{{Short description|Limestone cave in Israel}} {{Infobox protected area | name = Avshalom Nature Reserve | alt_name = Soreq/Sorek Cave, Avshalom Cave, Stalactites Cave | iucn_category = | image = File:Stalactite Formation in Avshalom Cave.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_size = | map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map_width = | 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]] | coordinates = | coords_ref = | region = | area = | established = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = [[Israel Nature and Parks Authority]] | world_heritage_site = | url = }}
'''Avshalom Cave''' ({{langx|he|מערת אבשלום|Me'arat Avshalom}}), known in academic literature as '''Soreq Cave''' ({{langx|he|מערת שׂורק|Me'arat Soreq}}; {{langx|ar|مغارة سوريك|Mghar Suriq}}) and popularly as '''Stalactites Cave''' ({{langx|he|מערת הנטיפים|Me'arat HaNetifim}}), is a 5,000 m<sup>2</sup> cave on the western side of Mt. Ye'ela, in the [[Judean hills]] in [[Israel]], known for its dense concentration of [[stalactite]]s and other [[cave formations]]. It is a popular [[show cave]], as well as a highly valued [[Proxy (climate)| witness of the climate evolution]] over the last 185,000 years.
==Name== The cave is named after the Soreq/Sorek Valley ([[Nahal Sorek]]) and after Avshalom Shoham, an Israeli soldier killed in the [[War of Attrition]].
==Location== Avshalom Cave is situated near [[Hartuv]], 3 km east of [[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.<ref name=park/>
Some of the stalactites found in the cave are four meters long, and some have been dated as 300,000 years old. Some meet [[stalagmite]]s to form stone pillars.<ref>{{cite web |title= Avshalom Cave |website= old homepage of the Israel Nature & National Parks Protection Authority |url= http://old.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~739243154~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=218003539 |archive-url= 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 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-07-07 |access-date=2015-07-07 }}</ref>
==Paleoclimate research: significance== The cave has been the focus of [[paleoclimate]] research, which allowed reconstruction of the region's semi-arid climate for the past 185,000 years.<ref>Ian J. Fairchild, Andy Baker (2012). [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444361094 ''Speleothem Science: From Process to Past Environments'']. Section III.12.1.2, "Composite speleothem records: Soreq Cave, Israel", pp. 355-358.</ref> According to the American geologist James Aronson, the Soreq Cave is the [[Rosetta Stone]] of climate history in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]].<ref>[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 Eminent Jewish Geologist Voyages to Tiberias to Connect With His Roots], [[Haaretz]], 23 March 2012.</ref>
==Tourism== The cave is now open to visitors, in the heart of the 67-[[dunam]] Avshalom [[List of national parks and nature reserves of Israel|Nature Reserve]], declared in 1975.<ref name=park>{{cite web|title=List of National Parks and Nature Reserves |url= http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf |language=Hebrew |publisher=Israel Nature and Parks Authority |access-date=2010-09-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091007095221/http://parks.org.il/sigalit/muchrazim.pdf |archive-date=2009-10-07 }}</ref> In 2012, a new lighting system was installed to prevent the formation and growth of algae.<ref name=Sanders>{{cite news |title=Israel's prehistoric Soreq Cave now a clean, eerily lighted place |url= https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-sep-18-la-fg-israel-cave-20120918-story.html |author=Sanders, Edmund |date=18 September 2012 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Avshalom (Soreq) Cave sign.JPG|Sign at entrance to the cave File:Avshalom's Cave IMG 0992.JPG|Cave entrance File:Soreq Cave 07.jpg|[[Speleothem]]s File:Stalactites cave (17).JPG|Stalactite meeting stalagmite to form a pillar File:Cave formation.JPG|Speleothems File:A Stalagmite and Stalactite touch.JPG|A stalagmite and stalactite almost touch File:View of Cave from above.JPG|Cave pond almost covered over by [[calcareous sinter]] File:Beautiful cave formations.JPG|Cave formation </gallery>
==See also== *[[Geography of Israel]] *[[Tourism in Israel]]
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Commons category|Soreq Cave}}
==External links== * [https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/stalactite-cave-nature-reserve/ Stalactite Cave Nature Reserve] at Israel Nature and Parks Authority website * Photos of [https://www.flickr.com/photos/zachievenor/albums/72157659435661193 Avshalom Stalactites Cave], [[Flickr]]
{{Caves in Israel}} {{Nature reserves of Israel}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|31|45|21|N|35|01|24|E|region:IL_type:landmark|display=title}}
[[Category:Limestone caves]] [[Category:Caves of Israel]] [[Category:Show caves in Israel]] [[Category:Nature reserves in Israel]] [[Category:Landforms of Central District (Israel)]] [[Category:Protected areas of Central District (Israel)]]