350 Rock-cut dovecotes in Cappadocia (Turkey): elements in comparison dovecotes, or pigeon houses (in Turkish, kuşluk, or güvercinlik, or güvercin evi/evleri), carved into the faces of rocky outcrops (kaya), visible everywhere. These rock-cut structures, along with other less visible cavities (apiaries, grape-treading facilities, kitchens, cisterns, stables...), constituted a logistical apparatus necessary for the rural life of the resident populations, entirely in line with the rocky character of the whole territory. They are associated with rock-cut or surface settlements, but they are spread mostly in the canyons, near the cultivated areas. In many cases, consisting groups of dovecotes, although now almost completely disused, can be recognized by the countless openings distributed on the faces of pinnacles and cliffs, whose appearance sometimes looks like stone condominiums (fig. 3). However, a large part has now collapsed due to the unstoppable disappearance of huge rock masses, following thermoclastic and erosive phenomena. These collapses produced real sections of the rooms, highlighting their internal structure, characterized by groups of niches for nesting (in Turkish, niş), carved into the walls, almost always in horizontal overlapping rows (figs. 4, 5). The most usual form of such niches is round-arched, stilted shape (or extended arch), or lunette-shaped, rectangular plan and flat-backed wall (Wallace, 1991: xxx-xxxviii) (figs. 5, 8, 11); sometime they are halfdome shaped, with a semicircular plan. Very frequent Fig. 1 – Map of the artificial (anthropogenic) cavities of Turkey. In the centre, in correspondence of the historical territory of Cappadocia (Kapadokya), between the provinces of Aksaray, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Nevşehir, Niğde and Yozgat, we can note the maximum concentration of underground settlements (map updated 2022 after Bixio, Yamaç, Galeazzi, Parise, 2021). Fig. 2 – Surroundings of Göreme. Dovecotes carved in an elevated position, inside two contiguous tuff pinnacles, combined with two apiaries dug at the base (photo G. Bologna).
351 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa are also the quadrangular niches, flat or half-vaulted (figs. 7, 8) and, more rarely, the triangular (figs. 6, 8), ogival, and circular ones (fig. 8). It is not uncommon to find mixed shapes (fig. 4). In other countries, in addition to the above cited forms, there are other types of niches represented in figure 8. They vary in size, but on average are wide and deep between 20 and 25 cm. To facilitate the stay of doves/pigeons inside the rooms, the niches were often integrated by perches, consisting of linear cornices carved into the rock itself, at ceiling level (fig. 5), or by simple pegs inserted at each nest. In several cases there are still “pole perches”: they consist of long horizontal branches that, crossing the room, lean on holes carved into the walls and are supported by a central prop (fig. 7). According to Gülyaz and Yenipınar (1997: 164) some pigeon houses are only equipped with perches. This arrangement would have facilitated the collection of droppings piled on the floor (Amirkhani et al., 2010). Also the quadrangular bowls, later carved into the seats of the perimeter stone benches of some rock-cut churches, are interpreted as pigeon nests (Bobrowskyy, Grek 2016; Catherine Jolivet, personal communication). The entrances from outside for pigeons are of various types (fig. 9). The birds could pass through some small openings (“flight windows”) carved directly into the living rock, or obtained in the ashlars placed to fill larger openings. Their shape generally is arched [a] and [c], or quadrangular [b] [d] [f], or less frequently, circular [e]. The small flight windows are, in turn, Fig. 3 – Uçhisar. In correspondence to the cultivated areas, near rural or monastic settlements, there are hundreds of rock-cut structures used for the breeding of pigeons (photo R. Bixio).
352 Rock-cut dovecotes in Cappadocia (Turkey): elements in comparison placed in various ways on the vertical face, intentionally smoothed, of the rocky outcrops: as a rule they are sheltered by cornices or by larger rectangular niches, carved in rock, open and infilled by ashlars, or blind. Sometimes the openings are located on top of the rocks, consisting of short shafts (or chimneys) that descend through the ceiling. Generally, the dovecotes are carved high, into the faces of the pinnacles and the cliffs, starting from a minimum difference in height of about three metres from the ground, with a prevalence of about ten metres, up to even more than double (figs. 3, 4, 10). The rooms were accessible by the owners via a small rectangular opening, about 50x70 cm or slightly larger, that, in some cases, still retains a wooden hatch like that of the rock-cut apiaries. In several cases, a single door enters clusters of dovecotes that, obviously, can be communicating both on horizontal levels and on overlapping planes (fig. 9). As mentioned, most of the doors, placed even at considerable height, at first glance appear completely inaccessible. However, with more careful observation, one can identify various strategies to reach the dovecotes. Sometimes rooms are simply accessible from secluded entrances, carved at the same level, but behind or on one side of a rocky curtain, reached by an easier path, but hidden from view. In other cases, the dovecotes are connected by means of ascending shafts, equipped with footholds (supports for feet and hands carved into the rock) starting from comfortable entrances at ground level or on easily accessible ledges. In several canyons we can see shafts brought to light by the collapse suffered by the rocky face. In many other cases, traces of footholds are detected, often very eroded, carved directly into the external faces of the crags, on staggered vertical rows (see white boxes in figs. 9d, 10); these could reach higher entrances with a very exposed path and not without danger. Consequently, according to the custom attested by the Byzantine hagiography, in a passage of St. Athanasius life (GerFig. 4 – Meskendir (Göreme). Cluster of dovecotes cut off by the collapse of the rock face that erased the original entrances, now reachable from above only by rope (photo R. Bixio). Fig. 5 – Gülşehir. Dovecote near Karşı Kilise (church). Room with arched niches and with the linear perch carved at the top, at the level of the ceiling (photo R. Bixio). Fig. 6 – Kozanağa Mevkii (Göreme). Dovecote cut by the collapse of the external rocky wall that has put in sight the triangular niches for the nesting (photo A. Bixio).
353 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa manidou 2015: 34), and later (early 19th century) still witnessed in person by Jerphanion (1925: 16, note 2), the collection of pigeon droppings and, therefore, the ascent was carried out once, or at most twice a year (if not, even, every two years - infra); to give credit to the oral tradition, climbing was carried out only by unmarried young people. The footholds, as a rule, do not start from the base of the rock face, but begin at a height that is difficult to reach without the help of portable ladders that were specifically placed only at the right time, to prevent unwanted intrusions. In figure 10 two types of ladders are rendered, still present in 2012 in the Cappadocian countryside, likely similar to the ancient ones. Speaking of climbing modes, we found a vivid testimony of the Jesuit-archaeologist Guillaume de Jerphanion, dating back to his survey of 1912, helped by the owner of a dovecote in the Valley of Swords (Kılıçlar Vadisi) near Göreme. “L’unique porte, soigneusement cadenassée, donnait dans une paroi verticale, à une dizaine de mètres de hauteur. L’escalade en fut des plus malaisées. Quand le propriétaire eut dressé contre la muraille son échelle de perroquet, il lui restait encore environ quatre mètres pour atteindre la porte. Il les gravit avec une agilité surprenant, s’aidant de quelques trous pratiqués dans le tuf (EdN, the footholds). Des cordes nous hissèrent jusqu’à lui. Alors, par l’intérieur de la roche, ce fut une longue ascension dans l’obscurité, dans la poussière et dans le guano. Par une cheminée vertical et par une suite de salles basses, de couloirs et d’escaliers tortueux, nous atteignîmes une ancienne église creusée presque au sommet du rocher. [...] Transformée en pigeonnier, l’église a été encombrée de poutres qu’il ne nous fut pas loisible d’enlever (EdN, the pole perches, see above)” (Jerphanion, 1925: 243-244). In this way the daring French priest-professor, had reached, through underground paths, the Qouchlouq de Qeledjlar, i.e., the “Dovecote of Swords”, implemented inside an ancient rock-cut church (Meryem Ana Kilisesi), overcoming a height difference of about 30 m from the valley floor, although later he Fig. 7 – Kozanaga Mevkii (Göreme). Quadrangular niches integrated by pole perches (photo M. Traverso). Fig. 8 – Comparative table of niches for the nesting of pigeons, documented in various countries (drawing R. Bixio).
354 Rock-cut dovecotes in Cappadocia (Turkey): elements in comparison discovered an easier entrance (infilled) on the top of the cliff. Indeed, it is not uncommon that some of the Byzantine rock-cut churches, abandoned by the Christian people at the arrival of the Seljuks in the 11th century, and then of the Ottomans, have been transformed into dovecotes (fig. 11). This practice has continued until relatively recent times: Jerphanion (1932: VI) testifies that some rock-cut churches he visited in 1912, were no longer accessible during his subsequent stay in 1925 because, in the meantime, they had been transformed into dovecotes. In this case, the entrance at ground level Fig. 9 – Göreme. Comparison of the types of entrances for the people involved in the collection of excrement, and of the small flight windows for the access of the birds of some rock-cut dovecotes (photos A. Bixio and A, De Pascale). Fig. 10 – Göreme. Fixed and mobile devices detected at the Kozanağa Mevkii site, originally used to reach the dovecote entrances placed high on the vertical walls: ladders (white renderings), footholds (white squares), rock rings (white circles) (photo A. Bixio).
355 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa could be entirely walled, leaving open at the top only the small flight windows (fig. 9f). Each time the operators entered to collect the droppings (in conditions evidently much less risky than those required to reach the dovecotes placed high up), they dismantled a portion of the wall that closed the entrance and then rebuilt it and did not reopen it until the following year (Gülyaz, Yenipınar, 1997: 166). At some sites, where there are no footholds, you can notice that on the surface of the walls below Fig. 11 – Çanlı Kilise (Aksaray). Wreck of a rock-cut church transformed into a dovecote, now abandoned (photo A. Bixio). Fig. 12 – Schematic rendering of the three main types of rock-cut and underground dovecotes until now documented in the Cappadocia territory (drawing R. Bixio).
356 Rock-cut dovecotes in Cappadocia (Turkey): elements in comparison the dovecotes’ entrances, some rock rings have been carved (see, for example, the white circles in fig. 10). Their position suggests the intention to get attachments for lift devices, which otherwise were unstable, like long climbing poles, as we might call the aforementioned échelle de perroquet. In addition, we believe plausible that the carved rings were first used to attach the ropes and scaffolding that we imagine were erected not only to begin the excavation of the inner rooms, but also to smooth the high vertical rock faces, carve the blind niches and the small flight windows, and implement the outside decoration. Purpose of decorations Indeed, often, but not always, the entrances of the dovecotes are surrounded by painted areas, simply whitened, or decorated with geometric patterns, animals and plants, rarely human figures. According to the sources collected by Murat Gülyaz (Gülyaz, Yenipınar, 1997; Gülyaz,1998), after smoothing the rock, a lime plaster mixed with egg white was supplied on outer walls of the dovecotes, mainly to obtain a slippery surface that did not provide holds to predators such as martens, foxes, weasels, and the like (see also Amirkhani et al., 2010). The same precaution was sometimes obtained with tin or zinc sheets (fig. 3). Perhaps the painted surfaces were also used to attract pigeons which seem to easily recognize the white colour. The surfaces were then decorated by local artists with traditional patterns, made with mineral colours (such as yaşa, an earth rich in iron oxide) and vegetable pigments; green with walnut husk, yellow with raspberries, red with raisins, pink with onion skin, grey with narpuz (mint), brown with kabalak (tussilago farfara) and alder. Cattle urine was used to brighten colours (Gülyaz,1998). Generally, the compositions had symbolic value, similar to the patterns of the carpets that originate from the popular Turkish-Ottoman painting of the 18th20th centuries (fig. 9b/d). However, one can also recognize the Christian symbology, stylistically comparable to those of rock-cut churches (Demenge, 1995: 48), such as crosses (fig. 9c), the tree of life and the writings in Greek, presumably coeval with the dovecotes themselves. In an unidentified dovecote, Murat Gülyaz (1998: 559) points out the presence of the “figure of an Anatolian Greek man [...] demonstrating that the tradition of building and painting dovecotes was not practised exclusively by the Muslim community of the region”. Strategies and types of dovecote In Cappadocia, essentially, there are three basic types of rock-cut dovecotes (fig. 12). - a) Cliff dovecotes (or wall dovecotes), originally carved exclusively for breeding birds. As we have seen, they are usually placed high, on vertical rock faces, not easy to access, closed by small wooden doors, and generally hanging. The interior consists of overlapping rows of niches for brooding, carved in the tuff walls. In one of largest dovecotes, in the area of Kızılçukur (Göreme), 548 niches have been counted. - b) Dovecotes of reuse, obtained in pre-existing rockcut spaces, originally used for different purposes, generally, but not always, inside rock-cut churches (abandoned). As a rule, the entrances are positioned at the level of the countryside, often completely walled, periodically removable, and without the small Fig. 13 – Gesi, in the eastern part of the Değirmendere Valley (Kayseri), with numerous masonry towers that rise on the slope, each corresponding to an underground dovecote, as drawn in figure 12 (photo A.E. Keskin).
