Nahal Amiram Cave, Carmel
- Grid ref.
- 147998/242390
- Location
- Mount Carmel, Nahal Amiram
Cave mapView the map (PDF)Description of the cave:
Nahal Amiram Cave is a small cave consisting of a single chamber measuring 14.5X8 m with a typical height of 1.5 m. The cave has two rectangular openings, opening at the base of an artificial cliff on the southern bank of Nahal Amiram, about 100 m above the streambed. The host rock is bedded limestone from the base of the Bina Formation (Mukhraka Member) of Turonian age.
The cave's present shape was created by quarrying and removing rock from the walls. It appears that the quarry was based on a natural space that existed at the site, since the inner wall of the cave is built of cave breccia cemented with speleothems. Additional speleothems are found at the edges of the space (for example at the base of the southern wall, in the area near the entrance) and also in tiny spaces that were cut through by the quarrying. Dry pool deposits appear on the floor of the south of the chamber, about 2.5 m east of the southern entrance.
The chamber floor is covered with quarrying material with very little accumulation on top of it. This consists mainly of dry, crumbling droppings of porcupines and hyraxes. The quarrying debris is angular stones 5-30 cm in size, most of them piled against the northern wall of the center of the space.
Notes:
In the inner part of the chamber, in an area darker than the rest of the space, several large cellar spiders and a single Egyptian cockroach were observed.
Entry into the space is easier from the southern entrance. The northern entrance is partially blocked by a large rock and some vegetation.
Written by: Boaz Langford
Elevation: +111 m
