ISSUE 8 S T A L A C T I T E S Τ H E O F F I C I A L M A G A Z I N E O F H . S . S ΝOVEMBER– DECEMBER2009 Petrochilos Foundation is instituted In this issue: Announcements 2 Global news 3 Our Action 4 Rescue team 10 Geology 11 Mapping 12 Stalactites One more issue of the official eMagazine of Hellenic Speleological Society is ready. This issue is very important to us because it is the first time we release it in English. It is translated by Konstantina Kalogirou and Alexandra Kormari, who we warmly thank. In this issue you can read news from our speleological actions in every part of Greece and scientific articles about mapping, geology and ethnoarchaeology. So, Keep caving and we are looking forward to informing you with our latest news soon. Although eight years have passed since administrative council of the H.S.S. voted the much lauded Honorary President of the statute of “Petrochilos Foundation”, H.S.S. Anna Petrochilos died, the which means that a new era for the soci- “Petrochilos Foundation” is finally insti- ety’s history has began. The Petrochilos tuted. This unforgettable woman left an couple and few others pioneers speleolo- enormous legacy to the H.S.S. and ac- gist had a great vision, which urged them cording to her latest will and testament, to create a firm ground in order to built her landed property was ceded to H.S.S. on it an edifice with long history and tra- with the purpose of instituting a founda- dition, able to turn any tight corner and tion which will provide scholarships or efficient to exalt the science of speleology. master studies in the field of speleology. The same vision unites the members of In addition to that, two of her last appe- H.S.S. in order to continue this great un- tencies were the organization of a Spe- dertaking and let Greek speleology pros- leology Museum and the establishment of per. Above all, it would be wise to men- a Speleology chair in Greek Universities. tion that we should never forget Anna Thus, over the last two years, the prob- Petrochilos and her eagerness in the evo- lems were solved and the law procedures lution of speleology. th completed. On the 10 of November, the Fanis Ellinas General Secretary of the H.S.S. A cave in Greece STALACTITES DIROS CAVE, MANI Photo by: Fanis Ellinas Global news The Cretan “Labyrinth” at Oxford of Oxford. The expedition in Messara was organised by Royal Geographical Society and the Department of Geography and Environment of Oxford University under Nicolas Howarth supervision. In the presentation and the related expedition participated Tomas Waldman, a Swiss specialist in the “Labyrinth”, as well as Nikos Leloudas, Eliza Hatzicharalampous and Dimitris On October 15th 2009, three members Hatziliadis, members of the H.S.S. of the H.S.S. (Nikos Leloudas, Apos- Photos from the presentation, the din- tolos Leloudas and Eliza Hatzichara- ner hall and the underground river our lampous) attended the presentation of members visited, are set out. More the results of the research that took details from the presentation can be place in the “Labyrinth” of Messara in found in the web site of H.S.S. Crete the former July. The presentation www.ede.edu.gr. was organized in Christchurch College Nikos Leloudas treasurer of the H.S.S. General Assembly of FSE ogy, Common Behaviour Code for all the speleologists and the Committee’s future actions. More information about these issues will be announced soon. This year’s participations set a new record, since around eight hundred speleologists (800) attended the meeting. It was impressive the fact that there were almost fifty (50) European On the 25th of September, 2009, the speleologist and four (4) of them were General Assembly of the European Greeks. Members from SPELEO Club A. Speleological Federation took part in Kanarios and A. Pagratis also joined Churchill, UK within the framework of the Greek participation. Hidden Earth 2009. In the G.A.M. of Last but not least, was the interesting F.S.E. 23 out of 25 member countries presentation of Rob Eavis (Sheffield participated. Greece was represented University Speleological Society - by the General Secretary of the H.S.S. SUSS) for the recent expeditions in Fanis Ellinas and the President of Lefka Ori, Crete. F.H.S. Nikos Mitsakis, who (both of The main them) had no right to vote. (The topic topics of the is known, that