357 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa wooden doors. Often, in addition to the niches, they are equipped with horizontal poles with the function of perches. - c) Tower dovecotes (or “pillar” or “chimney” dovecotes). Then, a third type exists, in part still in use, for now documented in Cappadocia only in the valleys of Koramaz and Değirmendere (Kayseri), where more than 200 were counted (fig. 13). They are composed of two elements. The first consists of one or more interconnected rooms, called “pigeon hall” (hazne in Turkish). They have a quadrangular or circular shape, usually of 5x5 m, up to 7 m, carved into the rock under the slope surface: therefore, they are strictly underground. They are accessible by the owners through short tunnels carved at the base, closed by a small wooden door: “this door is located a few steps higher than the main floor of the nest (EdN, i.e., the room with nests) and its threshold is designed in such a way that snakes can not pass through it” (Amirkhani et al., 2010). The typical hatching niches are carved all around the inner walls; they are arranged in several overlapping rows, sometimes supplemented by perches consisting of horizontally crossing wooden poles. The cavities are surmounted by the second element consisting of small towers (burç), or chimneys, built on the surface with stones. As a rule, they are 2-3 m wide, 3-4 m tall from the slope soil and, inside, 7-8 m from the floor of the pigeon hall. The towers may have quadrangular, circular or apse-shaped plan; they are open on the top (skylights) to allow the pigeons to enter inside, and then in the hall bellow, through one ore more short vertical passages of one metre in diameter, carved into the rock floor on which the base of the tower rests (Tok, Yamaç, 2015). According to Amirkhani (ibid.) “Just underneath this opening, on the floor level of the nest (pigeon hall), there is a bowl hewn into the tufa rock to collect rainwater and snow from which the birds may drink”. In our opinion, the peculiar mixed conformation of these structures (carved underground and built on the surface), was induced by morphological needs in a territory consisting of slight slopes, insufficient to develop dovecotes of the wall type. Were there are crags, even of modest height, the two types (wall and tower dovecotes) can coexist. At Maresha (Israel) large dovecotes are documented (dating 3rd-2nd centuries BC), conceptually similar, where, however, the entrance into the underground spaces is allowed by short descending shafts that open at the level of the countryside, instead of towers (Kloner, Zissu, 2013). We point out that, at least in two underground settlements of Cappadocia (Mimar Sinan/ Kayseri and Mucur/Kırşehir), there are dovecotes carved below ground level, included in larger structures, with passages for pigeons open in the ceilings, but apparently without towers on the surface. They are not yet well documented and further investigation will be necessary. Conclusions The reasons for the implementation of dovecotes carved into the rock, instead of masonry, are the same as for rockcut dwellings: they were easy to dig, the use of timber for horizontal components of roofs was avoided, they did not occupy agricultural soil. They were dry and, above all, took advantage of the natural thermal inertia that kept the temperature of the cavities comfortable for birds both during seasonal and daily excursions. In this regard, we consider significant the observations reported by Jerphanion during the exploration of the Qouchlouq de Qeledjlar, above mentioned: «Nous dûmes nous hâter car le propriétaire exigeait que l’on sortît avant le retour des oiseaux, à la chaleur» (Jerphanion, 1925: p. 244).» «Le propriétaire n’y entre qu’une fois ou deux l’année pour recueillir le guano. Le reste du temps, on trouble le moins possible les habitants du pigeonnier, de crainte qu’ils ne l’abandonnent. Ces appréhensions nous ont causé parfois des difficultés. Nous ne pouvions travailler dans les qouchlouq que le matin, quand les oiseaux étaient dehors. Car ils sortent au lever du soleil pur aller pâturer et rentrent à la chaleur, vers midi. Jusqu’au soir ils restent au pigeonnier dont l’entrée devient impossible» (Jerphanion, 1925: p. 16, note 2). Bibliography Amirkhani A., Okhovat H., Zamani E., 2010, Ancient pigeon houses: remarkable example of the Asian culture crystallized in the architecture of Iran and central Anatolia, Asian Culture and History 2/2: pp. 45-57. Canadian Center of Science and Education, Toronto. Bixio R., Yamaç A., Galeazzi C., Parise M., 2021, Artificial cavities of Turkey. Updating the Map of Anthropogenic Cavities in the Mediterranean Basin, Opera Ipogea 2/2021: pp. 27-46. Società Speleologica Italiana, Bologna. Bobrovskyy T.A., Grek I.O., 2016, The complex of artificial caves in tuff remnants around Göreme (in Russian), proceedings International Congress on Speleology and Speleostology: pp. 192-210. Naberezhnye Chelny. Demenge G., 1995, Pigeonniers et ruchers byzantins de Cappadoce, Archéologia n° 311: pp. 42-51. Editions Faton, Quetigny. Germanidou S., 2015, Dovecotes from Roman and Byzantine Periods: An Overview, HEROM (Journal on Hellenistic and Roman Material Culture), vol. 4, issue 1: pp. 33-52. Leuven University Press. Gülyaz M., 1998, Dovecotes of Cappadocia, in Sözen M. (ed.), “One thousand and one facts of Cappadocia”: pp. 548-559. Ayhan Sahenk Foundation, İstanbul.
358 Rock-cut dovecotes in Cappadocia (Turkey): elements in comparison Gülyaz M., Yenipınar H., 1997, La Cappadoce, Gouverneur de Nevşehir-Direction de la Fondation et de la Promotion du Tourisme Kaptid, Nevşehir, 168 pages. Jerphanion G. de, 1925, Une nouvelle province de l’art byzantine. Les églises rupestres de Cappadoce, tome premier (première partie), Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, tome V, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris, 295 pages. Jerphanion, G. de, 1932, Une nouvelle province de l’art byzantine. Les églises rupestres de Cappadoce, tome premier (deuxième partie), Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, tome V, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris, 611 pages. Kloner A., Zissu B., 2013, The Subterranean Complex of Maresha, Opera Ipogea 2/2013: pp. 45-62. Società Speleologica Italiana, Bologna. Ousterhout R., 2017, Visualizing Community: Art, Material Culture, and Settlement in Byzantine Cappadocia, Vol. 46, Harvard University Press, Washington D.C., 532 pages. Tok E., Yamaç A., 2015, Dovecotes and cave dwellings of Gesi-Kayseri (Turkey), proceedings International Congress of Speleology in Artificial Cavities “Hypogea 2015”, Rome 2015. Opera Ipogea 1/2015: pp. 77-81. Società Speleologica Italiana, Bologna. Wallace, S.A., 1991, Byzantine Cappadocia, vol.II, the appendix, part i, “Glossary of Architecture Terms”, PhD Thesis, Australian National University, Camberra, 379 pages.
359 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 OBRUK Cave Research Group, Açıkhava Apt. 16/7 Nişantaşı, Istanbul, Turkey - [email protected] Underground structures inventory project of Kayseri (Turkey): a short summary Ali Yamaç1 Abstract The rock-cut architecture of Kayseri (Caesarea, Mazaca), which served as Cappadocia’s capital throughout the Roman and Byzantine eras, has not been thoroughly studied until lately. The OBRUK Cave Research Group started working on the “Kayseri Underground Structures Inventory Project” in January 2014 to fill this gap. This project involves researching, surveying, mapping, and documenting all the underground and rock-cut structures found in Kayseri province. It is carried out in accordance with a triple protocol with the Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ÇEKÜL) and Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality. Throughout the previous nine years, a total of 32 researches have been carried out in this province. As a result, 47 previously unknown Byzantine rock-cut churches, 40 underground shelters, 3 underground aqueducts, and 10 Assyrian tin mines have been explored and surveyed. In addition, within the five cliff settlement villages explored, a total of 476 different rock-cut dwellings were surveyed and inventoried for the first time. Also, within our proposal, the Koramaz Valley, which is the region’s most important cultural and historical value, has been added to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Several details on the ongoing project in the area were published in various articles. Our aim in this presentation is to provide a summary of the entire project and all the findings without going into excessive detail. Keywords: Kayseri, Underground city, Cliff settlement, rock-cut church. Introduction Despite being the capital of Cappadocia during ancient times, no comprehensive scientific research of the rock-cut architecture in Kayseri has been carried out until now. To fill this deficiency, we, as OBRUK Cave Research Group, started to work for the “Kayseri Underground Structures Inventory Project” in January 2014. Just like in Gaziantep, this project was also carried out based on a triple protocol with ÇEKÜL Foundation and Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and includes the researching, surveying, mapping, and documentation of all the underground structures in this province. This project, which covers the entire 17.000 sq km area of the Kayseri province (fig. 1) and which has been ongoing for more than nine years, has a distinctive place as one of Turkey’s, and the world’s most important underground structures research projects. We have explored, researched, and surveyed 47 Byzantine rock-cut churches, 40 underground cities, 10 Assyrian tin mines, three underground aqueducts, and six different cliff settlements. Given the fact that only one of these six cliff settlements -Dimitre Cave Settlements, located in Koramaz Valley- has a total of 229 different rockdwelled structures, the magnitude of the work should be better understood. According to our preliminary research, the number of rock-cut structures in Kayseri province exceeds the structures listed above. For example, it is known that there were four other cliff settlement villages in the unexplored northern part of the province. Cliff Settlements A cliff or wall settlement is a rock-dwelled village with all its structures such as dwellings, storage rooms, barns, cisterns, churches, dovecotes and defense shelters. Throughout history, in various regions of the world, people have dug all these structures into the Fig. 1 – Map of Kayseri Province (after Google Maps - elaboration A. Yamaç).
360 Underground structures inventory project of Kayseri (Turkey): a short summary rocks, and all these dwellings dug side by side merged over time to form troglodyte villages (Kempe, 1988). Cliff settlements can be of different sizes. Along with the small settlements consisting of few dwellings dug side by side and housing a small population, there are huge troglodyte villages. However, the rocks on which the relevant rock-dwelled villages are dug differ from region to region. In Anatolia alone, there are rock-cut villages dug on numerous different rocks from tuff to sandstone or limestone. On the east of Kayseri, there are several valleys eroded by the streams flowing down to the valley from the high hills, similar to these valleys on the west of Cappadocia. In most of these valleys, which are just a few kilometers apart from each other, there are several cliff settlements. The number of rock-dwelled structures explored in these settlements differs a lot from valley to valley. For example, though there are 35 dwellings in the cliff settlement of Değirmendere Valley, there are in total 436 different rock-cut structures in four different cliff settlements of Koramaz Valley, which is the longest of all these valleys (fig. 2 and fig. 3). The distribution of the total structures in the cliff settlements explored and surveyed so far within the scope of this project is as follows: CLIFF SETTL. NO. OF DWELLINGS K. Burunguz Ağırnas Dimitre Vekse Değirmendere Belağası Avedik TOTAL 8 195 229 4 35 28 5 504 Rock-cut Churches During the studies regarding rock-cut structures that have been carried out in Kayseri so far, a total of 47 different rock-cut churches were identified and surveyed (Yamaç, 2021). Before we conducted our research, only Fig. 2 – The relief base map of Koramaz Valley with the villages marked with red dots was prepared by E. Tok with QGIS Fig. 3 – Northwest end of Dimitre Cliff Settlements (photo B. Langford).
361 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa three studies had been conducted regarding rock-cut churches in the entire region, and only two churches were surveyed in detail. Nilay Karakaya, described the church that we named Ispıdın Rock-Cut Church No.1 (Karakaya, 2013) and Subaşı Rock-Cut Church (Karakaya, 2014) in two different articles. So, only two of the 47 churches in the Kayseri Province have been the subject of a scientific publication, and the remaining 45 churches have not been studied and published by any scholar until now. Although a great many of these churches are single nave, small churches without any ornaments, a few others are large and some have partial frescoes. That there are no frescoes in most of the churches and that they have similar architectural plans also makes it difficult to date these churches. Neither the rock-cut churches in Koramaz Valley nor the rock-cut churches in the northern part of Kayseri Province have never been surveyed scientifically before now, and thus, it is not possible to set the ground for comparison. Even though Karakaya dates the two churches; Ispıdın Church No.1 (fig. 4) and Subaşı Church to 10th – 11th and 11th – 13th centuries, respectively, these dates either cannot be considered as references for all other churches in the region or they are rather argumentative. For instance, one out of two rock-cut churches, which we photographed and surveyed at another cliff settlement in Değirmendere Valley -located nearly 3 km in the south of Koramaz Valley- was dated by Catherine JolivetLevy to mid to late 8th century, despite its destroyed frescoes (Tok, Yamaç, 2015; Jolivet-Lévy, 2020). On the other hand, among all the churches we researched, Vekse Church No.1, which has not been scientifically researched before, is notable for its meticulous architecture as well as its size (fig. 5 and fig. 6). In our opinion, examining all these rock-cut churches in and around Koramaz Valley, which have not yet been extensively researched by experts, will give us new information about the region’s Christian past and its architectural history. A list of rock-cut churches according to the villages of Kayseri Province is as follows: VILLAGES NO. OF CHURCHES Subaşı Ağırnas Dimitre Vekse Ispıdın Değirmendere Develi Derevenk TOTAL 1 (monastery) 15 7 5 14 3 1 1 (monastery) 47 Fig. 4 – Ispıdın Church No.1 (photo R. Straub).
362 Underground structures inventory project of Kayseri (Turkey): a short summary Fig. 5 – Plan of Vekse Church No. 1 (drawing A. Yamaç, E. Ianovskaya). Fig. 6 – Vekse Church No. 1 (photo R. Straub).
