside the same sequence (val d’Otro). c) Fe-Ni-Cu-(Pt) deposits within the Mafic-ultramafic Complex (Ivrea-Verbano) They represent a series of numerous but smallsized sulphide deposits charaterized by more or less abundant dissemination within the ultramafic levels with local concentrations in the form of small lenses or sulphide-enriched stratoid bodies, generally extended several tens of meters in direction and few meters in thickness. The ultramafic rocks associated to these deposits are located in the basal part of the stratified complex or as discordant offsets across the ‘main gabbro’. They are distributed in the lower-middle part of the Sesia valley and its lateral Mastallone valley (Isola di Vocca, Valmaggia, Res, Castello di Gavala, Sella Bassa, Alpe Laghetto, Alpe Cevia). d) Fe oxide deposits associated with silicate marbles and mafic rocks of the Kinzigitic Series. These little studied deposits are aligned according to a precise stratigraphic horizon extended in direction for several tens of kilometres from Valsesia to Valdossola. In the tributary Strona valley this sort of deposit consist of iron oxides-rich veins and masses in unclear relationship with the silicate marbles and in close connection with granitic rocks as well as in the proximity of a major fault zone (Ailoche and Postua: Costa del ferro and Venarolo): currently a study is ongoing from the ore geology perspective to clarify its origin and evolution. Similar ore accumulations are to be found in the Sesia valley near Parone (Costa) and Camasco (Ranghetto). Mining history The publication of Alagna e le sue miniere (AA.VV., 1990) represented the first attempt to proprerly address the study of mining in Valsesia by means of a multidisciplinary approach integrating different disciplines. The book was the result of an effort to raise awareness for the preservation of the considerable mining heritage in the area: unfortunately, looking at the present remains of the 18th century gold and copper mine buildings, it has yielded very poor results. However, nearly three years of research provided the opportunity to adequately investigate and describe many technical and human aspects related to this important mining area. Documentary sources give us sporadic activity on gold deposits in the Kreas area from the very end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th. Instead, during the 18th century there was intensive cultivation under the direct control of the Savoy State on both gold (Kreas-Santa Maria, Bors) and copper deposits (Fabbriche); plants for grinding and an initial metallurgical treatment of the ore were built in the two areas, while in Scopello, halfway down the Valsesia in order to have enough quantities of wood, a large smelter was also erected, where the metallurgical refining process took place. The exploitation peaked for about ten years around 1750-1760 and then sharply declined. Thereafter, mining was fairly reduced and only conducted by inhabitants: some activity from 1785 to 1815 is worth mentioning because it was carried out at the highest altitudes (Salati-Vincent). During the course of the 19th century, only local seekers performed some mining activity on the gold veins and corporate groups on the copper deposit, but for very short periods. From 1890 there was a new boom for gold only, with the intervention of a company with British capital, but again it lasted about ten years. Finally, interest in the gold deposits continued to be rather irregular during the 20th century, while on the copper one there was on the contrary a period of intensive exploitation after the Second World War, with the mine that closed in 1981. Five centuries of mining have left several traces on the Alagna territory both on surface and underground (AA.VV., 1990; Cerri, 2013; Cerri and Fantoni, 2017; Cerri and Nanni, 2019): – At the main gold sites (Kreas and Santa Maria) the underground development is 3 and 1.2 kilometres respectively on five to six interconnected levels; early works (18th century) have been mostly obliterated by later activity and are largely inaccessible. The other minor mining sites have only a few hundred metres of excavation at most. These gold mines as a whole are located at an altitude ranging from 1325 to 3080 m a.s.l.. Only one of the many stone structures built in the 18th century for ore processing and to house the workers remains standing and contains the millstones installed by the English company; it has recently been restored for tourism purposes (fig. 2a). – At the Fabbriche mining site the underground network reaches 15 km on multiple levels for each section of the ore deposit, with the portal located between 1138 and 1378 m a.s.l.. The exploitation in more recent times was only carried out in the deepest portion of the ore deposit (down to 200 m below main adit). In this case early works (18th19th centuries) have been slightly affected by later ones and mostly recheable (fig. 2b). With regard the gold veins in the Gula area, some mining activity was discontinuously developed by local seekers during the second half of the 19th century, after which the English company operating in Alagna also intervened here for a few years. After the First World War it was the parish priest of Ferrera (Cravagliana) who undertook some research, but his attempt soon failed. Mining excavations are
296 Ancient mines in Valsesia (northeastern Piedmont, Italy): 25 years of historical research and speleological exploration Fig. 2 – 2a: Alagna, Santa Maria gold mine, 1728 (Archivio di Stato di Torino Sezioni Riunite, I Archiv., Miniere, m. II; from Cerri R. et al., 1990); 2b: San Giacomo and San Giovanni copper mines, 1725 (Archivio di Stato di Torino, Sezioni Riunite, I Archiv., Miniere, m. II; from Cerri R. et al., 1990). a b
297 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa located between from 812 to 985 m a.s.l.; at Gula main site they extend for 1.2 km, on five interconnected levels wile at Bocone for few hundred meters on three levels. At the former, location underground works and surface facilities have been recently rearranged and secured to shortly become a tourist site (fig. 3) (Cerri, 2022). On the many small nickel-cobalt deposits found in the ultrabasic rocks of the Ivrea-Verbano Basic Complex, mining was instead carried out typically in two different periods: the second half of 19th century (1855- 1880) and during the autarchy and World War II (1935-1946); in the latter the mines never went into production. The mining works are located at different elevations, the heighest being Alpe Laghetto (1850 m a.s.l.); the ones with a well developed underground network are the Isola di Vocca mine (0.6 km on four levels, 542-636 m a.s.l.) and the Valmaggia mine (0.55 km on four levels, 623-721 m a.s.l.) (Fontana 2000, 2003; Testa, 2002). The mining area that is certainly the most interesting for its long documented history, but also the one that is least known, is Costa del ferro (Ailoche and Postua). The mining works are situated at an altitude from 509 to 632 m a.s.l. and they result from several periods of activity since the 13th century and up to WWII (Barale, 1987; Cerri, 1990). Open pits and ancient irregular works of supposed medieval age are visible in the highest portion of the mining area, while several interconnected levels for a total of 1.5 km were excavated during the subsequent activity phases. The underground network has already been fully explored and mapped with a 3-D survey, which is facilitating the ongoing studies: the deposit is currently under investigation from the ore geology perspective to clarify its origin and evolution, while history of mining will be researched soon. It should be noted that the synergy established with the Gruppo Speleologico CAI Varallo usually involves that historical reports and documents (plans, photographs, etc.) are continuously made available for their underground exploration purposes, while in the case of the Costa del ferro mining area the opposite has occurred (in this case Gruppo Speleologico CAI Biellese is involved). This demonstrates how the study of Fig. 3 – Gula nickel mine workplan, 1929 (private archive).
