Hawari Kidron survey
The "Hawari Kidron" survey focuses on the southern bank of the Kidron Stream estuary. The survey area extends between the Kidron stream in the north, the Fault Cliff in the west and Route 90 in the east. A southern boundary has not been set, although most of the survey takes place in the marl badlands next to the stream channel.
To date dozens of pits and openings in the marl have been surveyed and mapped. Among them, especially notable are the "Marzev Kidron" cave, a long cave (303 m), and the "Yonei Kidron", "Hawari Kidron 1" and "Hawari Kidron 8" caves, medium-sized caves of varying lengths.
Marzev Kidron cave
Recorded by: Boaz Langford, following a visit to the site with: Asaf Gayer, Dani Beilinson, Miki Berkal, Shoham Raz, Shay Israel, Tal Sagiv
A large cave that developed through mechanical erosion processes in marl rock of Pliocene-Pleistocene age. The total length of the cave is 303 m and its depth reaches about 10 m. The cave was discovered on 1.4.17 by a team of the Israel Cave Explorers Club (Asaf Gayer, Omri Gaster, Miki Berkal, Asaf Begerano, Ayala Oren).
Description of the space
The cave consists of a pair of main flow channels that trace the paths of wide and deep surface channels. The surface channels are not active today and their valleys are blocked by marl spills that are cut by vertical shafts and many depressions. The cave channels finally drain into a single channel that spills into the Kidron stream at the edge of the marl outcrop. The cave passages are mostly narrow, gentle, and continue in meanders of long wavelength and low amplitude. Along most of the flow channel there are low stream terraces 10-50 cm high. More significant filling of the space is seen at many points where brown sedimentary fill fills the space to its full height. Organic material, mainly branches of desert shrubs, is common throughout the height of the fill material. Collapses that occurred at many points along the cave passages created wide rooms in it that are comfortable to stay in. Movement between the rooms along the cave passages requires simple belly crawling.
Cave deposits
In many places small salt flowers and thin salt coatings appear on the cave walls.
Biology
Evidence of active porcupine activity was observed in the cave. In all parts of the passages there is a lot of dung and a few quills. Porcupine tracks show regular activity throughout the days the cave was documented. A few large bones indicate hyena activity in the past. Insect-eating bat activity includes a medium colony of greater mouse-tailed bats, and also signs such as guano on the floor and body-fat stains on the ceiling and walls.
The arthropods in the cave include darkling beetles, many cellar spiders and wasp mud nests.
Yonei Kidron cave
Recorded by: Boaz Langford, following a visit to the site with: Asaf Gayer, Dani Beilinson, Miki Berkal, Shoham Raz, Shay Israel, Tal Sagiv
General
Yonei Kidron cave is a medium-sized cave that developed through mechanical erosion processes in marl rock of Pliocene-Pleistocene age. The total length of the cave is 34.6 m and its depth reaches 13 m.
The cave was discovered in May 2017 by a team of the Israel Cave Explorers Club (Miki Berkal and Dani Beilinson) and was surveyed in October 2018 by the club team and the Cave Research Center team (Boaz Langford, Asaf Gayer, Dani Beilinson, Miki Berkal, Shoham Raz, Shay Israel, Tal Sagiv).
Description of the space
The cave has a wide, arched opening facing east. The opening gapes on the eastern side of a local saddle in the valley of an abandoned surface channel. Along the surface channel there are many depressions and sinkholes related to the active underground drainage system at the site. Yonei Kidron cave is the largest part that can be visited.
The opening leads to a wide, semi-lit space descending westward. 7 m west of the opening the space narrows and turns south-west, continuing in a narrow corridor along a prominent crack. The ceiling of the space in this area is built of a horizontal bedding plane, the result of a collapse and detachment along the bedding plane. A more significant collapse appears in the center of the cave space, where there is a high collapse dome rising to a height of 13 m above the floor. A steep scree slope descending from the inner part of the cave ends under the collapse dome, where the active flow channel passes. The flow channel enters as a short lower level and is blocked by a collapse. Following the collapse, a muddy puddle that formed after rain events was observed at the site.
Biology
A population of about 10 insect-eating bats of the lesser serotine species was observed in the cave (October). There are fat stains on the cave ceiling, especially on the collapse dome. Across the cave floor there is a slight scattering of guano. In addition to the bat population, the cave seems to serve as a preferred shelter for rock pigeons, whose droppings appear in the semi-lit area. Near the opening a swift or swallow mud nest was seen, as well as many wasp mud nests.