363 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Two monasteries explored during this project; Subaşı and Derevank were introduced by us in two different articles (Yamaç, 2021, 2022a). Although we explored, surveyed, photographed, and inventoried 47 rock-cut churches in Kayseri Province, it is possible to discover new churches in areas not yet studied. Underground Cities People have been using the underground for thousands of years to hide and protect themselves. Entrances of these cities dug underground were difficult to detect. Numerous rooms connected to one another by intricate tunnels filled with traps and doors that are almost impossible to open from the outside have turned these structures into defense centers indispensable against all types of attacks throughout history (Triolet, Triolet, 1996; 2013). Though they have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years in numerous different countries, the first place that comes to mind when it comes to ‘underground defense structures’ is always Cappadocia. The two main reasons are the excessive number of underground cities in the region and the enormous size of some of these cities. Derinkuyu Underground City is an extreme example of these types of structures. This underground Fig. 7 – Büyük Bürüngüz Underground City (photo A. E. Keskin). Fig. 8 – Plan of Büyük Bürüngüz Underground City (drawing A. Yamaç and B. Yazlık).
364 Underground structures inventory project of Kayseri (Turkey): a short summary city, which we surveyed in 2013, is excavated on five floors, with a total length of 1.880 m and a depth of 55 m; many connections are still closed (Yamaç,Tok, 2015). On the other hand, as part of the “Kayseri Underground Structures Inventory Project”, 40 underground cities were explored and surveyed in Kayseri Province over the past nine years. In these structures, none of which has been explored before, with a total length of 1,273 m and with 27 millstone doors, Büyük Bürüngüz Underground City was the longest underground city ever found in Kayseri (Yamaç, 2019) (fig. 7 and fig. 8). Within the scope of the same project, very small shelters with a single millstone door, one or two small chambers, and even some underground structures whose purpose of construction cannot be understood were also explored and surveyed (Yamaç, 2022b). Conclusion The main purpose of the “Kayseri Underground Structures Inventory Project” was to explore, survey and document all underground/rock-cut structures that are disappearing day by day. For this purpose, we have taken care to publish as much as possible. We have published six preliminary reports in the past nine years (OBRUK, 2017a, b, c, 2018, 2020, 2023). Apart from these reports, 16 articles were published in foreign academic journals, and 11 presentations were made at international symposiums. In response to all these efforts, our only wish is to transfer these structures to future generations without further destruction. Bibliography Jolivet-Lévy C., 2020, Personal Communication. Karakaya N., 2013, Ispıdın Kaya Kilisesi, pp. 248, Kayseri Ansiklopedisi. Ulusal Yayınevi, Kayseri Karakaya N., 2014, Kayseri’nin Gesi Beldesi, Küçük Bürüngüz (Subaşı) Köyü ile Ağırnas Vadisi’ndeki Bizans Dönemine ait Sivil - Zirai Kaya Yapıları. Turkish Studies - International Periodical For The Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic 9/10: pp. 335-358. Kempe D., 1988, Living Underground, London. OBRUK, 2017a, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 1, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. OBRUK, 2017b, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 2, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. OBRUK, 2017c, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 3, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. OBRUK, 2018, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 4, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. OBRUK, 2020, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 5, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. OBRUK, 2023, Kayseri Yeraltı Yapıları Envanteri, vol. 6, Kayseri Municipality, Kayseri. Tok E., Yamaç A., 2015, Dovecotes and Cave Dwellings of Gesi - Kayseri (Turkey). In HYPOGEA, 2015, Rome. Triolet J., Triolet L., 1996, Deux Conceptions du Grand Souterrain-Refuge Villageois Hiermont (Picardie - France) et Sivasa (Cappadoce -Turquie). Subterranean 97. Triolet J., Triolet L., 2013, Underground refuges and war tunnels (France, Cappadocia, Afghanistan, Vietnam and Lebanon). Opera Ipogea 1-2013. Yamaç A., 2019, Büyük Bürüngüz Underground Shelter (Kayseri – Turkey). Opera Ipogea 2 - 2019: pp. 65-76. Yamaç A., 2021, Rock-cut Byzantine churches of Koramaz Valley (Kayseri - Turkey). Opera Ipogea 1: pp. 51-68. Yamaç A., 2022a, Derevank rock-cut monastery of Kayseri (Turkey). OPERA IPOGEA 2 - 2022: pp. 71-82. Yamaç A., 2022b, Some Interesting Underground Cities and Peculiar Underground Structures of Kayseri (Turkey). Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology: pp. 70-107. Yamaç A., Tok E., 2015, Surveying Some of the Touristic Underground Cities of Cappadocia (Turkey). In Proceedings of First International Congress of Speleology in Artificial Cavities “Hypogea2015”, Rome 2015. Opera Ipogea 1/2015, Società Speleologica Italiana, Bologna.
365 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Associazione Gruppi Speleologici Piemontesi, Corso Francia 192, 10145, Turin, Italy 2 Università di Torino, via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125 Turin, Italy * Reference author: [email protected] Cadastre of artificial cavities of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta (Italy): new perspectives for the use and updating of data Arianna Paschetto1,2,*, Massimo Taronna1 , Davide Barberis1 , Enrico Lana1 , Michelangelo Chesta1 , Giandomenico Cella1 , Michele Gallina1 Abstract The census project was launched in the 1980s and was carried out by a group of volunteer cavers who began a collection of artificial cavities in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta. Initially, the aim was to find and document the numerous hypogea of historical interest in the urban environment. In practice, the network later included the whole Piedmont, collecting data on mines, quarries, but also iceboxes, wells, cisterns, forts, and the so called “balmetti” (from “Balma”, an ancient Celtic-Ligurian word meaning natural cave for human use or more generally shelter under the rock). Data was originally collected using the form proposed by the Italian Speleological Society (SSI), which has a specific national commission which deals with the typological classification of artificial cavities. The project continued by gradually adding artificial cavities in paper form until it reached 226 listed cavities in August 2020. From 2019, the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta cadastre was transformed into a portal to facilitate cadastral updating operations. The portal allows users to access the cartography and cadastral records of cavities at any time. The cadastre of natural and artificial cavities are now in a single portal, also supplemented by faunistic and bibliographic data, which are undoubtedly useful sources for the study of hypogean environments. Following this update, the rules for entering new cavities have been changed, in particular, the unique alpha-numeric code referring to the type of cavities the region and sequential cadastre number has been modified. The cadastral number will be assigned automatically while inserting a new cavity inside the portal. In addition, following the new regulations, the form has been partly reworded to account for the specific regional needs. The typologies of artificial cavities were issued by the National Commission for Artificial Cavities SSI in the 80s of the last century and periodically updated, in order to have a single classification throughout the country, which since 2013 has also been extended to all of the world. In the cavities’ sheets, where existing, topographical surveys have been enclosed. All data are provided open source (with associated creative commons licence), and downloadable as .GPX, .KML and .CSV. There are currently 600 registered cavities, categorised according to their former use. Keywords: artificial cavities, Regional Cadastre of artificial cavities, Piedmont. Introduction At a time when technological progress is proceeding fast, there is a need to create an online web portal where information from the world of Piedmont and Val d’Aosta caving can be collected. This approach, already tried and tested nationally and in other regions (mostly regarding the registers of natural caves), has successfully given access to data not only to scientists and cavers but also to people who were unaware of the existence of a speleological register. In 2020, the portal of the cadastre of natural and artificial cavities of Piedmont was finally born, which made it possible to organically organise the information of decades of work that came in different formats, some even to be digitalized. History of the artificial cavities’ cadastre in Italy and Piedmont - Valle d’Aosta The cadastre of the natural caves of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta began in 1957, the year in which A.G. Demmatteis was commissioned to draw up an initial list of the caves of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta. The list was completed in 1959, it followed the directives issued by the Italian Speleological Society and organically grouped the previous cadastral knowledge collected by C.F. Capello in 1927, together with new data (Sella, 2012-a). The project from its inception proceeded in the early years mainly with the input of natural cavities, accompanied by publications and collections of bibliographic references. In the 1970s, an organisation of cadastre project began to be outlined, dividing the area into zones, according to the competence
366 Cadastre of artificial cavities of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta (Italy): new perspectives for the use and updating of data of the interesting adherents to the project, and later, as interest widened, a full-fledged Cadastre Commission was set up. The records, as well as the bibliography connected to them, were computerised as of 1985 (Sella, 2012-b). The cadastre project expanded to include artificial cavities from the 1980s onwards, thanks to the presence of some Piedmonts scholars, in the national commission of artificial cavities of the Italian Speleological Society. At the beginning, it is not easy to outline the state of knowledge in this domain, because the data are fragmented and very different in origin. The related information was in fact found in the bulletins of individual speleological groups, as well as in the reports of national caving congresses or other non-periodical local publications (Cappa, 1999). In Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, as in other regions of Italy, there was an interest in researching and documenting the numerous hypogea of historical interest. The data, as for natural caves, are documented by surveys, bibliographic data and photographs. They are included into an organised system that uses the standard form and typological classification proposed by the Italian Speleological Society (Cella, 1985). In Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, data collection proceeds in synergy with the Commission for Artificial Cavities, operating since 1981 at the national level (Guglia & Meneghini, 2013). The Cadastre of Artificial Cavities is organised in a similar way to that of natural caves. It includes the various sites, which are geolocated, described, and univocally named. The national cadastre of artificial cavities online since 2009 (Galeazzi, 2010) includes a national curator and regional referents to whom all the data are sent so that they can be verified (Cappa, 1999). The sheet-type structured by the Italian Speleological Society artificial cavities commission, then shared internationally (Galeazzi, 2012, Parise et al., 2013) includes topics that had not been considered for caves until then, such as the type of excavation, the techniques and epochs of realization, and the state of conservation of the artificial cavity. The artificial cavities collected were classified by typologies and was subdivided further into 36 sub-types (tab.1). In Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, the activity of the Artificial Cavity Cadastre is coordinated by two regional managers, appointed by the assembly of Associazione Gruppi Speleologici Piemontesi. The collection and structuring of the data follow that proposed at national level by the Artificial Cave Cadastre Commission. The progressive collection of data proceeded slowly in the first years and grew rapidly after the restructuring of the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta cavity cadastre within an online website (fig.1). In order to acquire as much data as possible, it was not necessary to obtain all the information that can be inserted in the sheet, but there was information considered to be of primary interest, such as location of the cavity, name, type and unique identifier. The unique identifier follows the following scheme: CA YYYY, ZZ, XX, where CA stands for artificial cavities, YYYY is the progressive number, ZZ is the abbreviation for the region, XX is the abbreviation for the province like in all other regions (Cella, 2003; Germani et al., 2015). A.1 – Water level control, drainage-ways A.2 – Underground stream interception structures A.3 – Underground water ducts: aqueducts A.4 – Cisterns, water reservoirs A.5 – Wells A.6 – Hydraulic distribution works A.7 – Sewer A.8 – Ship, boat canals A.9 – Ice wells, snow-houses A.10 – Tunnels or ducts with unknown function B.1 – Permanent dwellings B.2 – Temporary shelters B.3 – Underground plants, factories B.4 – Warehouses, stores, cellars B.5 – Underground silos B.6 – Stables for any kind of animals B.7 – Pigeon-houses B.8 – Any other kind of civilian settlements C.1 – Nymphaea, Mithraea, temples, sacred wells, shrines, monasteries, churches, chapels, etc. C.2 – Burial Places D.1 – Defensive works D.2 – Galleries and connecting passages D.3 – Mine and countermine tunnels D.4 – Firing stations D.5 – Deposits D.6 – Sheltered accommodation for soldiers D.7 – War shelters for civilians E.1 – Aggregate quarries E.2 – Metal mines E.3 – Mines and quarries of other materials (nonmetallic) E.4 – Non-specific mining surveys E.5 – Underground spaces to grow vegetables F.1 – Tunnels for vehicles, pedestrian, or horses F.2 – Transit works, not military F.3 – Railway tunnels, tramways or funicular (out of use) F.4 – Non-hydraulic wells, shafts etc. G – Others Tab. 1 – Categorization of artificial cavities by typology.
367 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Structure of the online website of the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Cavities Cadastre The website of the Cadastre of Natural and Artificial Cavities of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta was born in 2020, thanks to the combined efforts of the newly formed Regional Cadastre Commission. The Commission has three regional managers and several people designated as curators. The two figures differ in their permissions to operate within the website, but are equal in their role of validating the data pertaining to the website and are the only ones who can enter any data inside it. This hierarchical system provides a high quality standars of data. The project also started thanks to the combined effort of Associazione Gruppi Speleologici Piemontesi. The structure of the website containing the portal relies on the Openkis software, which was previously used for the cadastre websites of Liguria and Lombardia only for natural caves (https://github. com/speleoalex/openkis). The scripts allow the creation of databases for artificial cavities, but the first open access portal is that of Piedmont so far. The website allows an intuitive visualisation of the data thanks to GIS (Geographic Information System) and is composed of thematic areas: • natural caves; • artificial cavities; • glacial speleology; • fauna; • bibliography. For both natural and artificial cavities, the main screen allows the user to view the surveyed cavities, categorised according to level difference, water conditions and to the accessibility (fig. 2). Various layers are included on the webgis to allow direct analysis of the data. The map layers, that can be selected, are: topographical base, satellite image, Open Street Map Landscape, regional technical map, administrative boundaries and karst areas, boundaries of Natura 2000 and protected areas and proven water flows. In addition, cavity surveys can be included in the visualisation of the map. A 3D relief, visualized through CaveView (https://github.com/aardgoose/ CaveView.js), inserted for the cavity, where present, which allows the interactive visualisation of the relief, inserted in space. The portal allows not only the visualisation of the data via webgis, but also the possibility of downloading all the information. The cavities information can be downloaded in different file formats (.csv, .kml, .gpx) so that it can be immediately interfaced with other software, such as Gooogle Earth, and GIS data management software. Furthermore, to allow userfriendly use, the site is available in Italian, English and French. It is possible to carry out a search for each cavity using Fig. 1 – Gradual input of artificial cavities since early 2000.