F.H.S. insists on repre- G.A.M. of FSE senting all Greek speleologists, even if they are not members of F.H.S.) In the can be read in meetings of the European Cave Protec- our website tion Committee (ECPC), the topics which were under discussion were the Institution of European Day of SpeleolISSUE 8 Fanis Ellinas General Secretary of the H.S.S. Page 3 Action! Agio Pnevma cave in Iti mountain stand on his or her feet and walk. The team will continue the mapping and the exploration of this cave in another expedition and it is sure that more tunneling will be done in order to be safe for every speleologist to explore Agio Pnevma’s Cave. It is important to be mentioned that I checked H.S.S.’ archive and I didn’t find anything about this particular cave. In addition to that, it is obvious that no one else has explored it before th On the 10 th and 11 of October 2009, since we were the fist who dug it in Thanasis Xanthopoulos (expedition’s order to pass through it. The next level supervisor), Giannis Tsakanikas, Vasilis is to find out what is hidden in the rest Gianoutsos, and Anna Mastoraki, mem- of the cave we haven’t explored yet. bers of the H.S.S. We were invited by Mr. Kostas Stasinos, a Lamia’s citizen, to explore a very interesting cave in Iti mountain, near by the Agio Pnevma Church. We would really like to express our gratefulness to Mr. Stastinos for his hospitality. Mr. Stasinos, was informed about the cave by a shepherd of the near area and he invited us to explore it. The cave is on 1,207 meters height, is an old underground river’s bed and is very interesting. Today, the water falls 5m lower and to the left from the cave’s entrance. Its length up to now is around 250 m. Giannis Tsakanikas, and Vasilis Gianoutsos through a tunnel they dig, explored this part. However, the cave seems to go on, though more tunneling is necessary. While we were exploring the cave, the decoration was more and more beautiful. On the floor we could see soft sand, small pebbles and in few spots there was also dry mad. After the cave’s entrance there is a lateral tunnel which stops after 20 m. In the central tunnel of the cave it was necessary to dig the soft sand in order to pass. On the other hand, in some spots the tunnel is comfortable and anyone can STALACTITES Thanasis Xanthopoulos Speleologist of the H.S.S. page 4 Action! Cave “Tripa” in Ipati, Fthiotida During the expedition in Ipati on 27th the cave but also helped with the rig- of September 2009, Mr Karvelis, a re- ging. H. Garlaouni also, discovered few tired professor of Greek philology, fossils on the cave’s walls. writer and citizen of Kapnoxori village, The cave’s limestone was so ramshack- indicated to us the Tripa Cave. Unfor- led by guano, that we could not rig. tunately, we run out of time, so we The pothole at the end of the cave, could not visit it. However, we decided even if it had an impressive entrance, that it would be useful to find at least it was just 15m. At the bottom of pot- the path. On the 1st of October 2009 hole there were six small chambers members of H.S.S. Sotiris Giannis and whith depth from 4m to 7m. One of Fitiza Roza checked the path. them, led us to 3 more chambers, The cave is on the east side of the making the area to look like a small Xerias’ canyon. The route’s inclination labyrinth. is big with a high difference of approxi- The floor of the pothole was full of mately 150 m. guano, making the continuation of the After two hours of walking, we found exploration impossible. The weird the entrance of the cave. When we shapes of the limestone in Tripa Cave reached Tripa Cave, we had in our can be a result of erosion due to hu- mind Mr Karvelis’ narration about the midity and the great concentration of fight which took place there, during the guano. civil war, but it was the size of the Our geologist promised to try gather- cave that caught our attention. ing information on soil erosion in the According to my personal calculations area in order to find elements which the cave’s length was around 80 m. As will help us to understand the percent- far as the height and the width of the age of ground denudation in this par- cave are concerned, I calculated them ticular area and the position of the in some spots around 15m. The cave cave as far as the river bed is con- continued vertically and so, we decided cerned. that we should