Valeron Granary, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

 Cenobio de Valeron at Santa Maria de Guia, on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.

This cave complex is known as Cenobio de Valeron or the Valeron Granary. The man made caves are the largest pre-Hispanic collective granary built before Roman times and used by the island’s inhabitants until the conquest of the island at the end of the 15th century.

The site is also known as Valeron’s Monastery. The name monastery comes from the Roman belief that young noble women came here to live until they were married. It was only in the 20th century that an archaeologist realised the real use, as the cavities were similar to those in north Africa etc. The granary is one of Gran Canaria's most iconic archaeological sites.

The caves are located on a steep hill overlooking a steep ravine, and hidden from the sea it was an excellent natural fortress. View of the caves from the road, in the centre of the photo behind the tall rock , and looking back from the site -

Close up of other caves in the hill by the road -

From the ticket office steps lead up the hill and there are various notice boards and panels.

A cave showing items used by the people -

The caves were dug in the tuff using stone picks and wood tools. The cavities were excavated into the ground and along the walls of several galleries. The complex contains around 298 compartments with surfaces between 1-3 m2 and on 8 levels. They were used to store grain and foodstuffs. There are more than 350 storage places.

Looking  up at the main complex -

By the 20th century historians had discredited the idea that the caves were used as a monastery and suggested they were used as a communal grain store -

Steps up the cliff can still be seen - 

The cave walls are smooth so that no grain was wasted. The caves were shut with doors, probably made from wood. 

Surprisingly there were no pigeons roosting, the guide mentioned a high pitched hum (that we couldn’t hear) that is supposed to detract them.

The site was declared a Resource of Cultural Interest in 1978. 

See Caves of Valeron on Wikipedia. 

EMMCA Cave, Ashwick, Mendip, England, 1985

 East Mendip Minor Cave (Ashwick) or EMMCA is a small passage, located at Ashwick, near Stoke St Michael, on Mendip.

On 5 January 1985 we paid our first visit. It was on the right bank, directly up from the old house, about 50'. It was in a small cliff and depression and was a tunnel approximately 10' long, 3' wide, and looked choked without going down. Ashwick House -

We thought it could be an old dig but could find no reference. We started digging the next day but it ended after 10'. By 6 Feb there were holes off to the left and right and straight ahead. There were also a few bones. The air seemed quite fresh. 

My next visit was 7 August. We spent ages removing a large boulder then dug for a while. We dug again on 4 September, there was a slight draught and many bones. 11 Sept there was a hole down in the floor and one at the top which connects with the one on the left.

By 13 November it had changed considerably. It was now very steep and required three people down and two pulling. We used a double pulley system. The dig was loose mud and silt with many bones. Easy digging but no draught. 

11 December "Emptying buckets is hard work!. Still very "ochreous" and boney. Is getting even deeper".

8 January 1986, as we walked over, we noticed the roof of the old cottage had collapsed since the New Year. We pulled up several buckets and collapsed a few boulders. Entrance now need stabilising.

22 Jan we worked on the entrance and removed the log/tree, then dug from halfway down as we were short numbered. 5 Feb we had more people but abandoned digging after half an hour because of the snow. 19 Feb we dug out the bottom, initially wet clay then dry earth. It began to taper in after a while, perhaps we've gone down too far? Pulled up a few boulders. 

Next visit was 7 weeks later, on 9 April 1986. At the end of the evening we found a hole in the left wall, full of dry leaves. 16 Apr the dig was hard work with few people and very muddy half way down. That was my last visit.

See EMMC(A) on Mendip Cave Registry -

Whopper Cave, Batts Combe Quarry, Somerset, 1980

 On 15 May 1980 we went to Batts Combe Quarry near Cheddar in Somerset to look at a large hole that had appeared after blasting and had swallowed up many tons of rock. We were quite staggered when we saw the size of it. The quarry itself was absolutely immense, built on 5 levels and we drove up there in a dust storm. The hole was on the top level and proved to be a really massive entrance with a vast chamber below it. However it was about 70' below the quarry top, and a fair way down on the other 3 sides, being funnel shaped.

We put 100' of ladders down but decided it wasn't at all safe -

We kicked some stones down on the shortest side and started up a landslide. So we had to wait until the surrounding rocks could be removed. The amount of stone already fallen down the hole was incredible and we still couldn't see the bottom. The quarrymen had not seen anything like it either.

On 21 May 1980 we returned and found it somewhat changed. The rubble on the 3 sides had all been removed down to the floor level, about 20' lower than before. One person tied onto a rope and kicked rubble down the hole to clear a way for the ladder. The ladder was belayed to a machine using a long belay and we put down 75', but only 50' was necessary.

We went down, it was only free hanging for about 7'. It was estimated that 2000-3000 tons of rock had fallen down the cave, landing as a cone  on the bottom, some 25' high at the highest point. The main chamber was incredible, really massive, about 100' long, 90' high and 25' wide. It obviously continued down the bottom, south end, but the way on was blocked with rubble. 

We looked at the other end and one person went down and noticed a way on at the north end, on the left, which led into a chamber, with another chamber off it. There was quite a bit of mud there. We cleared out a drop of about 6' down to a small section of old streamway. Unfortunately there was no way on. 

We managed to survey the cave. There was a climb up to an upper passage, with a passage going off that for about 40'. The cave was assumed to continue under the quarry itself. Photo 21 May -

We went back to the cave on 29 May and had a good look around , knowing it was going to be filled in.

Whopper Cave on the Mendip Cave Registry -

Triple Hole, Sandford Hill, Mendip

 Triple Hole Cave is in Sandford Wood at Sandford Hill on Mendip. I visited on 23 Feb 1985. This is the description from the Mendip Cave Registry :

My diary :

Andy looking down the entrances -

Andy at the bottom -

My turn -

Coarse geodes and calcite crystals 

The quarry

Aggtelek National Park 40th Anniversary, Hungary

 The Aggtelek National Park was established on January 1, 1985, as the fourth national park in Hungary and the first to be created specifically for the conservation of geological and karst natural values, surface formations, and underground caves.

The national park celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and will have special events. Read more on Hungary Today, 20 Jan 2025.

I went to Aggletek in 1983 for the cave rescue conference. I wrote a blog in 2015 as part of my travels through Hungary, but am reposting photos here. Unfortunately I only took a couple of photos inside the cave, at the Baradla end.

Aggletek mountain lake

Hotel Cseppko

Baradla Cave

These photos show a cave rescue demonstation outside Baradla -