368 Cadastre of artificial cavities of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta (Italy): new perspectives for the use and updating of data different filtering parameters, or to proceed by browsing by category. The problem of the use of the different uploaded data was solved by assigning a licence code to each one according to the CreativeCommons licensing system (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed. it). In cases where, on the other hand, the cavity is in a poor state of conservation, or hosts fauna with a conservation priority, the cavity will be reported with coordinates with a kilometric approximation, to preserve the conservation state. The sheets within the thematic areas have been grouped into speleological areas and karstic systems for natural cavities and speleo-urban areas for artificial cavities. The portal is designed to have immediate links between the various thematic sections. For example, when consulting the file of an artificial cavity there is a link to the bibliography related to it and uploaded to the portal, to the fauna present and to any connected caves. There are currently 2927 natural cavities and 572 artificial cavities registered on the portal. The thematic sections related to artificial cavities are described below. The underground fauna This section includes animal species adapted to the particular conditions found underground: low or no light, high humidity and low temperatures. For each species there is a sheet with the systematic classification and a description accompanied by a photograph. The complete list with all information can be downloaded in .csv file format. In total, more than 200 species are currently listed. The bibliographical references There is also a form on the site for entering bibliographical references. In the sheet it can be inserted: Fig. 2 – Webgis box of artificial cavities.
369 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa the title, the year and place of publication, the author and creates a link to each cavity and animal species mentioned within the publication itself. In addition, where a licence has been granted, the data has been digitalised and can be downloaded in .pdf file format. The complete list with all information can be downloaded in .csv format. There are currently 1070 bibliographical references uploaded dating back to the late 1700s, making a considerable database accessible. The section for artificial cavities and the structure of the compilation sheet The section for artificial cavities, as already mentioned, includes a webgis box in which cavities will be additionally cataloged with different symbols according to type in the further edits of the online website (Tab.1). To create the form for the input of artificial cavities, the sheet already proposed by the Italian Speleological Society and then shared internationally (Betti et al., 2017; Cappa, 1999; Cella, 2003; Galeazzi, 2012; Galeazzi et al. 2007, Parise et al., 2013) was taken as a basis, with the implementation of the input information. In some sections a drop-down menu helps the users in accessing the various categories. It contains: • General Information. In this section, the unique code of the cavity is input. The code consists of letters, indicating that it is an artificial cavity (CA) and the region of origin; and numbers, that are progressively assigned. The numbering started from 1 with the entry of new cavities, while for previously stored cavities the old number was preserved. • Localizations, with region, province, municipality and locality references and any information from the building cadastre. • Characteristics. This section includes references to the age, typologies (Tab.1), category, lithology of the entrance, mining material and degree of artificiality. • Dimensions. • Location of the entrance. In this section, coordinates must be entered by specifying the reference system. The portal automatically converts the coordinates to WGS84 system so that they are consistent with the other data. • Special census reference. In this section, you can indicate the degree of pollution and the presence of danger factors. • Associated data, such as image of the entrance, topographical survey of the cavity, bibliographic and faunal references. Conclusions There are many aspects that makes important the website of artificial cavities cadastre. First and foremost, it is a historical and cultural memory, and the creation of a documentation and bibliography database is a meeting point for exploration activities and scientific research. In addition, it is a tool that can support public institutions and administrations in implementing correct land management, in particular regarding mining activities and water resource management as is already happening at national and international level with thematic census projects (Parise, 2009; Polimeni, 2019); but also regarding the hydrogeological risk that a dense network of underground cavities in urban areas could cause. Lastly, the portal can also be consulted from smartphones and tablets, making it an important aid for research and exploration activities. The website’s structure makes it an important aid for both speleological research and research activities conducted by research institutes and universities, and it has become a virtual place for comparing and exchanging information. Future perspectives Future development plans include increasing the number of artificial cavities included and promoting the project to public institutions and associations that could benefit from the portal. A section dedicated to French cavities in common karstic areas, such as the Marguareis sector, will also be created, as well as one dedicated to the database of karstic springs. Finally, as a further future prospect, additional layer will be added to the webgis display, such as the geological map of Piedmont at a scale of 1:250000. Acknowledgements We would like to thank all the curators who have participated as volunteers over the years in cadastre of artificial cavity project.
370 Cadastre of artificial cavities of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta (Italy): new perspectives for the use and updating of data Bibliography Betti M., Bixio R., Galeazzi C., Galeazzi S., Germani C., Mazzoli M., Meneghini M., Belvederi G., Parise M., Saj S., 2017, Catasto speleologico nazionale delle cavità artificiali (CA). Classificazione, interventi di tutela e monitoraggio conseguiti grazie ai dati speleologici e prospettive future in Bozzano, Di Loreto, Nisio, Parise (a cura di) Atti Convegno Nazionale SIGEA – Cavità di origine antropica, modalità di indagine, aspetti di catalogazione, analisi delle pericolosità, monitoraggio e valorizzazione. Geologia dell’Ambiente suppl. al n. 4/2018 SIGEA, Anno XXVI ottobre-dicembre 2018, pp. 13-18. Cappa G., 1999, La struttura organizzativa in seno alla S.S.I.: Commissione Cavità Artificiali e Catasto. Cenni all’attività in Italia e nel mondo, Quaderni didattici della Società Speleologica Italiana, Genova, vol. 4, Ricerche speleologiche in cavità artificiali, pp. 19-20. Cella G.D., 1985, Catasto delle cavità artificiali, Labirinti n°8, pp. 61-64. Cella G.D., 2003, Catasto delle cavità artificiali in Piemonte, Labirinti n°22, pp. 51-61. Galeazzi C., 2010, Catasto Nazionale delle Cavità Artificiali: la Società Speleologica Italiana segna un nuovo importante passo verso la condivisione della conoscenza del sottosuolo, Opera Ipogea 1/2010 Società Speleologica Italiana, pp. 3-6. Galeazzi C., 2012, The typological tree of artificial cavities: a contribution by the SSI Commission in Parise M. (Ed.) Proceedings of the International workshop on Speleology in artificial cavities “Classification of the typologies of artificial cavities in the world”, Torino, 18/20 Maggio. Opera Ipogea 1/2013, Società Speleologica Italiana, pp. 9-18. Galeazzi C., Meneghini M., 2007, Il Catasto Nazionale delle Cavità Artificiali fra passato, presente e futuro in Atti I Convegno Regionale di Speleologia in Cavità Artificiali “Architetture nel buio” [Castellana Grotte (BA), 24/25 Marzo], Grotte e Dintorni, Rivista del Museo speleologico Franco Anelli e delle Grotte di Castellana, Anno VI, n. 12. Germani C., Galeazzi C., Galeazzi S., 2015, The Cadastre of Artificial Cavities of Rome and Lazio in Parise M., Galeazzi C., Bixio R., Germani C. (eds), Proceedings of Hypogea2015, First International Congress of Speleology in Artificial Cavities (Rome, March 11/17), supplement Opera Ipogea 1/2015, Società Speleologica Italiana, (pp. 464-468), ISBN: 978-88-89731-79-6. Guglia P., 2004, Il Catasto Nazionale delle Cavità Artificiali, in Opera Ipogea 2-3/2004, pp. 5-7. Guglia P., Meneghini M., 2013, Catasto Nazionale delle Cavità Artificiali: moderni strumenti di raccolta, catalogazione e condivisione delle informazioni, in Cucchi F. e Guidi P. (a cura di), Diffusione delle conoscenze: Atti del XXI Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia, Trieste 2-5 giugno 2011, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, pp. 98-102. Parise M., Bixio R., Caloi V., Del Prete S., Galeazzi C., Germani C., Guglia P., Meneghini M., Sammarco M., 2009, The map of ancient underground aqueducts: a nationwide project by the Italian Speleological Society in Proceedings 15th International Congress of Speleology, Kerrville-Texas (U.S.A.), vol. 3, International Union of Speleology/National Speleological Society, U.S.A., pp. 2027-2031. Parise M., Galeazzi C., Bixio R., Dixon M., 2013, Classification of Artificial Cavities: a first contribution by the UIS Commission in Proceedings of XVI International Congress of Speleology, Session: Speleological Research and Activities in Artificial Underground (Vol. 2, pp. 177–270), Brno (Czech Republic), 21/28 July. Polimeni B., Bixio R., Galeazzi C., Germani C., Parise M., Saj S., Sammarco M., 2019, Creating a Map of the Underground Heritage in the Mediterranean Area: A Visual Representation for a Comprehensive Research in G. Amoruso and R. Salerno (eds.), Cultural Landscape in Practice, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 26, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11422-0_8 Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. Sella R., 2012a, Storia del Catasto, parte 1, Panta Rei, n°12, 44 pages. Sella R., 2012b, Storia del Catasto, parte 2, Panta Rei, n°13, 45 pages. Online sources https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.it https://github.com/aardgoose/CaveView.js https://github.com/speleoalex/openkis
Military and war works
Roberto Bixio, 2000 Evening at Porta Soprana The medieval door is in Genoa (Italy) and it is also represented in the official logo of the congress. Icon of the full original painting. (Watercolour, 28×28 cm)
373 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Speleological club «Poshuk», Odessa, Ukraine * Reference author: [email protected] Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) Igor Grek1 , Nataliya Moldavska1,*, Mike Shyrokov1 Abstract Carved in vertical tuff escarpments systems of artificial caves shelters were explored by the authors in the territory of Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal). Plans of each of the underground systems were drawn. Defensive devices, dwelling rooms, premises for water and supply storage, cult structures, toilets, observation points, etc., were identified in the structure of the cave systems. Analysis of designation of separate premises and technological traces allowed to establish relative chronology of development of the underground systems. It is noted that creation of such underground structures did not take place at once. Similarities and differences in the structure of such objects in the territory of Cappadocia and Upper Mustang are discussed in the present work. Basic type of defensive devices in the complexes cut vertically are shafts, mouths of which were covered with wooden or stone lids. Development of defensive systems initially took place by way of creation of several defense lines. Later separate shelters, probably designed for single families, were connected into large systems. Keywords: defensive devices, artificial caves, rock-cut complexes, Cappadocia, Upper Mustang. Introduction Cappadocia is a historical region located in central Anatolia. It is well known for large number of artificial caves cut in soft volcanic rocks. The latter formed due to eruption of volcanoes Erciyes, Hasan, etc. (fig. 1). Complexes of artificial caves cut in vertical tuff escarpments are commonly referred to as rock settlements (Gülyaz et al., 2007). One can see farms of the Byzantine period cut in the foot of stone slopes. Caves located a little higher above them, as a rule, are shelters – premises designed for defense of the residents or their property, equipped with special defensive devices. Small shelters usually belong to one farm. Cappadocia shows a number of examples of such structures of various forms, depending on relief peculiarities and combining attached and cut in the rock constructions. The main type of defensive devices in Cappadocia shelters developed vertically, are shafts, mouths of which were covered with wooden or stone lids (fig. 2). Millstone doors and loopholes were used alongside with other defensive devices. Premises of the shelters can contain dwelling rooms, reservoirs for water storage or wells, chambers for storage of supplies or property, sometimes stables for cattle, cult structures (churches or aediculas) (Grek et al., 2019), toilets and observation points. Complexes of artificial cave shelters in Upper Mustang (territory in northern Nepal, on the border with China) are less known (fig. 3). Nevertheless, explorations by Darnal, Simons and Schön (Simons et al., 1998; Darnal, 2008), in this region found complexes of artificial cave shelters visually similar to those in Cappadocia. Explorations of such rock cut defensive devices are of high importance because such forms of Medieval farm fortification among the monuments of above-ground architecture have not preserved. Cappadocia One of the examples of defensed cave complexes of the simplest form in Cappadocia is complex Zemi-2 in the vicinity of Göreme (Bobrovskyy et al., 2015) (fig. 4). Initially it was small farm cut in tuff cone. It contained winery, grain holes and feeders. Nevertheless, entrance to the premises was three meters above the surface (anti-ram device), protected with wooden door with massive door latch. At the next stage entrance corridor of the complex was closed with millstone door and the premises of the first level became well defensed temporary shelter of the simplest type. Its further development was related to cutting well K1 to the second level. Advancement of defense capacity of the complex at this stage is connected not only with creation of a group of premises of hard access at considerable height (figs 3, 4, 5), but also with digging of
374 Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) Fig. 1 – Cappadocia - a historical region located in central Anatolia (drawing R. Bixio). Fig. 2 – Vertical mine in the rock settlement of Yaprakhisar (photo T. Skrypnyk).