stop the expedition and For this expedition in Ipati, the H.S.S. continue the exploration another time. On the 14th of November 2009 we went back in the area. This expedition’s members were the speleologists: Liakopoulos Ilias (H.S.S. & archaeologist of The Department of Speleology of the Ministry of Culture, Georgiadis Giannis (H.S.S), Garlaouni Hara (geologist, Special thanks to all the members of the expedition cause thanks to their materials, knowledge, experience, patience and good mood, the expedition was totally successful Dept. of Northern Greece of H.S.S.), Sotiris Giannis (H.S.S), Lamprakopoulos Thomas (H.S.S), and Sotiris Evaggelos, student . A cautious belaying was mandatory due to the weight we had to carry. After researching the surface, I. Lia- Expedition Committee and all the rele- kopoulos verified that the cave was of vant Services were informed. Our ex- archaeological interest and he told us ploration was completed after we ate in that he was going to announce it to his a local tavern and we visited Thermo- Department. piles for spa. G. Georgiadis, not only photographed ISSUE 8 Sotiris Giannis . Photo: G. Sotiris G. Georgiadis Speleologist of the H.S.S. page 5 Action! The Department of Crete in the gala of Keri and Strumbula nately, the above areas are threatened constantly by urban development, roads construction and humans’ disastrous intervention. The gala’s conclusion perturbed the The Department of Crete of the audience. The suggestions proposed by H.S.S. the scientists-introducers will be the encourages base of “Friends of Keri’s” next actions. environmental The program included traditional Cretan meal with biological products, The Club of Keri’s Forest Friends, a sponsored by the Arolitho’s Administra- voluntary club of Tilissos, an area near tion and it prepared by the Mediterra- to Heraklion city, organised on 18th of nean Agricultural Institute of Chania. October a gala on “Keri’s Forest and Later on, a tour was guided by Kaloust the sustainability of the broader area”. Paragamian, biologist of the H.S.S. and The gala took place in the traditional WWF Hellas, Head of Institute of village “Arolithos”, close to Vulismeno Speleological Research. The gala Aloni. was attended by three members of The speakers presented a variety of the Department of Crete of H.S.S. topics about Keri and Strubula. Keri’s During the tour we were shown Hill is a wild life sanctuary and together four potholes on the hill, that we with the canyon and springs of Almiros are going to explore in an organ- River and the well known speleological ised future expedition. field of Strubulas, are areas with high environmental importance. Unfortu- protection. ...... Popi Baxevani Photo: Manos Petrakis Speleologist of the H.S.S. Seminar on speleology in Crete The Department of Crete of the H.S.S. organizes a seminar on speleology for the ones interested to explore the underground world. The seminars will begin on November 4th and will last 7 weeks. For more information and registration please contact the department: Tel.: 2810-286616, 30 6977-861271 and 6972-279889 e-mail: [email protected] web: www.esecrete.eu Address: 3, 1770 str. & Psaromiligon, Heraklion (open every Wednesday from 21:00’) STALACTITES page 6 Action! Kinigiana, a new speleological field In this expedition took part: H.S.S. department of Crete, Popi Baxevani, Eleftheria Fragiadaki, Manos Petrakis. OSKA, Kostas Flouris, Giannis Skoulas and MAnolis Klados. Photo: Manos Petrakis On the 11th of October, members of area there are thirteen caves and pot- Department of Crete of the H.S.S. and holes. Apart from Marathokefala we OSKA, visited Marathokefala area in have also visited Gerodotafkos, a great Kinigiana, Rethymno with the view to pothole 4m. in diameter and 40-45m. explore the Marathokefala (or Mara- deep, explored by OSKA in 2002. thospilios) Cave. Moreover, we visited Lamia Cave, a Marathokefala Cave is a 160m. length small but interesting cave, since it has tunnel with NE-S direction. The cave’s two or three lofts and also, a pothole decoration has stopped to grow, but filled with water, that we can not iden- we found water in few spots. In the tify in Platakis’ archive. middle of the cave there is a chamber Two more potholes where shown to 12m. height and 18m. wide. Inside the Giannis Skulas, but due to lack of time, cave there