{{Short description|Cave on Socotra, Yemen}} {{Infobox ancient site | name = Hoq Cave | native_name = | alternate_name = | image = Hoq Cave, Socotra Island (50934614243).jpg | image_size = 240 | alt = Hoq Cave | caption = | map_type = Yemen#Horn of Africa | map_alt = | map_caption = Location on Socotra | map_size = 240 | relief = yes | coordinates = {{coord|12|35|11|N|54|21|15|E|display=inline,title}} | location =[[Yemen]] | region = [[Socotra Archipelago]] }}
The '''Hoq Cave''' or '''Hawk Cave''' ({{langx|ar|كهف حوق}}) is a [[limestone]] cave on the island of [[Socotra]], Yemen. It is located in the ''Hala'' spot approximately 1.5 km from the north-eastern coast, facing the open sea to northeast. Clearly visible from the sea, but difficult to access, it is situated at an altitude of 350 m. The about-2-km-deep cave has a main passage with a mean width of 50 m and a mean height of 20 m. Sunlight reaches about 200 m from the entrance. The temperature is constant during the year and varies between 25 and 27 °C, with a humidity higher than 95%.<ref>[https://socotradvisor.com/exploring-caves/ Exploring the Hoq Cave] Retrieved 17 February 2023.</ref>
All sorts of [[speleothem]]s, where numerous endemic [[Troglofauna|troglobionts]] are living, can be found along the way into the cave.
A range of [[epigraphy]] from the 1st to the 6th century CE has been recorded in the back part of the cave, placing Socotra as a major hub in the overseas trading links in ancient times, where merchants from all coasts of the northern [[Indian Ocean]] were brought together.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Evers |first1=Kasper |title=Cave of Revelations: Indian Ocean Trade in light of the Socotran Graffiti |journal=Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology |date=2014–15 |volume=10-11 |pages=19–37 |url=https://www.academia.edu/29295757 |language=en }}</ref>
==Protection== The cave is a protected area under the law. To conserve the cave, a pathway has been constructed. The end of the cave is still under study for future archaeological investigations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Buddhism in the West? Buddhist Indian Sailors on Socotra (Yemen) and the Role of Trade Contacts in the Spread of Buddhism, In: Buddhism and the Dynamics of Transculturality |year=2019 |publisher= De Gruyter |location= |isbn= 9783110411539 |pages=15–52 |first1=Ingo |last1=Strauch }}</ref> In some occasions visitors started to feel chest pain and some even spew after going a little deeper into the cave. It is unclear what is the cause of this.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdPiTOrRfwc&t=1720s</ref>
==Description== In 2001, a group of Belgian speleologists from the Socotra Karst Project mapped and investigated the cave, finding numerous [[graffiti]]s and drawings on speleothems and floors.<ref>{{cite journal |title=La grotte sanctuaire de Suqutra |journal=Archéologia |date=January 2003 |volume=396 |url=https://www.archeologia-magazine.com/numero-396/l-alimentation-cyclades.1623.php |language=fr }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robin |first1=C. |last2=Gorea |first2=M. |title=Les vestiges antiques de la grotte de Hôq (Suqutra, Yémen) (note d'information) |journal=Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres |date=January 2002 |volume=146 |issue=2 |pages=409–445 |doi=10.3406/crai.2002.22441 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_2002_num_146_2_22441 |language=fr }}</ref> Subsequent research concluded that they were the work of navigators or merchants who visited the island at the beginning of the first millennium. The corpus of inscriptions is in [[Brahmi script|Indian Brahmi]], [[Ancient South Arabian script|South Arabic]], [[Geʽez script|Ethiopian Geʽez]], [[Ancient Greek]], [[Palmyrene alphabet|Palmyrene]], and [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] scripts.<ref>{{cite book |title=Foreign Sailors on Socotra. The inscriptions and drawings from the cave Hoq |year=2012 |publisher=Dr. Ute Hempen Verlag |location=Bremen |isbn=978-3-934106-91-8 |page=592 |first1=Mikhail D. |last1=Bukharin |first2=Peter |last2=De Geest |first3=Hédi |last3=Dridi |first4=Maria |last4=Gorea |first5=Julian |last5=Jansen Van Rensburg |first6=Christian Julien |last6=Robin |first7= Bharati |last7=Shelat |first8=Nicholas |last8=Sims-Williams |first9=Ingo |last9=Strauch }}</ref> All the inscriptions are rather short, containing personal names, hometowns, professions, or ethnic and religious affiliations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bukharin |first1=Mikhail |last2=Strauch |first2=Ingo |title=Indian Inscriptions from the Cave Hoq on Suqutra (Yemen) |journal=Annali Istituto Universitario Orientale |date=2004 |volume=64 |pages=121–138 |url=https://www.academia.edu/29295757 |language=en }}</ref>
==Gallery of speleothems== <gallery mode="packed" heights="150"> File:Hoq Cave - speleothem2.jpg File:Hoq Cave Speleothem, Socotra Island.jpg File:Hoq Cave - speleothem1.jpg File:Hoq Cave - entrance.jpg </gallery>
==See also== * [[Tablet De Geest]] * [[History of Socotra]]
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Caves of Socotra]] [[Category:Buddhist caves]] [[Category:Rock art of Socotra]]