375 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Fig. 3 – Complexes of artificial caves in Mustang (figure R. Bixio).
376 Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) water well in chamber 5. This made the complex fit for long term siege. Among the premises of the second level there is only one storage room. Another chamber contains aedicule. Probably after some time two more chambers were cut in the second level – chambers 6 and 7 that served as observation points. One of them was equipped with toilet. Either at the same time or at the next stage the structure of the shelter got even more complicated: premises of third and fourth levels were made with the only access through well K2. An example of complex with similar structure is the object described by us in (Bobrovskyy et al., 2015). It is located in the mouth of the Red Valley in the vicinity of Göreme (fig. 5). Unlike the one in Zemi-2, which was cut in cone, this object was cut in vertical cliff. It contains four levels and several defense lines protected with defensive devices: millstone doors, loopholes, small covered wells and steep stairs. The entrance located high above (anti-ram device), storage rooms, water wells, outer toilets also confirm the defensive nature of this construction. One may see that its development took place in several stages, too (Bobrovskyy et al., 2015). In case when several farms were situated near each other at foot of a high cliff, like in Yaprakhisar and Tekkaya (Bobrovskyy et al., 2016). we found that initially all of them had had separate shelters protected by several defense lines of defensive devices. Later these shelters were connected, forming a structure that implied capacity of both common and separate use. Obviously, it allowed to save resources (e. g. common use of deep-water wells), as well as concentrate powers of the defending on focus areas of higher danger. Upper Mustang Complexes of artificial caves in Upper Mustang are not so well known. Here the valley of river Kali Gandaki pierces the chain of the Himalayas and is the only Fig. 4 – Complex Zemi-2 in the vicinity of Göreme. Plan and section. (mapping O. Krysko and N. Moldavska, 2015).
377 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Fig. 5 – Complex at the mouth of the Red Valley. Plan and section of the underground system (mapping N. Podrutska, drawing N. Moldavska).
378 Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) Fig. 6 – Choser. Upper Mustang. Nepal. The evolution of the underground system (mapping I. Grek, 2019, drawing R. Bixio).
379 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa trade way that was used during hundreds of years for transportation of salt from Tibet to northern provinces of India. Ability to control this trade way in the past determined significant strategic position of Mustang. The authors visited Upper Mustang in November 2019 and examined about 30 cave complexes located at height from 3500 to 4200 m (Grek et al., 2019). We should note that a number of artificial caves in Mustang were cut in rock escarpments at considerable height. Obviously, such cave complexes first of all have the defensive function. Such cave systems were not designed for permanent residence that is clearly evidenced by the fact that they coexisted with settlements on the ground. Besides, the explorers noticed periodical nature of their use (Simons A et al., 1998). According to local residents, some small cave systems designed for one family are there along with large systems. Two large cave complexes were explored by us in Choser and Tsarang (Charang) (Grek et al., 2021a; Grek et al., 2021b). The complex in Choser is well preserved, contains 53 chambers located at six levels connected with vertical shafts used as defensive devices. The chambers of the system are of the following kinds: 9 living rooms and 32 storage rooms. There are windows in the living rooms. Sometimes there are sleeping ledges and toilets in such chambers. In two cases small arched doors come out to facades of rocks at third and fourth levels (in one case it was equipped with a small balcony). In our opinion, initially these doors were entrances to separate parts of the cave system. One may notice that in the case with the cave complex in Choser the functions of shelter and storage place are combined. Studying of direction of cutting in the underground complex showed that it had initially consisted of several – four or five – separate parts that, probably, belonged to different families and later were connected with each other into one system (fig. 6). Another large eight- leveled cave complex was explored by us in the vicinity of Tsarang (Charang)1 . It was cut in cliff of southern bank of a creek, right confluent of the river Kali-Gandaki, to the east of Tsarang (Charang). Ruins of a building, fundament of which is made of coarse pebbles on clay, preserved at the foot of the cliff. This building slightly covers approaches to entrances into the cave system (fig. 7). Rock façade preserved in fine condition at upper levels of the cave complex. Two lower levels are too destroyed, whereas the third one preserved partially. Plan and section of the underground system are shown in (fig. 8). Cave complex in Tsarang (Charang) consists of 37 chambers, two galleries, two corridors and seven wells. Total length of the system is 225 m. Height from the foot of the cliff to the upper point is 23 m. 1 Two large cave systems, northern and eastern ones, are known in the vicinity of Charang (Parkash, 2008). We described the one located to the north of Charang. Fig. 7 – Tsarang (Charang). Upper Mustang. Nepal. Front wall of the cave complex (photo N. Moldavska).
380 Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) At least 10 of these premises are living rooms and at least 17 of them are storage rooms. It is interesting to note that walls made of mudbricks, which split the rooms into sections for storage, preserved only in several premises. It shows that in this complex such walls, which can be found all-round in cave complexes in Mustang (Simons et al., 1998, Grek et al., 2020), were demolished at later stage of exploitation. Besides, this cave system contains 7 wells connecting different levels of the system. Grooves for hands and feet preserved in the walls of the wells. Fig. 8 – Tsarang (Charang). Plan and section of the underground system (mapping I. Grek, 2019, drawing N. Moldavska).
381 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa Such wells are defensive devices, indicative of the fact that the cave system was initially formed as a shelter. Mouths of wells were covered with lids, and in some places, they were locked with special devices, traces of which are well preserved, for example in well K7. The available data do not allow us to build the exact model of development of the cave system in Tsarang (Charang). Probably the first stage of development was the badly destroyed first level with the chamber of shelter of the 2nd level. The third level, which.h includes the chamber with stupa, chamber with toilet and chamber of 4-th level shelter, in our opinion, also was one of the earliest stages of development of the complex. It can be assumed that three separate 2- leveled shelters existed on 7-8 levels of the cave system. These separate systems, as we assume, were cut from the façade entrances 7, 9 and 14, and later connected with the gallery on the seventh level into one system. Obviously, the cave system with the adjacent wall form a defensive complex (quite strong by local standards). There are several premises in the explored cave system that have signs of religious use: chamber 5 (square stupa), 26 (cut stupa) and 45 (chamber for meditation used at the present time as well). Hence it is possible that the cave complex at some stage, probably at the last stage of its existence, was an important religious center. Conclusion One may note wonderful similarity of appearance of the large complexes of artificial caves of Upper Mustang and rock complexes of Cappadocia. This similarity of appearance becomes more intriguing during analysis of specific construction details and techniques used at construction. Comparing the artificial caves in Cappadocia and Upper Mustang, we should highlight the following: - We are studying two regions with similar environmental conditions: dry, without forests, with tuff rocks (more homogenic in Cappadocia), pierced with deep valleys and with lots of rock escarpments. - Caves of various designation had been created at these territories for a long time. Both in Cappadocia and Upper Mustang the earliest artificial caves were tombs. - We saw similar traces from tools on walls of the caves. Probably, in both regions pick-axe was used to cut the underground spaces. - Artificial caves cut at considerable height in rock escarpments bear the function of shelters. They contain: premises for temporary residence, storage chambers, aediculas – places for praying, observation points and toilets. Creation of such structures did not take place at the same time. Initially development of the defensive systems took place by means of construction of several defense lines. In some cases, separate shelters, probably designed for one family, were connected into large systems. - Large complexes of artificial caves in vertical escarpments both in Cappadocia and Upper Mustang show similar architecture: galleries stretching along the cliff at several levels and connected with vertical wells. Internal premises are grouped around the galleries or small corridors that stretch deeper into the rock massive. - Vertical shafts were used as defensive devices both in Cappadocia and Upper Mustang rock cut complexes. - Active development phase of the large cave complexes took place in the Middle Ages, mostly from the 10th to the 15th century. The territory of Mustang in this period became the arena for battles between Tibet and Indian princely states that continued for several centuries (Simons et al., 1998), whereas the territory of Cappadocia was constantly attacked in several large-scale military campaigns and a number of internal strifes (Gülyaz et al., 2007). At the same time there is an array of differences between the rock complexes of artificial cave shelters in Cappadocia and Upper Mustang: - Defensive devices in Cappadocia are more various. For example, millstone doors were not used in Upper Mustang, unlike in Cappadocia. First of all, it may be explained by the rock quality. - By the same reason we did not find traces of extraction of stone blocks during cutting of the underground complexes in the territory of Upper Mustang. Tuff blocks were not used for construction there. - To make sections in storage chambers in Upper Mustang mudstone walls were built. - Complexes of artificial caves in Upper Mustang were equipped with balconies, sometimes quite prolonged ones. We never found such technique in cave complexes in Cappadocia. - One should also point out the difference in construction of furnaces used in Upper Mustang probably for heating the chambers for temporary residence in the shelters. In conclusion, we should note that only a small and the most accessible part of cave objects in Upper Mustang was explored by us. There is a number of unexplored complexes of artificial caves in this region and in the territories bordering with Tibet. Further explorations of these monuments will be highly significant for understanding the general laws of development of rock architecture.
382 Artificial caves shelters in vertical tuff escarpments in Cappadocia (Turkey) and Upper Mustang (Nepal) Bibliography Бобровский Т. А. Грек И. О., 2015, Комплекс искусственных пещер в долине Мескендир близ Гьореме (Каппадокия), Материалы международной конференции по спелеологии и спелестологии. Россия. Набережные Челны, c. 129-135/ (Bobrovskyy T. A., Grek I. O., 2015, Complex of artificial caves in the valley of Meskendir in the vicinity of Göreme, materials of International Conference in Speleology and Spelestology, Russia, Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 129-135). Бобровский Т. А., Грек И. О., Климишина О. И., 2015, Комплекс в отдельном конусе в долине Земи в Каппадокии, Материалы международной конференции по спелеологии и спелеостологии. Россия. Набережные Челны, c. 154-159 (Bobrovskyy T. A., Grek I. O., Klimishina O. I., 2015. Complex in separate cone in Zemi valley in Cappadocia, materials of International Conference in Speleology and Spelestology, Russia, Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 154-159). Бобровский Т. А. Грек И. О., 2016, Комплекс искусственных пещер в туфовых останцах в окрестностях Гереме, Материалы международной конференции по спелеологии и спелестологии, Россия, Набережные Челны, c. 192-210 (Bobrovskyy T. A., Grek I. O., 2016, Complex of artificial caves and tuff residuals in the vicinity of Göreme, materials of International Conference in Speleology and Spelestology, Russia, Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 192-210). Бобровский Т. А., Грек И. О., 2018, О молитвенных местах в пещерных убежищах Центральной Анатолии // Спелеология и спелестология: сборник материалов IX Международной научной конференции, Набережные Челны, c. 127-133 (Bobrovskyy T. A., Grek I. O., 2018, On prayer places in cave shelters of Central Anatolia // Speleologia i spelestologia, collection of materials of the IX International scientific conference, Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 127-133. Bobrovskyy T. Grek I., 2019, The patterns of development of cave shelters in Cappadocia, Proceeding of International Congress of Speleology in Artificial Cavities, Hypogea 2019, Bulgaria, Dobrich, May 20/25, p. 12. Грек И. О., Молдавская Н. Н., Широков М. Н., 2019, Некоторые сведения об искусственных пещерах в Северном Мустанге, Материалы международной конференции по спелеологии и спелеостологии. Россия. Набережные Челны, c. 130-136 (Grek I. O., Moldavska N. N., Shyrokov M. N., 2019, Some data on artificial caves in Northern Mustang. Materials of International conference in speleology and spelestology, Russia, Naberezhnye Chelny, pp. 130-136). Grek I. O., Moldavska N. N., Shyrokov M. N., 2021, About the Structure and Relative Chronology of the Complex of Artificial Caves in Choser, Upper Mustang, Nepal, Opera Ipogea, 1\2021, рр. 38-51. Грек И. О., Молдавская Н. Н., Широков М. Н., 2021, О структуре и относительной хронологи комплекса искусственных пещер в Чаранге, Верхний Мустанг, Непал. Спелеолология и спелестология. №1, c. 69-77. (Grek I. O., Moldavska N. N., Shyrokov M. N, 2021, On structure and relative chronology of artificial cave complex in Charang, Upper Mustang, Nepal. Speleologia i spelestologia, N°1, pp. 69-77. Gülyaz M., Yenipınar H., 2007, The rock settlement and underground cities in Cappadocia. Nevşehir. Parkash D., 2008, Reconnaissance of Caves in Upper Lo Mustang. Ancient Nepal, N°66, pp.1-31. Simons A., Schön W., 1998, Beiträge zur allgemeinen und vergleichenden archäologie. Cave systems and terrace settlements in Mustang, Nepal, band 18, pp. 27-46.
