This page was translated from Hebrew and has not been reviewed yet. The Hebrew page is the reference. עברית

Bir al-Hasaf Cave

Location: East of the settlement of Shiloh
Elevation: 853 m above sea level

Cave description:

Bir al-Hasaf is a wide karst pit consisting of a vertical chimney leading to a wide space. The cave space developed through phreatic-hypogenic dissolution processes in limestone of Upper Cenomanian age.

The cave entrance is exposed at the top of a topographic dome east of the settlement of Shiloh. The entrance measures 3 X1.5 m and its general shape is rounded. From the entrance a wide shaft about 12 m deep extends. In the center of the shaft grows a fig tree whose crown protrudes through the opening at the top of the shaft. At the bottom the shaft connects to a small chamber measuring about 15X7 m and about 6 m high. The floor of the shaft slopes in a gentle descent to the east. Pigeons nest throughout it, making use of the semi-lit space as a roosting and nesting site. Throughout the cave there are many individuals of a beetle of the genus Blaps. These climb on the pigeon nests and the chicks in them.

Notes:

Entering the cave requires the help of a rope. The rope anchor point is about 25 m from the entrance, so it is necessary to bring: a 15 m rope for the descent into the cave and a 25 m rope for the anchor.
No bats were seen in the cave.
The cave entrance appears mistakenly on the topographic maps marked as a water cistern.