Cave documentation course (4 days)
Taught by Shemesh Yaaran.
- Dates
- 4-5.2.22 and 11-12.2.22
- Down payment
- 600 ILS
Course goals
Providing tools for collecting information in caves, so that course participants can take part in independent cave research if they wish.
Basic introduction to the fields of knowledge that underlie caving in Israel:
- Going deeper into the different types of karst and the way voids form.
- Going deeper into the human use of caves, with an emphasis on the phenomenon of hideouts and refuge.
- Going deeper into cave zoology.
- Navigation in a cave - how to read a map, scale, conventional symbols, projections, and practical navigation.
- Filling in a cave report.
- Going deeper into the salt caves of Mount Sodom - the different types of caves, how they formed, and the uniqueness of Mount Sodom as a phenomenon of world importance.
- Caving in giant caves - guidelines for behavior and conduct.
- Going deeper into nature conservation in caves - ethics, conduct, behavior, reporting.
Registration depends on a down payment of 600 ILS.
Cancellation policy:
- Up to two weeks before the course: full refund
- Up to one week before: 50% refund
Please write your name and phone number inside the Paybox app.
Course programme
Sunday - The formation of caves in limestone, their morphology and various phenomena in these caves
Meeting point: the Ofra gas station.
Meeting time: 8:00.
- We visit two classic sites that are an excellent model for the formation of two different types of caves: a hall cave and a karstic chimney. The day is dedicated to learning the formation mechanisms of each of these cave types.
- We visit central Samaria and meet karst in limestone.
- The first site we visit is the Chinese Pit (a vertical cave 60 m deep) in Ofra.
- The second site is Tapuach Cave (a horizontal hall cave) in the settlement of Tapuach.
- To end the day we have a lesson on caves in infrastructure sites.
Monday – Human activity in caves
Meeting point: the Beit Guvrin gas station
Meeting time: 8:00.
- We visit caves of the Judean Foothills and learn about the extensive use made of the underground in this area in ancient times. We visit hewn spaces with different purposes.
- We have a lesson in the archaeology of caves.
- We visit systems of hewn spaces in different places in the Shfela and go out on a short cave survey at the site.
- We learn the format for reporting on a cave and filling in a cave survey sheet.
Tuesday – Cave zoology and underground navigation
- We visit the longest limestone cave in Israel, Hariton Cave, and learn how this model of caves formed
We have lessons on cave biology:
- Who are the cave dwellers
- What are troglophiles, troglobites and trogloxenes? How do you identify them? How do you document them?
- We learn how to sample and document biological species underground.
We have lessons on cave navigation:
- We learn the principles of map reading and underground navigation, and techniques for describing spaces in a written cave report.
Wednesday - The salt caves of Mount Sodom, caving in giant caves, nature conservation and safety in caves
On this day we get to know a phenomenon almost unique to Israel, certainly at this scale: the salt caves of Mount Sodom.
We deal with the formation of salt caves and with research into the salt of Mount Sodom.
We have a lesson on caving in giant caves
We have a lesson on nature conservation issues in caves and on safety deep underground. We end the course with a processing circle and a certificate ceremony.
Course price
5-6 participants: 1600 ILS.
7-8 participants: 1200 ILS.
9-10 participants: 1000 ILS.
The price includes: instruction, equipment and insurance.
The price does not include: food, travel.
Dates
Friday and Saturday 4-5.2.22 and the following Friday and Saturday 11-12.2.22