383 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Kars Culture and Art Association, Kars, Turkey, mobile +90 5322917226 - [email protected] The place of no return in ancient Ani (Kars, Turkey): report of the explorations Vedat Akçayöz1 Abstract In this paper, will been described the parts of The Place of No Return that have not been explored by researchers before, with intense work of author in the underground city of Ani for about 25 years. The The Place of No Return Tunnel is a man-made tunnel running east-west in Ani. Its entrance is near the rear gate of the Aryuz tower. I think it is close to the Tigran Honents church with the exit point that is closed in front. Since the tunnel has a height that drops from about one meter to 40 cm, it can only crawl forward. There are pits covered with wax and kindling in suitable places of the tunnel. It is suitable for the entry of experienced cavers as its interior is very dangerous. Since the soil structure of the tunnel is tuff, it was excavated by people with metal tools. Part of the tunnel was excavated following the line of two cracked tuff blocks. May be the tunel have been also designed to exit Ani during a raid and it have been prepared for defensive purposes, with a narrow structure, sharp double turns and trap rooms to prevent the enemy from entering. Keywords: Ani Ancient City, “Giden Gelmez” (“The Place of No Return”), Kars, Turkey. Introduction One of the most important in the list of Ancient Cities in Türkey the Ancient City of Ani, which has been a settlement since the Iron Age, is located in the village of Ani, 42.5 km from the city center of Kars. Ani (fig. 1) was registered as a “World Heritage” by UNESCO in 2016 with its masterpiece architectural structures above ground, churches in the Underground city, monasteries, and underground tunnels (Akçayöz, 2018). In the 11th century, its population, together with its surroundings, reached 100,000 people. In the past, it was the most important commercial Silk Road in the world, with 6400 km from China to Venice. The altitude of the ancient city of Ani is 1450 meters on average. Geological structure of Ani Plateau; The lower layer is composed of volcanic hard basalt - middle layer sandy tuff - upper layer, hard thin layer in tile red color. Most of the underground caves and tunFig. 1 – Ani, remains of the Ancient City behind the today’s village, and Mount Ararat in the background (photo V. Akçayöz).
384 The place of no return in ancient Ani (Kars, Turkey): report of the explorations nels and religious buildings, which are man-made, were built in the middle tuff layer and the upper tile reddish layers. In the church of St. Gregory there are frescoes with the image of the saint, who spread Christianity in Armenia, including the torture scenes. In the cathedral of Ani, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, there are frescoes with the authors of the first four chapters of the Bible: St. Matthew (human or angel), St. Mark (lion), St. Luke (ox or bull) and it is possible to see the figures of John (eagle). Ani, a combination of cultures, is an untouched treasure that needs to be explored with its architectural works above ground, natural and man-made caves and tunnels underground. The Place of No Return (Giden Gelmez) - cavity F/26 The narrow gallery stretching out in an east-west orientation immediately to the southwest of the Mığmığ Stream Valley, from the southeastern façade of this section of the walls of Ani facing the Arpaçay towards the underbelly of the Ani Plateau is called “the Place of No Return” by the local folk. It was investigated by D. A. Kipshidze1 in 1915 and by R. Bixio and his team in 2004, and photographs of it were published by O. Güloğlu in the Atlas Magazine (Şenocak 2000), yet none of these researchers were actually able to reach the end of the gallery (Kipshidze 1972; Bixio et al. 2005; 2009). After poring over these publications the question of what lay at the end of the tunnel of the Place of No Return started eating away at me in the most unbearable manner until I finally decided to go all the way to its end. With this in mind, I visited the Place of No Return three times in 2014 and 2015 (fig. 2). First entrance into the Place of No Return On the 15th of November 2014, at 12:00 we arrived in front of the heavily collapsed part of the Place of No Return, which lies beneath the steep slope 10 m below the point between the Church of Saint Gregory the Il1 One of Nikolai Yakovievich Marr’s team, David Kipshize died in 1915, before he could publish his discoveries and research of rock structures related to human life in Ani in 1917. These works by N.M. Tokarski edited it and published it in book form in 1972. Fig. 2 – Archaological Site of Ani, situated upon the plateau surrounded by deep ravines. The Tsaghkotsadzor (the Bostanlar Stream) flowing on the west of the plateau (left) converges with the Akhuryan that flows on its east and south (marking Türkey’s present day boundary with Armenia), carving out deep valleys in the volcanic terrain. Along with being rich in natural beauty, these valleys have also become home to human settlements from the past to the present (photo V. Akçayöz).
385 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa luminator built by St. Gregory (Tigran Honents) above the Arpaçay, and Aryuz (the Lion) Tower (fig. 3). This first visit was mainly for reconnaissance, and I entered the tunnel (Upper Tunnel) with the necessary tools after leaving my friends Yıldırım Öztürkkan, Burhan Özba, Ertekin Akat and Mustafa N. Sakman at the entrance as a safety precaution and for communication. There is a crack in the rock that runs westward throughout the tunnel. Marks demonstrating that metallic tools were used in digging out the tunnel are clearly visible along the walls. I advanced down this 0.95-m-high and 0.75-m-wide tunnel by unfurling my 50-m-long measuring tape along the tunnel floor; 3.5 m after the entrance, there is another tunnel entrance on the north, leading to the other gallery (Lower Tunnel) located below this one. I kept moving, since I would explore this gallery later on. R. Bixio states that the tunnel has narrowed down as a result of collapses and since it has exceedingly small dimensions entering it is dangerous and only possible by experienced and well-equipped speleologists (cave explorers) (Bixio et al. 2009: 38). I passed this difficult section by crawling, under very tough circumstances where I had to use my hands to push aside the dust-like earth obstructing my movement through the tunnel. Entering such a narrow tunnel is highly risky and ill-advised for those with heart problems, hypertension or claustrophobia. Yet I must express that Bixio’s statements regarding the collapsed areas are also faulty, because even though there is debris on the tunnel floor this is, in fact, quite sparse. After following the crack in the west of the Upper Tunnel for 28.5 m, it makes an almost 90-degree angle first to the north, continuing for 1.8 m before swerving towards the west in a similar manner and stretching on for 3 m, then turning south and extending for 2.2 m (Curtain in fig. 6), reaching a total of 34 m from the entrance. At this point the height of the tunnel is 0.77 m and its width is 0.7 m. It veers towards the southwest, and 2.7 m after this corner there is a cylindirical groove in the ceiling (Guard room in fig. 6), with a depth of 1.1 m and diameter of 0.77 m. The tunnel height, which starts off as 0.95 m, reduces gradually as one moves along. I had to crawl in order to reach the 44th meter. Here the tunnel has been dug out upwards for about 1.5 m vertically, creating an apse-like small room to the north. R. Bixio has defined this part as a “trap” (Bixio et al. 2005; 2009: 77) (figs. 4 and 6). The room is 1.15 m high, 1.8 m wide and 2.3 m long. As Bixio suggests, I too got the impression that this tunnel was used for escape during any siege or attack on Ani. This trap room must have also been a defence Fig. 3 – Cavity F/26. Panoramic view of the collapsed part of the Place of No Return, the city walls, the Church of Saint Gregory on the left and the Aryuz Tower on the right (photo V. Akçayöz).
386 The place of no return in ancient Ani (Kars, Turkey): report of the explorations post for military purposes in the face of any attack: the narrow structure of the tunnel and the existence of sharp 90-degree turns (Curtain) would have prevented anyone from wielding long-barreled weapons within (fig. 5). The tunnel continues downward in a slightly slanted manner on the southwest of the little room (trap); 1.8 meters later a worn-down step caught my eye. There are traces of steps here and there in the downwardsloping part. A small amount of stones of various sizes made it difficult for me to crawl on the tunnel floor. After 20 m of leading southwest, the tunnel first turns northward and then after 5-6 more meters westward. About 6-7 more meters ahead it comes to an end as it is, and instead continues as two galleries, one towards the north and the other to the south. I named this part the “T-Junction” due to its shape. Since I was alone, I did not go any further for security reasons and left the tunnel about 70 minutes later, after determining which tools would be necessary for an actual exploration to be conducted later on (fig. 6). Second Entrance into the Place of No Return When we arrived at the entrance of the Place of No Return for a second time on the 3rd of May 2015 in order to investigate it thoroughly, my friends Yıldırım Öztürkkan, Burhan Özba, Ertekin Akat and Mustafa N. Sakman waited outside once again for our security and I entered the tunnel, this time with my guide Kenan Kara. Entering the Place of No Return for the second time, I quickly moved past the part I had carefully examined during my previous visit and immediately arrived at the “T-Junction” 83.2 m ahead of the entrance. As I have mentioned above, here the tunnel separates into two galleries towards the north and south. The northFig. 4 – Cavity F/26. Rendering of the “trap” along the tunnel of the Place of No Return (drawing after Bixio et al. 2009: fig. 4.13). Fig. 5 – Cavity F/26. Inside the Place of No Return: the “trap” (photo V. Akçayöz).
387 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa ern gallery ends2 after continuing for about 10 m, so we turned back and entered the gallery heading south. This extends for 6.5 m until it comes to an end on the horizontal plane and continues vertically towards the top of the plateau. The floor of the southern gallery is covered with layers of soil, which have greatly obstructed the passage into the vertical section, with only a 0.35-m-large opening remaining3 . I felt great danger here, since if any more pieces of stone or earth were to slide down during our ascent up this steep part, the opening, which was already quite narrow, could easily be closed off as well. So we had to move very slowly and carefully. This part of the tunnel, which has a triangular cross-section, leads upward for about 25 m. While climbing I found that at a height of approximately 2.5 m a narrow platform has been excavated, large enough for one person to stand on. In order to climb onto this platform, I took Kenan on my back so that he could reach it. Then Kenan continued upward using the grooves in the side walls as footholds. He stopped at a certain point, and I tied the rope he had with him around my waist in order to pull myself up onto the platform. The part that now stood before us was almost as hard as granite, with a surface that appeared as if smoothly cut and even polished, yet containing small grooves at certain intervals. 2 As reported by Bixio, evidently the tunnel at the time of his exploration and still today is blocked by a filling of stones, but originally it was connected with the outside at a different point from the main entrance, beyond the Tower of Aryuz. (Bixio et al. 2009: 37-39), 3 At the time of Kipshize, the tunnel was completely blocked at this point by a filling of earth that had stopped his exploration. At the time of the Bixio team’s mission, the fill had been removed, and they had reached the base of the ascending shaft where the exploration stopped both for difficulties to climb, for the danger of falling stones and for having finished the time of stay in Ani. (Bixio et al. 2009: 39/42-43). There was also a colossal obstacle standing nearly upright comprised of triangular blocks of stone. Bixio and his team had also reached this point 2.5 m above the ground, yet they had then turned back, unable to overcome this very large obstacle. In his study, Bixio mentions that they estimate this vertical part of the tunnel to be 15 m high, and that it is very difficult to climb up here (Bixio et al. 2009: 39, 42). We measured this height, which is 24.8 m, in our third entrance into the tunnel on the 10th of May 2015. Therefore this part of the tunnel is 9.2 m longer than Bixio and his team estimated it to be. Since our ropes and climbing harnesses were not adequate we had to turn back and leave, though quite unwillingly, without having solved the mystery of this shaft, which is full of secrets. We were back outside in an hour and forty five minutes. These grueling and dangerous attempts at exploring this area had me utterly captivated, haunting me in my dreams every single night. What on earth was there at the end of this shaft? The mysterious tales of travelers who had explored Ani came to my mind. I knew that although it would prove very difficult, I absolutely had to add something of my own to these stories. Third Entrance into the Place of No Return I entered the Place of No Return for a third time, once again with my guide Kenan Kara, on the 10th of May 2015 in order to complete my exploration of the tunnel and realize my dreams. While moving along the same route once more I completed taking missing measurements and shooting video footage. After reaching the “T-Junction” 83.2 m ahead, we turned towards the southern corridor and arrived at the part where the shaft starts heading vertically towards the plateau. The hard rock in this upward-leading section Fig. 6 – Cavity F/26. Sketch of the longitudinal section of the Place of No Return and the second tunnel beneath it (drawing after Bixio et al. 2009: fig. 4.12).
388 The place of no return in ancient Ani (Kars, Turkey): report of the explorations has rough patches as well as certain smooth parts that feel almost as if they have been polished. We came upon fox dung on the floor. My guide Kenan Kara and I paused for a while at the bottom and discussed how we would approach the climb upward. Our first priority was to do so safely, without causing any pieces of rock or earth to slide down. My guide climbed up to the platform about 2.5 m above by using me as a stepping stone. I attached the safety line around my waist and pulled myself up. There are small grooves that serve as footholds in the walls of the tunnel. My friend started ascending further by stepping on my shoulders and using the grooves in the side walls. I followed him with the help of the safety line. I kept taking photos and video footage at any resting point during our ascent. The markings of metal tools used in carving out the tunnel are visible on the walls. As we moved upwards, I saw that one corner of this triangular cross-section of the shaft started displaying an irregular texture, as if stones of miscellaneous dimensions and sand had been mixed into mortar. This section covered in volcanic tuff made our ascent quite dangerous since it was too soft and weak. The stone and sand crumbling beneath our feet and falling down to the ground below could close off the small opening left in the tunnel at any moment. Since this opening was of vital importance for us to be able to exit the tunnel, the possibility of its disappearance frightened me a lot. The further up we moved, the more we noticed that the block of stone in the walls was becoming replaced with 3 to 5-cm-thick horizontal plates of rock. Even further ahead this left its place to soft volcanic tuff containing rough stones of various sizes. In this manner, we made our way up to the very top end of the 24.8-m-long shaft. The shaft has a triangular cross-section in this vertical part, which becomes circular further on up. Its diameter is about 1 m at its end, and the earth is so flaky that it crumbles upon touch (fig. 7). Climbing up this part proved harder than we thought. The stony sand floor at the top is quite unstable. Since we were pretty tired by the time we reached the top of the shaft, we paused for a rest and I took measurements and photographs in the mean time. This place where the vertical part of the tunnel ends has been carved out towards the northwest (314°) in order to create a space that is about 1 m wide and high enough to stand in. The ceiling above both this space and the vertical tunnel is 2.1 m above the floor at its centre and in the shape of a semidome vault. There are two corridors here that lead towards the northeast and west. The northeastern one starts about 1 m above the ground level of the central space and ends 3.58 m ahead (fig. 8). We came upon bat droppings in this part. The soil that has filled up the bottom of the tunnel comes from this section, and the walls resemble mortar mixed with rough stones and fine sand. We left this corridor and entered the one leading towards the northwest. This Fig. 7 – Cavity F/26.The interior of the Place of No Return. Scheme of the newly area discovered by Vedat Akcayöz (drawing V. Akcayöz). Fig. 8 – The northeastern corridor that starts from about 1 m above ground level of the central space and ends 3.58 m ahead (photo V. Akçayöz).