were also found mammal’s we did not manage to explore yet. bones, bats and unrecognised pottery, However, Kinigiana is a very interest- while in another smaller chamber with ing field for exploration. difficult access, we realised that there were indications of illegal excavations. However, in this chamber we did not Popi Baxevani Speleologist of the H.S.S. come across any pottery. This cave was firstly explored by Ioannis Petrohilos, founder of the H.S.S. who also published the elements of this expedition in the issue of 1953, in the Bulletin of the H.S.S. Additionally, this particular cave was also explored during 2002 by OSKA. Marathokefala is on the NWW foothills of Psiloritis. The landscape is very beautiful with woods and small polgies. The first Creten speleologist, Eleftherios Platakis, mentioned that in the broad ISSUE 8 page 7 Action! “A r k o u d o t r u p a ” p o t h o l e On the 9th -10th of February 1997 the small chambers. The floor of the first pothole Arkudotripa in Hortiati, Thessa- chamber has many stones. The debries loniki was explored by members of the cone is consisted of soil, rocks and st H.S.S. for the first time. On the 1 of many litters where among them there November 2009, the same pothole was are also few tyres. Inside we also saw explored and mapped by the H.S.S. many frogs . Department of Northern Greece. Later, on November8th, 2009 we Information about the cave was given did an extra expedition only to con- as notice by the local people of Hor- clude that this cave did not go on. tiati. The cave is approximately 1 km away from Hortiati village and is easily accessible. Its entrance is oriented to the North and it is on the path for the alpine cover. The entrance is also blocked almost completely by rocks, carried there during the making up of the nearby path. It was obvious that somebody wanted to close the entrance. The cave is created on the limit of crystalline limestones with greenschists and phillites of circum rhodope bellt. It has 4m. depth and consists of two Kirkimtzi Ismini Speleologist of the H.S.S. Photo: Trimmis k. Kirkimtzi I. The Cave houses in Didimotixo poli and the cave houses in the S.W. roots of Akropoli. These cave houses (200) were built probably by nomads from Anatolia where this way of habitation is common (Armenia, Cilicia, Lydia, Syria, Jordan). The material which was used in order to open the caves house of Didimotixo was limestone and sarsen. Today, all these places are abandoned, without being turned into account. Apart from the fact that they help the At the end of June 2009, Markos Vak- local touristic economy, these cave sevanopoulos Phd geologist end Trim- houses are a unique opportunity for mis Konstantinos student of archae- ethnoarchaeological research. ology, both members of the H.S.S. Studying those cave houses and simi- Department of Northern Greece, vis- lar habitation environments, it is pos- ited Didimotixo with the view to pre- sible to find an answer on the use of sent Department’s action to the “Red caves and other underground areas by River’s” cultural festival. Besides the humans and the diachronic relation presentation, we also explored a small between man and caves. cave in the bank of Didimotixo’s Akro- Photo: Vaxevanopoulos M. Trimmis Konstantinos Speleologist of the H.S.S. STALACTITES page 8 Action! Expedition of the H.S.S. Department of Northern Greece in Kastoria used by the municipality to close the cave’s entrance. A few metres away from Drakos Cave and near by the Agios Nikolaos Chapel, we found a small cave’s entrance. Although it was too late, we explored it completely. This cave is quite small, with seriate small lakes and rich white decoration. It ends in a sump, which we did not manage to explore due to Between the 24th –and the 26th of Oc- luck of equipment. The sump was not tober 2009, the H.S.S. Department of full of water, so we could see that the Northern Greece, organised an expedi- cave did not end there. We spent our tion in Kastoria Prefecture. The aim of next morning by taking photos of the this expedition was to survey the Wa- cave and completing the survey. ters’ Cave in Kastanofito village and Additionally, we located a few more caves in Koromilias Canyon. Unfortu- enternces of caves near by Kastoria’s nately, our plans were cancelled due to lake. severe rainfall. Finally, we would like to