# Avshalom Cave

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Limestone cave in Israel

Avshalom Nature Reserve Soreq/Sorek Cave, Avshalom Cave, Stalactites Cave Interactive map of Avshalom Nature Reserve Location On the western slopes of the Judean Hills, south of Nahal Soreq and approximately 2 kilometers east of Bet Shemesh. Nearest city Bet Shemesh Governing body Israel Nature and Parks Authority

**Avshalom Cave** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): מערת אבשלום, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Hebrew): *Me'arat Avshalom*), known in academic literature as **Soreq Cave** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): מערת שׂורק, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Hebrew): *Me'arat Soreq*; [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): مغارة سوريك, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Arabic): *Mghar Suriq*) and popularly as **Stalactites Cave** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): מערת הנטיפים, [romanized](/source/Romanization_of_Hebrew): *Me'arat HaNetifim*), is a 5,000 m2 cave on the western side of Mt. Ye'ela, in the [Judean hills](/source/Judean_hills) in [Israel](/source/Israel), known for its dense concentration of [stalactites](/source/Stalactite) and other [cave formations](/source/Cave_formations). It is a popular [show cave](/source/Show_cave), as well as a highly valued [witness of the climate evolution](/source/Proxy_(climate)) over the last 185,000 years.

## Name

The cave is named after the Soreq/Sorek Valley ([Nahal Sorek](/source/Nahal_Sorek)) and after Avshalom Shoham, an Israeli soldier killed in the [War of Attrition](/source/War_of_Attrition).

## Location

Avshalom Cave is situated near [Hartuv](/source/Hartuv), 3 km east of [Bet Shemesh](/source/Bet_Shemesh), Israel.

## Discovery

The cave was discovered accidentally in May 1968, while quarrying with explosives.

After its discovery, the location of the cave was kept a secret for several years for fear of damage to its natural treasures.

## Description

The cave is 83 m long, 60 m wide, and 15 m high.

The temperature and the humidity in the cave are constant year round.[1]

Some of the stalactites found in the cave are four meters long, and some have been dated as 300,000 years old. Some meet [stalagmites](/source/Stalagmite) to form stone pillars.[2]

## Paleoclimate research: significance

The cave has been the focus of [paleoclimate](/source/Paleoclimate) research, which allowed reconstruction of the region's semi-arid climate for the past 185,000 years.[3] According to the American geologist James Aronson, the Soreq Cave is the [Rosetta Stone](/source/Rosetta_Stone) of climate history in the [Eastern Mediterranean](/source/Eastern_Mediterranean).[4]

## Tourism

The cave is now open to visitors, in the heart of the 67-[dunam](/source/Dunam) Avshalom [Nature Reserve](/source/List_of_national_parks_and_nature_reserves_of_Israel), declared in 1975.[1] In 2012, a new lighting system was installed to prevent the formation and growth of algae.[5]

## Gallery

		- Sign at entrance to the cave

		- Cave entrance

		- [Speleothems](/source/Speleothem)

		- Stalactite meeting stalagmite to form a pillar

		- Speleothems

		- A stalagmite and stalactite almost touch

		- Cave pond almost covered over by [calcareous sinter](/source/Calcareous_sinter)

		- Cave formation

## See also

- [Geography of Israel](/source/Geography_of_Israel)

- [Tourism in Israel](/source/Tourism_in_Israel)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-park_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-park_1-1) ["List of National Parks and Nature Reserves"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091007095221/http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf) (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Archived from [the original](http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf) (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2010-09-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Avshalom Cave"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150707034333/http://old.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~739243154~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=218003539). *old homepage of the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority*. Archived from [the original](http://old.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~739243154~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=218003539) on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-07-07.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Ian J. Fairchild, Andy Baker (2012). [*Speleothem Science: From Process to Past Environments*](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444361094). Section III.12.1.2, "Composite speleothem records: Soreq Cave, Israel", pp. 355-358.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Eminent Jewish Geologist Voyages to Tiberias to Connect With His Roots](https://web.archive.org/web/20120323220038/http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/anglo-file/eminent-jewish-geologist-voyages-to-tiberias-to-connect-with-his-roots-1.420301), [Haaretz](/source/Haaretz), 23 March 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Sanders_5-0)** Sanders, Edmund (18 September 2012). ["Israel's prehistoric Soreq Cave now a clean, eerily lighted place"](https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-sep-18-la-fg-israel-cave-20120918-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Soreq Cave](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Soreq_Cave).

## External links

- [Stalactite Cave Nature Reserve](https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/stalactite-cave-nature-reserve/) at Israel Nature and Parks Authority website

- Photos of [Avshalom Stalactites Cave](https://www.flickr.com/photos/zachievenor/albums/72157659435661193), [Flickr](/source/Flickr)

v t e Caves in Israel Category:Caves of Israel Amud Avshalom Ayalon Bar Kokhba refuge caves Horror Letters Swords Te'omim Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park Beit She'arim necropolis El-Habs Elijah HaYonim Kebara Keshet Malcham Manot Minor Sanhedrin* Misliya Nahal Hemar Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve El Wad Jamal Skhul Tabun Nahal Oren Nicanor Pa'ar Ramban* Raqefet Rosh HaNikra Shem and Eber Qafzeh Qesem Umm er Rus Well of Souls* Zedekiah's* Zuttiyeh * Located in annexed East Jerusalem, where Israeli sovereignty is not internationally recognized (See Status of Jerusalem).

v t e Nature reserves of Israel Jerusalem District Adullam Avshalom Cave Ein Hemed HaMasrek Lifta Nahal Sorek Har HaTayasim Te'omim Cave Northern District Acre Achziv Islands Nahal Gamal Nahal Kziv Nahal Yehiam Rosh HaNikra Golan Gamla1 Hasbani River1 Hermon1 Yehudiya Forest1 Nahal Hermon1 Jezreel Alonei Abba Balfouria Gilboa Iris Hurshat Zakum Mount Gilboa Mount Tabor Nahal Tavor Shimron Kinneret Ein Nun Mount Arbel Nahal Yavne'el Safed Nahal Amud Nahal Ayun Nahal Betzet Nahal Dishon Ein Avazim Ein Elah Ein Te'oh Hula Valley Hurshat Tal Kerem Ben Zimra Mount Meron Pa'ar Cave Shamir-Nahal Rachum Tel Anafa Tel Dan Haifa District Ein Afek Alonei Yitzhak Dor Beach and Ma'agan Michael Islands Ein Nymphit Gador Mount Carmel Nahal Taninim Tel Shikmona Central District Bnei Zion Bitan Aharon Hadasim Horvat 'Ethri Neot Kedumim Nahal Poleg Palmachim Beach Tel Yitzhak Udim Southern District Ashkelon Brekhat Zmorot Kurkar Gvar'am Nitzanim Dunes Mevo Ashdod Yam Shikma Beersheba Nahal Abuv Coral Beach Ein Gedi HaMakhtesh HaGadol HaMakhtesh HaKatan Makhtesh Ramon Timna Valley Yotvata Hai-Bar Eshkol Be'eri Badlands Judea and Samaria Area Alonei Shmuel2 Einot Tzukim2 Um Tzafa Forest2 Nahal Og2 Located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights1 and West Bank.2

Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National Israel

[31°45′21″N 35°01′24″E / 31.75583°N 35.02333°E / 31.75583; 35.02333](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Avshalom_Cave&params=31_45_21_N_35_01_24_E_region:IL_type:landmark)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Avshalom Cave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avshalom_Cave) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avshalom_Cave?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.