389 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa corridor curves west after 3 m (274°), and then northwest (293°) after 2 more meters. In this section there is passage into yet another corridor (?) on the west, yet I could not tell whether this was an actual corridor or merely another dead-end since we were unable to enter this part due to its being full of soil. Continuing for 4.4 m in the same corridor towards the northwest (293°), we saw that it first veers towards the southwest (219°), then once again southeast (116°) after another 3.6 m, and yet again southwest (221°) after one more meter. Beyond this last curve the corridor is half-blocked due to collapses. I was able to measure this earth-filled part to be 3.95 m with the help of a laser meter. We started shouting since we were able to hear noises and the resonance caused by feet walking above us. We must have been very close to the surface, yet we were unable to make our voices heard. After completing the necessary measurements we started our descent. I tried to move down the unstable surface without dislodging any pieces of earth with the help of the safety line around my waist, but suddenly my right foot slipped, and as I struggled to regain my balance the slight protrusion beneath my feet came loose. Pieces of sand and rock started surging downwards, and only stopped after a while. I was able to get myself out of this difficult situation thanks to the safety line. My guide started moving down right after me. He stopped right above me and pieces of stone coming loose from under his feet cascaded down my shoulders after bouncing off my helmet. I managed to take photos and shoot video footage even in that situation. When we arrived at the bottom, we realized that although the earth and stone that had slipped down was not much it had still sealed off the passage into the rest of the tunnel. We started digging away at the soil with our hands, but it didn’t work. My guide then pushed the earth blocking the tunnel entrance using his feet, and managed to spread it over the ground under those difficult circumstances. This took about twenty minutes. With much effort I was finally able to crawl out backwards behind Kenan and make it out of that tunnel. The three hours and twenty six minutes I spent in the Place of No Return were the most difficult hours of my lifetime. Yet my dreams had come true. I had managed to reach the end of the Tunnel of No Return – something no one had accomplished before. I had been able to measure, photograph and take video footage of the entire tunnel, as no one else had yet managed. I experienced the happiness of having contributed – albeit minimally – to the science of archaeology. Yet I was still disappointed that the tunnel was closed off at the very last point I had reached. During my dangerous trip back through the tunnel all I had thought of was how the end of the tunnel was blocked. I have no idea why, but at the end of the blocked tunnel Gurdjieff’s mysterious stories came to my mind. Here’s how one goes: one fine day Gurdjieff and a friend of his enter one of the underground tunnels in Ani, and find the end of the tunnel to be closed off by caved-in earth and rock. They discover a narrow passageway. This leads them into a room covered in stone and sand. There are pieces of wood and shards of pottery scattered all over. They find parchment paper covered in dust in a niche in the wall, but are unable to decipher the script since it is pretty ancient Armenian. When they have someone who is well-versed in this language read the script, they find out that these parchments are letters written by Father Talvant, who is a monk, to Father Arem, another monk. Most of the writing on these letters is in an illegible state. It takes them many years to patch these up to the extent that they may be read. They learn that “Sarmoung”, which is mentioned in these letters, is a famous “esoteric” school in Mesopotamia whose history stretches back to 2500 BC and which exists up to the 6th-7th century AD. The place where the letter written on parchment is found is in fact the prayer room of a monastery (Gurdjieff G.I., 2015: 108-109). The little bit that I can remember is that we exited the Place of No Return, leaving behind the blocked part of the tunnel, which I had found myself waiting in front of semi-consciously, lost in a sea of mixed feelings. The Place of No Return had still managed to partly remain a mystery, evading complete discovery. In my opinion, the place where the tunnel surfaces above the plateau must be on the left or right of the steps that descend into the St. Gregory (Tigran Honents) church, because we detected slight depressions in this part of the plateau. Yet it is also possible that the tunnel, whose far end cannot be accessed as it is closed off by earth, does not open up directly onto the exterior but onto a secret, indoor space. Acknowledgements I would to thank Hacali Necefogˇlu for his help in preparing the article for publication. Bibliography Akçayöz V., 2018, New Discoveries in Ani. DenizBank Publications: 37, Istanbul, 384 pages. Akçayöz V., 2022,Yeni Keşifler İle Ani. Haycar Publications: 2, Istanbul, 399 pages. Bixio R., Caloi V., Castellani V., Traverso M., 2005, Gli insediamenti sotterranei di Ani (Turchia orientale), Opera Ipogea no. 1-2/2005: pp. 21-28. Società Speleologica Italiana, Bologna. Bixio R., Caloi V., Castellani V., Traverso M., 2009, Ani 2004: surveys on the underground settlements, British Archaeological Reports (BAR), International Series 1944, Archaeopress, Oxford, 82 pages.
390 The place of no return in ancient Ani (Kars, Turkey): report of the explorations Gurdjieff G.I., 2015, Olağanüstü İnsanlarla Karşılaşmalar, Bilyay Yayıncılık, İstanbul, pp. 108-109. Kipshidze D. A. (N. Tokarski, editor), 1972, Пещеры Ани / Ani Underground (Материалы XIV анийской археологической кампании 1915 года). Обработка материала, чертежи, предисловие и комментарии Н, М. Токарского (в серии „Анийские древности”, IV), Ереван / Erevan, 183 pages. Şenocak H., 2000, Ani: Kırk Kapılı Şehir, (photo: Oktar Güloğlu) Atlas 84, pp. 32-48.
391 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa 1 Società Speleologica Italiana, former professor at the University of Pavia, mobile +39 3484109307 - [email protected] Some aspects of the wartime work underground in the Southeastern Alps (Italy) during World War I and carried out mainly on the Marmolada and Adamello mountain ranges and on the Trentino highlands (Lavarone, Pasubio, Asiago), but also on the so-called backward front such as the Cadorna Line Lamberto Laureti1 Abstract This paper presents a significant and fundamental aspect related to the military endeavors that characterized the operations carried out during World War I (1915-18) between the Italian kingdom and the Austro-Hungarian power and that took place predominantly in the southeastern sector of the Alpine range. The military operations by the two opposing armies took place in a midand high-mountain environment that often exceeded 3,000 meters in elevation and was also characterized by a considerable extent of snow cover in the winter months and in year-round glacial cover beyond 2,500 meters in elevation. Military operations by both armies, in order to avoid openair movements, had to proceed with the excavation of specially dug-out, trenches and tunnels also to facilitate shelter for troops during the colder and snowier seasons. The most suitable and evocative place to reconstruct the conditions under which the military operations between the two armies forced to fight even against the difficulties of the environment took place in the harsh winters of those years, was certainly the majestic natural complex of the Marmolada glacier, today unfortunately greatly disfigured by numerous collapses due to glacial melting. In addition to the Marmolada, the war of position over snow and ice was also fought on the Adamello massif (which served as the border between Lombardy and Trentino, that is, between Italy and Austria). At the Passo della Lobbia alta, over 3,000 meters above sea level stands today a refuge named after the Fallen that can be reached by a cable car going up from the Val di Genova. The border that then divided Italy from Austria also ran over elevations located at lower altitudes, such as the karst plateaus of Bainsizza, dominated by the 682 meter of Mount Santo and etched by the course of the Isonzo River, which washed over the city of Gorizia before heading toward the Adriatic coast. When we speak of “war on the plateaus”, we mean mainly the high lands stretching southeast and south of Trent (Lavarone and Pasubio plateaus). On the former were located as many as seven Austro-Hungarian fortresses, still interspersed with numerous remains of entrenchments, fortified positions, tunnels, and traces of old military roads. Greater notoriety, however, belongs to the Pasubio plateau overlooked by the peak of the same name (2235 m), possession of which would have favored the route of the Austrians to the Po Valley. During World War I, the Italian military authorities, in anticipation of a feared enemy offensive through Switzerland, decided to set up a system of fortifications that ran along the Italian-Swiss border from Mont Blanc to the Stelvio Pass. Even today, the remains of this structure, known as the “Cadorna Line”, can be easily visited. Keywords: wartime works, World War I, southeastern Alps. The Great War Today, after the experience of the bloody wars that dominated the first half of the 20th century, the State-Territory relationship is considered differently by geopolitical science. However, the memory of what the peoples of Europe, and beyond, represented those conflicts, with their articulated motivations, remains a particularly precious heritage that every nation that took part in them cannot afford to disperse, on pain of obliterating a part relevant to its history. This is especially true for the First World War, the Great War, from whose events it detaches us already a century that contributes, with the temporal distance, to cover its events with a mixed aura, between the romantic and the legendary. Perhaps the same could
392 Some aspects of the wartime work underground in the Southeastern Alps (Italy) during World War happen, in about thirty years, but even earlier, for the Second World War, whose painful wounds are still felt as deeply burning, showing all their raw realism, while the conflicts and hatreds that arose, they still agitate the minds of the nations. This is perhaps one of the reasons why a very copious literature has flourished around the events of the Great War, fed right from the start by its most authoritative protagonists (army corps commanders and generals of the various armies), followed by journalists, politicians, writers, poets, historians and simple actors of those long 41 months. And the bibliography of this conflict, far from being exhausted, instead seems to intensify further. With it, other initiatives have been developing, initially guided by pity for the hundreds of thousands of fallen soldiers (at least on national soil alone) with the erection of monuments and ossuaries (from Pasubio to Redipuglia), generally a destination for veterans and relatives, but today also of ordinary citizens as well as tourists or interested visitors. Gradually they were followed by the creation of museums and then the rearrangement of many places that saw the coming to life of those dramatic events: forts, trenches, tunnels, communication trenches, fortification roads, etc. The war on the Marmolada glacier The majestic natural complex of the Marmolada glacier, with its circle of rugged mountains, is certainly the most suitable and at the same time suggestive place to reconstruct the conditions in which military operations between two armies took place in the harsh winters of those years forced to fight also against the difficulties of the environment. Until recently it was possible to climb the northern side of the Marmolada from Lake Fedaia, with a comfortable chairlift that took tourists to Pian dei Fiacconi, i.e. directly to the front of the glacier. At the base you can still visit an interesting Museum of the First World War where you can find evidence of Italian and Austrian participation in common. Another interesting Museum of the Great War, inaugurated in June 1990, is located at over 2900 meters above sea level, at the Serauta station of the cable car that goes up the eastern side of the Marmolada, directly from Malga Ciapela. It was recently renovated after the catastrophic event of last year (Fig. 1) and inaugurated in 2023 with the name of “Museo Marmolada Grande Guerra - 3000 m”. The most interesting aspect was certainly represented by the interventions carried out during the conflict, initially on the Austrian side by Lieutenant Leo Handl who had the idea of using the thick frozen covers to provide for their excavation in order to obtain large spaces to use as a shelter for soldiers and equipment. In total it was possible to obtain a series of tunnels for a total length of about 12 km. This was the so-called Eisstadt (Fig. 2) of which a significant structure is reported here. It should be remembered here that something similar was also achieved on the Italian side but with a very small extension due to the smaller amount of ice. Today very little of all this remains, both due to poor maintenance and to the continuous movements to which the glacial mass is subjected, which is very sensitive, moreover, to the Fig. 1 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa. Detachment of part of the glacier (photo from the press). Fig. 2 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.The city of ice when it was installed in the Marmolada glacier.
