A Note On The Caves Of Majorca

By Harold Brodrick, F.G.S.

The late C. A. Hill gave a very interesting account of the Caves of Majorca (more especially of the Cave of the Dragon) in Vol. III. of the Journal. In March, 1934, I had the pleasure of following in his footsteps to find that in the intervening 27 years conditions have altered considerably, Now both the Cave of Arta and Cueva del Drach are easily visited in a day for each from Palma by car.

In his paper Hill quotes Martel with regard to the Cave of Arta and states that it is ” black as the inside of a chimney ” owing to ” the resinous torches of visitors ,” ; this is no longer wholly the case. The cave is very cleverly illuminated by electric light, numerous switches being fitted so that varied effects can be produced.

The roadways have all been concreted and steps made so that one can visit the whole of the cave in the lightest of shoes. The stalactites in the upper portion of the cave are still coated with the sooty deposit so deplored by Martel, but when one gets to the lower parts of the cave, which would evidently not have been much visited in the early days, one finds that the formations still present their original whiteness. It is impossible to describe the beauties of this cave but I would strongly advise anyone who has the opportunity to visit it.

Tradition has it that it was the last refuge for the Moors on the Island at the time of the Conquest by Jaime I. in 1230 ; it is said that many of them with their families retreated to this spot and fortified the entrance with timber ; two Spanish brothers were lowered over the cliff top and set fire to the wooden fortifications, after which the Moors surrendered unconditionally, naturally to meet the fate of the conquered in those times.

It is interesting to find in the maps of the Island dated 1784 the name of the cave as Cueva de la Ermita (The Hermit’s Cave). Its temperature is much lower than that of the other caves which I visited on the Island, possibly because ‘it is at least 200 ft. below the surface, whereas the others are only about thirty feet below ground.

As is well known, Martel published an excellent survey of the Cueva del Drach, a reprint of which is given in Hill’s paper, with a translation of part of his article in Spelunca 32 (1903) , as a result of Martel’s exploration and survey the whole of this wonderful series of chambers can now be visited very easily in the day. The older known portions of the Cave, Cueva Louis Salvador, Cueva Negra and Cueva Blanca are well worth seeing, but the real beauties of the chambers discovered by Martel in 1896 could only be seen by crossing Lac Miramar by boat, and that of the smallest, and returning the same way.

Within the last few years an artificial entrance has been made at the end of the Salle Louis Armand, some 600 yards from the old entrance and the furthest point reached by Martel’s party. From here one walks along a very well made track through this very fine chamber, which is about 200 yards long and thirty to fifty yards wide and in which are numerous magnificent stalactites and pillars. This leads after crossing two bridges into a complicated series of passages and chambers known as Salle de Los Herreros filled with a profusion of stalactitic formations of all types. There were numerous attendants here with acetylene lamps and they kept stopping at various viewpoints and illuminating the formations with magnesium ribbon. I understand that by 1935 the whole cavern will be illuminated with electricity.

Martel discovered this chamber from Lac Miramar by passing along a very narrow canal about 50 yards long in a Berthon boat. Two years ago the owner of the Cave, Don Juan Cervera, to whom I am indebted for much information, broke a passage at about twenty feet above the canal so that one can how walk into the Dome Moragues with ease. The Dome Moragues is a chamber about eighty yards in diameter and some fifty feet in height which slopes down to Lac Miramar.

We had been very well conducted to this place, where we found seats for the whole party ; all the lights were put out and we sat in darkness ; soon we heard very faintly

notes of music and a dim light appeared at the far end of Lac Miramar, some 200 yards from where we were sitting. Three boats electrically lighted came slowly along the Lake, while the string orchestra on the centre one played Handel’s Largo. The general effect was wonderful, the stalactites reflected in the Lake adding to the weirdness of the scene. The boats passed us slowly and the band went out of sight round the corner of the Lake to continue playing extremely well. Finally, the band re-passed us towards the entrance playing very appropriately Dreams of Delight, while the other two boats embarked the party and followed to the entrance. Several journeys were necessary, as the party numbered nearly 100, but as the boats held about 25 passengers each, we were all soon in daylight.

I would advise anyone who has the opportunity to visit this Cave, described by Martel as one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is very interesting from a geological point of view, being situated on the sea coast and is, as Martel points out, a marine grotto, similar to those found in Jamaica and Cuba, and as I understand also in the Bermudas. The limestone of the district is very much hardened outside, being of upper Miocene age, while it is soft below ; the sea has evidently penetrated into this softer stratum and worn it away, leaving the comparatively thin crust of the harder rock above. There is no practicable connection between the sea and the Cave but the waters in all the lakes are to a certain extent salt, the degree of salinity decreasing as one gets further from the coast.

The greater portion of the surface of the Island consists of Tertiary Limestones, but these being of a softer texture than the Carboniferous Limestones of Ingleborough, do not exhibit the fine clints to be found in the latter case ; one does, however, find clints of a more rounded type in various parts but in no case do the fissures extend to any depth. Most of the land surface consists of disintegrated limestone and is now very well cultivated, the water being pumped by windmills from a depth of about 25 feet. Martel does refer to Pot-Holes, but during my visit to the Island I was unable to obtain any information on this point.

About two miles from Porto Cristo is another cave, Cueva de Ham, which was discovered about two years ago and which is well worth a visit. It is already lighted by electricity and is very easily visited, the owner having made a very good track through it; like the Cueva del Drach, it is in the Miocene Limestone and is full of marvellous stalactites, etc. In one of the chambers, wisely protected with wire netting, is the best collection of pipe-stem anemolites I have ever seen ; the whole cavern is not very large but should certainly not be missed.