thank Kas- However, members of Kastoria’s Res- toria’s Rescue Team for their hospital- cue Team and of Cyberotsarka ity and Cyberotsarka’s members for (www.cyberotsarka.gr) had many in- their useful information. teresting alternative suggestions. Without being disturbed by the rain, we explored and surveyed the Petra’s Trimmis Konstantinos Speleologist of the H.S.S. Cave. This particular cave had no entrance until recently, when the local gravel pit opened it. The next day was dedicated to Pataragos Cave, situated in Kastoria’s peninsula. The cave was decorated and full of guano. Around the central chamber there were five other chambers with rich decoration. It was completely explored by Cyberotsarka members, but we surveyed it and noted down all the archaeological, geological and biological elements we found. Sadly, there were many litters inside the cave. In the evening, we visited Dispilio and Photo: Trimmis k. Kirkimtzi I. In this expedition took part: H.S.S. Dept of Northern Greece: Kalogeropoulos Iraklis (expedition’s supervisor), Kalampoukas Konstantinos, Kalogirou Konstantina, Kirkimtzi Ismini, Trimmis Konstantinos. Kastoria Rescue Team: Geronikos Tasos, Sakis Panos, Gianoulopoulou Anastasia, Cyberotsarka: Grigoris Toulias. explored Agios Nikolaos Cave, which has two big entrances. Dispilio means double - cave. And so, the village was named after the cave. Our adventure did not end there, since we went to Drakos Cave just to take some photos of the wooden doors (!!!) ISSUE 8 Special thanks to Geronikos Tasos for his valuable information, knowledge, accommodation and company. page 9 Action! Psari 2009 The annual expedition of the Hellenic Psaris” and the third to accumulate Speleological Society in Crete was scientific data of the area. completed with great success! The excitement, though, of all partici- In this years’ expedition titled "PSARI pants was escalating due to the news 2009" 40 cavers in total participated. from Ψ207a that were reaching the In the north side of Lefka Ori, from camp site. Day by day, our Members July 4th and until the 12th, more than were going deeper. The team reached 60 new pits were found, raising the the depth of approximately 450 me- sum in 185! Also, 70 new surveys of ters, under low temperature condi- pits were added to the 31 surveyed at tions, ramshackled limestone and daily “Psari 2008” expedition. During the hike of approximately two hours. expedition, biological and geological By the end of Psari 2009, the rigging of samples (both from outside and inside Ψ207a was left inside for a new team the pits) were collected by the scientist to go and explore further down the pit. of the local department of Crete of the A month later, our Members went and H.S.S. Also, a detailed ethnoarchae- collected the rigging as there was not ological survey was conducted. enough time for the team to stay and The expedition had three targets. The push it further. first was to find, record, explore and Ψ207α is not finished yet. It waits for survey the caves and pits of the moun- us next year to visit and continue to tain of Psari. The second to continue explore it. the exploration of Pit Ψ207a - “Akoli STALACTITES Pely Filippatou Vaggelis Zacharis Speleologist of the H.S.S. Σελίδα 10 Action! ISSUE 8 Σελίδα 11 Cave rescue team Team in action… 30/09/2009: Elections for the new Organization Committee of In this gathering Giannis Tsakanikas and Giannis Georgiadis were elected as coordinators of the Committee. Twelve members of the Team and a few more members of the H.S.S. took part in the meeting. The third, empty chair, of the Organization Committee was later given to Vaggelis Kavalieros. 05/10/2009: Presentation on international speleo-rescue meetings The meeting took place in our offices. There was a lecture on various ways of rescuing, tecnics and rescue equipment and power point and video presentations from international cave rescue meetings, where the Team participated. 11/10/2009: Field practice in alternative techniques On Sunday the 11th of October, the Members of the Rescue Team of the H.S.S. gathered in the climbing field of Karavi in Imitos and practiced in alternative techniques . All of the attendees worked to improve their knowledge and skills in rescuing methods. 