393 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa ever more frequent variations in the thermal conditions of the atmosphere. This is demonstrated by the sensational event that occurred in July of last year, 2022, with the atmospheric temperature of around 11°C, causing the detachment of a considerable mass of water, ice and debris for a total of around 64,000 tonnes. Unfortunately, this event also caused the death of 11 people. This fact was dealt with by a colleague of mine, Prof. Aldino Bondesan, who, in collaboration with other researchers from the Universities of Padua and Parma, recently published an interesting study in the journal “Geomorphology” (Bondesan et al, 2023). The battles on the Adamello and the harsh winters on Ortles and Cevedale In addition to the Marmolada, the war of position on the snow and ice, the so-called “white war”, was fought on the Adamello massif, also crossed at the time by the Italian-Austrian border. At the Passo della Lobbia Alta, at over 3000 meters above sea level, today stands a refuge dedicated to the Fallen of Adamello. It can be reached by a cable car that goes up from the Bedole refuge to the head of the Val di Genova, on the eastern side of the massif. The visit to what remains of the military posts on the Adamello is made more complex due to the particular environment in which the military operations took place, always at high altitudes, on the ridge which, in a north-south direction, winds from Carè Alto (3462 meters above sea level) to Corno di Cavento (3402 meters) and Crozzon di Folgarida (3079 meters). The Italian position, well attested to the Garibaldi Refuge on the eastern slope of the Adamello, was also separated from the enemy formations by the intense glacial cover which closed to the north with the Presanella block which also reached an altitude of 3500 metres. Initially covered by their grey-green uniforms, only later were the Italian soldiers (mainly made up of Alpine troops from the Aosta Valley) dressed in white overalls which allowed them to blend in with the snow cover of the ground, thus facilitating their movements. The conquest of the Corno di Cavento was certainly a strong stimulus that also spread to the other fronts of the conflict. Here too, like what had occurred on the Marmolada, Fig. 3 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.The network of museums of the Great War in Trentino region, by care of the Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra in Rovereto.
394 Some aspects of the wartime work underground in the Southeastern Alps (Italy) during World War the considerable size of the deposits greatly favored, for both armies, the excavation of cavities of various dimensions within the glacial masses from which, in later times, considering the climatic variations, war materials and human remains emerged, well preserved by the glacial envelope. Currently in Trentino there are about twenty museums of the Great War. Among them, at the foot of the Adamello massif, it is worth visiting that of Spiazzo in Val Rendena (Fig. 3). Compared to the Marmolada and the Adamello-Presanella group, the logistical and environmental situation of the Ortles-Cevedale orographic system, in addition to being more complex, was certainly more demanding, with maximum altitudes very close to 4000 meters in height and therefore with greater glacial persistence even in the summer months. In the larger drawing (Fig. 4) you can read the position of the Austrians (red) and the Italians (blue), the latter finding themselves in a “tragic” situation. The attached map, drawn up at the time, shows the situation of the tunnels that the two armies had dug in the ice. The drawing is included in the interesting volume by Tullio Urangia Tazzoli (Urangia Tazzoli, 1930), who has left us a very interesting description of the war events that took place in the Ortles-Cevedale group in the years 1915-18. A smaller map shows the Italian and Austrian positions on the Trafoier Eisswand /Punta di Trafoi (Fig. 5). War on the highlands: from Pasubio to Monte Grappa The military operations of the Great War did not always take place in the very difficult conditions of the glacial environment of the high mountains. The border which at the time divided Italy from Austria also ran on hills located at lower altitudes, such as the plateaus of the Karst, or the plateaus which separate the Veneto and Friuli plains from the pre-Alpine valleys crossed by the course of the Brenta (Valsugana) hand the Piave. But when we speak of war on the “plateaus” Fig. 4 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.Approximate layout of the Austrian-Italian ice tunnels in the Ortles-Ortler group. Fig. 5 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.Italian and Austrian positions on the Trafoier Eisswand - Punta di Trafoi (m. 3584).
395 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa we are referring more specifically to the “tablelands” that extend southeast and south of Trento (plateaus of Lavarone and Pasubio). On the Lavarone plateaus, which extend on average between 1200 and 1400 meters above sea level, seven Austro-Hungarian fortresses were located over a length of about 30 km, from the Cima di Vezzana (1908 meters above sea level) to the locality of Serrada (1250 meters, on the Folgaria plateau), still today interspersed with numerous remains of entrenchments, fortified posts, tunnels and traces of old military roads, a real “heritage of history and culture among the most interesting of all the alpine arc”, as can be read on the website dedicated to The Great War on the Plateaus. One of the Austro-Hungarian fortresses that is recommended to visit, where an interesting museum is also set up, is that of Forte Belvedere (1177 meters above sea level), a short distance from Lavarone, built to guard the underlying Val d’Astico and the nearby Asiago plateau and today curated by the BelvedereGschwent Foundation. Considered “the best of military engineering of the time”, these mighty constructions were then known as “the Emperor Fortresses”. Ma, forse l’altipiano più noto della Grande Guerra è quello sovrastato dalla cima del Monte Pasubio (2235 meters above sea level). As we read in the 2nd volume of the Guida Rapida d’Italia (AA. VV., 1994): “its total possession would have opened the way for the Austrians to the Vicenza plain and allowed them to take the Italian formation from behind, first on the Isonzo, and then on the Piave”. Therefore, bloody battles were fought on its rocky outcrops. For the military needs of such an environment, it was necessary to proceed with the construction of numerous cableways for the transport of weapons and materials. Furthermore, it was necessary – as in its the hiking-mountaineering guide Cesco Zaltron describes in great detail (Zaltron, 1976) – to dig dozens of tunnels in the living rock for the passage of daring fortification roads, such as the road of the Prima Armata (also known as the Strada degli Scarrubbi due to the deep ravines it had to overcome), from the Bocchetta di Campiglia (1210 meters above sea level) to the Porte di Pasubio (1934 metres), and above all the famous Strada degli Eroi which from the Pian delle Fugazze pass (1160 meters above sea level) also leads to the Porte di Pasubio. The name of this road, already sadly known as the “Path of the Deads”, because those who went up it hardly came down it, recalls 15 gold medals awarded to as many fallen soldiers (officers and soldiers) who sacrificed themselves in the places it crossed. Still on the Pasubio plateau, the “Road of the 52 tunnels” should be mentioned, today well equipped with ample parking at the Xomo Pass (1056 meters). In fact it is a mule track that winds uphill for just over 6 km and can only be traveled on foot up to the Gen. le Papa refuge (1934 meters). In its layout, 52 tunnels must be overcome which allowed shelter from enemy troops. From the Rifugio Papa it is then possible to descend after about ten km through the Val di Fieno to Pian delle Fugazze (1162 meters) along the Strada degli Eroi up to the Galleria del Generale d’Havet and passing three other tunnels. As for the Adamello and Ortles glaciers, here too the need arose to dig mine tunnels especially for the control of two reliefs called Fig. 6 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.Longitudinal section of the Italian and Austrian Dentis on Pasubio.
396 Some aspects of the wartime work underground in the Southeastern Alps (Italy) during World War Dente Austriaco (2203 meters) and Dente Italiano (2220 meters) (Fig. 6), just north of the highest peak of Pasubio (Cima Palon, 2232 meters). The profile attached here shows the situation very well. Even on the surface, along the entire summit plateau of Pasubio there were also the traditional entrenchments and barbed wire fences as shown (Fig.7). A well-maintained bulwark by the Italian forces consisted of the calcareous-dolomitic relief of Monte Grappa (1775 meters), squeezed between the valleys of the Brenta to the west and the Piave to the east, whose control would have rapidly favored the Austro-Hungarian descent on the underlying plain padana thus constituting the keystone for determining the conclusion of the conflict. Indeed, in the autumn of 1917 the enemy forces managed to get considerably close to the important center nhabited area of Bassano crossed by the waters of the Brenta and dominated to the north by the bulk of the Grappa, but the residues of the Fourth and Second Armies reinforced by the new recruits of the “boys of ‘99” managed to block the enemy advance a few days before the eve of Christmas. Taking advantage of the winter break by the Italian troops, the excavation of a system of tunnels was started on the top of the Grappa (at an altitude of 1700 meters) (fig. 8) with a central axis of about one km from which it was possible to dominate the low altitudes that surrounded Grappa itself with artillery. The following year the situation did not seem to improve, always towards the end of October, whenthe advance of the Italian troops, also reinforced by allied forces, towards Vittorio Veneto and Pordenone, risked isolating the Habsburg units, so their commander of the The Army of Belluno, General Ferdinand Goglia, issued the immediate return from all positions within the national borders on 30 October. The trenches of the Karst If in the winter season, especially at high altitudes, the construction of cavities inside the glacial masses was obvious, at lower altitudes, such as the plateaus, present between the high Alpine hills and the hills overlooking the Po valley, it was necessary to proceed to the excavation of real tunnels in the living rock (bunkers), with a considerable expenditure of muscular energy and explosion of mines. In territories affected by karstic phenomena, such as the Bainsizza Fig. 7 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.Defensive structure of the enemy in the Pasubio area, in the attached map (on page 310) from the fine volume by Gen. Schiarini published in 1926.
397 Fourth IC of Speleology in Artificial Cavities Hypogea 2023 - Genoa plateau, mainly made up of calcareous rocks, it was easier to make use of the presence of underground cavities, differently sized and therefore easily adaptable to military uses as well. A more concrete idea of how the need for military confrontation was faced in a typical karst environment is provided by a chapter inserted in that large volume that all speleology enthusiasts should know: the “Two Thousand Caves” by Bertarelli and Boegan, published almost a century ago and containing an interesting chapter – written by the then colonel Italo Gariboldi who had headed the Italian delegation from 1920 to 1925 for the definition of the borders with Yugoslavia (Gariboldi, 1926) – on the use of natural caves in the context of a military conflict, obviously based on the techniques in use at the beginning of the last century. At the outbreak of the Great War, the Austro-Hungarian army had already adapted the rich heritage offered by the karst morphology of the territory immediately east of the course of the Isonzo for military purposes. It was therefore very demanding for the Italian military contingent to face the enemy in unequal conditions, as later resulted from the frequent battles which culminated in the disastrous defeat of Caporetto. The difficulty encountered during the persistence of the conflict in this part of the chessboard is moreover highlighted by the high number of battles fought in the Isonzo basin: no less than twelve. The back front and the Cadorna Line During the First World War, the Italian military authorities, in anticipation of a feared Austrian offensive through Switzerland and aimed at attacking the national territory, decided to set up a system of fortifications that wound along the ItalianSwiss border from Mont Blanc to the Stelvio Pass. The remains of this which is locally known as the Cadorna Line (from the name of the then supreme commander, General Luigi Cadorna) can still be visFig. 8 – Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa.Plan of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III on the top of the Grappa. Fig. 9 – The “Strada delle 52 gallerie del Pasubio” (road of the 52 tunnels of Mount Pasubio). A route of about 6.5 km that overcomes a height difference of over 700 meters. Dug out of the rock in 1917 by the Italian Army engineers. It allowed safe and continuous supplies to our front line sheltered from Austrian artillery (CSS archive – photo S. Saj).
398 Some aspects of the wartime work underground in the Southeastern Alps (Italy) during World War ited today, being generally quite well preserved despite the inevitable wear and tear of time and also because the places where they are located were not the site of military operations. Indeed, some of these installations were reused during the Second World War, such as Forte Montecchio, located at the mouth of the Valtellina, at the north-eastern end of Lake Como, whose cannons prevented the passage of the German column which was trying to transport Mussolini to Swiss territory. Even these structures are currently being studied by enthusiasts who have organized specific visit itineraries and written interesting guides – among the most notable are those published by the Varese publisher Macchione (Corbella, 1998, Minola e Ronco, 1999) – full of historical and environmental references. In one of these Ambrogio Viviani (Viviani e Corbella, 2017) observes how “walking along these itineraries, the eye will be able to recognize, under the now predominant vegetation, the old communication trenches, the winding trenches, the paths, the mule tracks and the ruined military roads, the scary eye sockets of the caves and shelters, the dark and empty artillery emplacements”. Bibliography AA. VV., 1994, Guida Rapida d’Italia, Vol. II, Italian Touring Club Italiano, edizione1994, Milano, p.169). Bondesan A., Francese R. G., 2023, The climate driver disaster on the Marmolada Glacier (Italy), in Geomorphology, Vol. 431, 15 june 2023, p. 108687. Fraccaro P., Ruggiero G., 1928, Sui campi di battaglia: il Monte Grappa, Touring Club Italiano, Milano. Gariboldi I., 1926, The war caves, in Duemila Grotte, by L.V. Bertarelli and E. Boegan,Italian Touring Club, Milano. Corbella R., 1998, Le fortificazioni della Linea Cadorna tra Lago Maggiore e Ceresio, Macchione Editore, Varese, 103 pages. Minola M., Ronco B., 1999, Fortificazioni di montagna. Dal Gran San Bernardo al Tonale e la cintura difensiva Svizzera, Vol. 1, Macchione Editore, Varese, 112 pages. Robbiati P., Viazzi L., 1996, Guerra d’aquile. Ortles-Cevedale-Adamello 1917-1918, Mursia, Milano, 134 pages. Schiarini P., 1926, L’armata del Trentino (1915-1919), Mondadori, Milano. Tosti A., 1935, La Guerra Sotterranea. Episodi della guerra di mine sulla fronte italiana (1915-1918), Mondadori, Milano. Urangia Tazzoli T., 1930, La guerra sulle alte vette e sui ghiacciai del gruppo Ortles-Cevedale (Alta Valtellina), Anni 1915-18, Luigi Alfieri, Milano, 103 pages. Viviani A., Corbella R., 2017, Tutta la linea Cadorna. Storia Architettura Armamenti. Itinerari di un museo all’aperto, Macchione Editore, Varese, pages 272. Zaltron C., 1976, Massiccio del Pasubio. Guida dei Monti d’Italia – Piccole Dolomiti, vol. I, Ed. CAI Thiene, Thiene.
Specialized underground fauna