298 Ancient mines in Valsesia (northeastern Piedmont, Italy): 25 years of historical research and speleological exploration mines and their caving exploration can be mutually beneficial. The newly launched multidisciplinary project dedicated to this mine will involve researchers from various local institutions and university departments with different expertise (ore geologists, mining engineers, mining archaeologists and medieval historians), but also speleologists will be full members of the team. The experience of 25 years of working together will thus be invested in the best possible way. Underground exploration The Gruppo Speleologico CAI Varallo has explored and documented many mining sites in the Sesia valley, gaining a great experience in dealing with instability and other problems present in abandoned mines, developing techniques and knowledge to progress as safely as possible in an often unsafe environment. In recent years, there has also been close cooperation with the neighbour Gruppo Speleologico CAI Biellese for 3D topographic surveying. Referring to the previous paragraphs, below we examine the different mining areas in which the team conducted their exploration and documentation campaigns. In 2006, the Santo Spirito adit in Kreas area near Alagna was explored, but many problems were experienced inside, due to wall compression stresses and the related reducion in space, also because of the presence of timber props, which were overcome in a kind of labyrinthine game, concluded after only eighty meters by a landslide; as of today the entrance is collapsed (fig. 4). In the following years other levels in the same gold mining area were searched and explored: unfortunately, some are obstructed, others are still accessible but inside the rock is rather precarious. In the Stuz area, on the opposite side of the valley, the galleries are quite solid, without timber support structures, some semi-flooded but still accessible, so it was possible to document them photographically and perform the 3D survey. The exploration of the Mud gold mine was carried out more recently. The levels are connected by shafts, but they have collapsed, despite they are in good conditions and with very few supporting structures. The second level, being flooded, required to create a drainage channel, but this did not prevented us from entering with our boots on. Since the quartz ore body has been almost completely removed, some spectacular galleries are developed within its sharp sloping boundaries (fig. 5a-b). The Fabbriche copper mine is certainly one of the Fig. 4 – Kreas mine, Santo Spirito adit: the rock compression that has narrowed the tunnel (photo Paolo Testa). Fig. 5a – Mud mine: the underground works along the main quartz vein (photo Paolo Testa).
299 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa most fascinating in Valsesia, but it is also the most challenging and dangerous we have faced: in addition to crumbling structures where we were forced to walk through, the 77-metre shaft required a lot of work to make it safe again due to the presence of precarious timber structures, some removed, others secured with ropes (figs. 6a, 6b). But the shaft had a lot of dust suspension due to lack of air circulation: we managed to create recirculation again by knocking down a drywall made by the miners. Underneath, we found tunnels with a green-coloured floor (due to the particular rock), which led to the exit of the lower adit, that had unfortunately collapsed, and another with a large sloping staircase limited by a spectacular drystone wall; today this latter area has collapsed and obstructed the gallery. The inspection of the Gula mine was facilitated by its proximity to the road and the good structural conditions, although we had to cross the stream because the old hanging bridge was destroyed by an avalanche several years ago. In addition to the four levels, the connecting shafts (with no more steps) and two flooded tunnels were explored by diving using underwater caving techniques. These tunnels ended after a few tens of metres, heading towards the first level, probably abandoned due to the closure of the mine. Numerous photographs and a 3D topographical survey were taken as documentation. Exploration in the Isola di Vocca mine began in 2002, and have developed intermittently over the years due to its instability: several collapses that occurred between excursions suggested not to continue any further for obvious safety reasons: some levels were documented, but those beyond the collapses were definitively abandoned due to their dangerousness. Recently, the entrance to the second level, the most critical one, has been obstructed during the construction of a road. The Res mining area is composed by several galleries on both sides od a steep mountain ridge, rather far and difficult to access. The first explorations began in 2010. The tunnel on the south side is quite developed and in fairly good condition, and there are no timber structures inside, but the grooves of the track sleepers where the trolleys used to pass are still evident. A nearby tunnel entrance has collapsed. On the opposite side of the ridge the tunnels are in good conditions and horizontally connected. Fig. 5b – Mud mine: the quartz vein has been almost completely removed (photo Paolo Testa).