25/10/2009: Practice in Hauling Systems On the 25th of October, the Rescue Team of the H.S.S. had its practiced in hauling systems in the building of Papagou. This field practice was a part of the 2nd level Seminars on Speleology. On Monday, December the 7th, at 20:30 there will be a meeting in out offices of the Rescue Team in order to discuss and conclude on the program of the year to come. Φωτό: Γ. Σωτήρης ISSUE 8 page 12 Geology Atlas of Greek Speleothemes a few of the reasons that led to the decision of establishing the "Atlas of Greek Speleothemes". If the particular information mentioned above were organised into a single, coherent and systematic record it would be used as a basis for scientific studies or even as an educational tool. Although its realization sounds simple, The various secondary mineral deposits serious workload issues emerge. encountered in caves in various forms So far, the codification of terminology such as stalactites, stalagmites etc, are has been partially accomplished thanks defined under the international term to international bibliography. "speleotheme". The science of geology- The project has been kindly supported speleology examines speleothems to and sponsored by the members of the draw a significant amount if informa- Hellenic Speleological Society, Depart- tion often associated with studies such ment of Northern Greece: Dosemetzis as the regional environment that sur- Kyrillos, Kalogeropoulos Hercules, rounds a cave, the neotectonic activity, Koulidou the effects of glaciers and speleogene- Ioanna, Pappa Spyridoula, Pipera Kyri- sis, thus conducting geomorphological aki, Tsekoura Aikaterini. studies based on them. Apart from the introductory texts, the From the above, it seems that the registration forms and part of the data- abundance of knowledge on speleo- base has been completed, including the thems is such that its use is applicable, webpage where the whole project will in both ad hoc studies in the interior of be hosted. For more info about the "Atlas of Greek Speleothemes" visit our webpage www.ese.edu.gr the cave, and in studies regarding underground water and the geomorphological evolution of a much broader area than the restricted space of the cave. The importance of speleotheme study, the need for unity in terminology and George Lazaridis PhD in geology auth Speleologist of the H.S.S uniformity on records, are only Photo: Pelly Filippatou From “Trupa tou Voria” Pothole in Lakonia ISSUE 8 page 13 STALACTITES Breaking news… Archive: More Foreign Expedition reports During the latest months there are many reports and publications of foreign expeditions which took place in Greece that are added in the H.S.S. web site. NSS team brings SRT expertise to Europe's pots, Descent No. 26 Jan/Feb 1974 Aussie extravaganza in major European Systems, Descent No. 36 March/April 1977 Irish Exploits in Greece, Descent No. 35 Jan/Feb 1977 The Caves and Karst of Astraka, Greece, BCRA Vol. 5 No. 1 March 1978 The Westminster Speleological Group 1979 Greece expedition, Journal of the Stalactites is published by the Hellenic Speleological Society and it is released in electronic form every couple months. Edited by: Pely Filippatou Konstantinos Trimmis Westminster Speleological Group Vol. 8, No. 8, Winter 1979 / 1980. Astraka Expedition, Caves & Caving No. 10, Nov 1980 Descending the Epos Chasm, Caves & Caving No. 7, February 1980 Expeditions '82: Greece '82 - The Imperial College Caving Club Expedition to the Astraka Plateau, Caves & Caving No. 20, May 1983 Diving in Greece - British cavers find an extra kilometer of passage, Descent No. 53 Jan/Feb 1983 Translated by: Konstantina Kalogirou BA in English language [email protected] Alexandra Kormari Stud. of English language Expeditions '82: Cave Diving Group in Greece, Caves & Caving No. 19, Nov [email protected] 1983 On Location Spring of Dracos, Descent No. 69 March/April 1986 The abbatoir experience: Caves of Tymphe, Caves & Caving No. 49, Autumn This issue authorized by: Giannis Georgiadis Fanis Ellinas 1990 Ismini Kirkimtzi ese.edu.gr Hellenic Speleological Society Sina str 32, 10672 Athens Greece Τel.: +30 210-3617824 Fax: +30 210-3643476 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.ese.edu.gr Thomas Lambrakopoulos Pely Filippatou Nikos Leloudas Popi Baxevani Thanasis Xanthopoulos Manos Petrakis Giannis Sotiris Konstantinos Trimmis George Lazaridis
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