Beit Arif Cave, Western Samaria
- Grid ref.
- 146771/156640
- Location
- Nahal Beit Arif
- Elevation
- 95 m above sea level
Cave mapView the map (PDF)Description of the Cave:
Nahal Beit Arif Cave is a medium-sized cave (total length 85 m) consisting of several chambers and passages that developed by phreatic dissolution processes in Turonian limestone (Bina Fm.). The cave opening is exposed at the bottom of a gentle slope on the western bank of Nahal Beit Arif, before the stream exits onto the coastal plain.
The cave has a wide opening divided in its middle by a natural rock pillar that splits the opening into two separate sub-openings (one of them measures about 2X1.5 m).
The cave opening leads southwest to a large chamber (chamber A) measuring 6X6 m with a height of about 4 m. The chamber floor is horizontal and covered with dark soil, organic material, and a few rocks of various sizes. The chamber ceiling is rounded and shows signs of phreatic dissolution in the form of several wide dissolution domes.
On the southern side of the chamber there is a large opening (2X1.5) leading to a tiny secondary space. At the end of the space there is another opening, measuring about 1X0.7 m and arched in shape (area B).
This opening leads to an elongated chamber (measuring 12X4 m - chamber C) in the center of whose ceiling a high dissolution dome opens, from which the ceiling slopes toward the floor at the chamber's edges. The chamber floor is covered with dark soil mixed with organic material, on which many pottery sherds are scattered. At the end of the chamber there is a low, wide corridor extending east for about 6 m, and at its end there is a split into a pair of passages extending in opposite directions. One passage leads east-southeast (passage E) while the other (passage F) leads south and farther on forms a loop that ends back in chamber C.
These passages are made up of a series of small spaces connected to each other by low, difficult-to-cross connections. The floors of the passage spaces are covered with compacted mud on which organic material is scattered, including many bones. The ceiling of the passages is rounded and has many dissolution domes in which dry or damp speleothems hang.
The southern passage (passage F) is damper than the other parts of the cave, and a cool, constant draft is felt in it.
Notes:
- The cave opening can be reached through the Shoham industrial zone. An asphalt road connects the edge of the industrial zone and the firing ranges of the Adam facility. On its way the road passes beneath the bridges of Highway 6, west of which the cave opens.
- Porcupine droppings and quills are scattered throughout the cave. These are apparently the dispersers of the cave tick
- that inhabits all parts of the cave. During a visit to the cave it is recommended to wear long clothing.
- No bats were observed in the cave.
Written by: Boaz Langford
