Velika peć na Rogu, also known asVelika peć na Lipi orTopla peć, is a cave onZagrebačka gora. Along withŠupljasta pećina, it has one of the largest openings on the mountain, and has been described as its "most imposing entrance".[3]: 204 It is also currently its 9th longest by horizontal passage length. It is far removed from most other caves on Zagrebačka gora, and situated in an older layer than most other caves thereon. It is also situated at a higher elevation than most, and about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi)as the crow flies from the peak ofRog na Lipi (709 metres (2,326 ft)).[4] The total length of the cave is 35 metres (115 ft), with an internal vertical difference of 8 metres (26 ft).[1]
The nameVelika peć, sometimes written in itsKajkavian formVelika peč,[5] means "Large Cave". The need to distinguish it from caves with the same name led some sources to append the epithetna Rogu, meaning "on Rog".[6]: 8 The nameTopla peć, sometimes written in its Kajkavian formTopla peč, means "Warm Cave". Sometimes the name is given with the full form of the word for "cave",{{wikt:pećina|pećina}}.[7]
The cave is on a steep slope at high elevation relative to theTuropolje plain below, making access difficult and likely explaining the scarcity of human remains. The path was partly agoat path and partly nonexistent before the advent ofalpinism.[5] The entrance faces north, creating moisture issues for would-be inhabitants.[8] Because the entrance is visible from afar within its valley, it is often visited or at least enumerated among the more notable caves of Zagrebačka gora,[9]: 134 beginning withDragutin Hirc [hr] in 1905,[10]: 154 and continuing inSFRJ times,[11]: 301 [12]: 92 and beyond inRH times,[13]: 13 [14] both from a tourist perspective[15][16] and from aspeleological perspective.[17]: 212
The cave consists of two parts:
The entrance chamber is 20 metres (66 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide at the entrance but narrowing to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) at the end, with similarly variable ceiling height, 9 metres (30 ft) at the entrance but 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) at the end.[18][8]
The second part of the cave consists of a passage and appendix chambers.
The passage is reached by crossing a natural step. It is narrow and low, 7.5 metres (25 ft) long, 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide at the beginning but 36 centimetres (14 in) wide at the end, and 1 metre (3.3 ft) high at the beginning but 30 centimetres (12 in) at the end.[18][8]
The appendix chambers are elongated and the second chamber switches back toward the entrance. Both are very moist, withspeleothems includingcurtains, serrated curtains,[19]stalactites andstalagmites. The speleothems are small, but untouched during the 1933 Poljak exploration, which did not note any footprints and concluded they were the first that far back in the cave. The first is 3 metres (9.8 ft) long, 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) wide, and about 4.2 metres (14 ft) tall. The second is 6 metres (20 ft) long, up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) wide, and 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) tall.[18][8]
A map was published byJosip Poljak [hr] in 1933,[18] and another map was made in 1960 during a cave mapping course held by theSpeleološki odsjek PD "Zanatlija" (Zagreb) that year.[20]: 30 Some of the earliest photographs of the cave were published by Josip Poljak in 1933,[18]Željko Poljak [hr] in 1960,[21]: 23 Mirko Malez in 1991,[4] and so on.[22] In the late 1980s, the local mountaineering societyPD Lipa published 5 issues of a periodical titledLipin list, which included information on the cave.[23]: 122
The cave is protected as part of theMedvednica Nature Park as cave number S18.[24][25]: 28 Despite being legally closed to the public, the entrance is along a 4.84 miles (7.79 km)[26] established trail (theSlužbeni planinarski put 31/32),[27][2] with both a safer[28] and a more dangerous[29] approach to the cave. The path to the cave is marked by a sign,[30] so it continues to be visited in that context,[31] and is prominently featured on sometourist maps.[32] But the cave had already been popular with caving societies when they were first being formed in Zagreb, beginning with the visit led byVlado Horvat [hr][33]: 48 for thePD "Zagreb",[34][35]: 136 which took place in 1947.[36]: 2 [37]: 67 It is also more specifically within theSignificant environment [hr]Područje Lipa-Rog na Medvednici (br. 716).[2]
The entrance chamber is large enough to be strongly influenced by external temperature variations. In September, the temperature at the back of the appendix was measured at 12 °C in 1933.[18]: 263
The cave floor sediment is yellowishloess, mixed with. The floor is gently inclined from entrance to end, here and there with small stones and irregularconcretions oftufa.[8]
NearVelika peć in the same cliff face there are several crevices large enough for a human to fit in.[39] The cliff is not tall, but high enough to have been used occasionally forbouldering,[40] although legal measures to prevent this are in the process of being adopted.[41]: 112
The cave was first excavated in 1957 and 1961 by a team led by Mirko Malez,[42] then again in 1987.[4] Only 1 square metre (11 sq ft) was excavated. Theornithofauna was identified in 1975 by Vesna Malez-Bačić,[43] and the rest was identified by Mirko Malez and colleagues in 1991.[4] A newarchaeological survey was made in 1994.[44][2]
During the initial excavations, a humanphalanx was unearthed.[8] There are signs the cave was used by humans as a temporary dwelling, along with aprehistoric (predatingantiquity)[45] fortification on the plateau above it.[46][47][2]
The entrance of the cave is home to one of the largestTaxus baccata populations on Zagrebačka gora, which as of 1998 were mostlybushy or windswept in form,[48]: 108 including one in front of and one right next to the entrance,[5] as well as many along the path to the cave.[49] These trees grow as part of theTilio-TaxetumGlavač 1959 association.[50]: 4
The entrance flora of the cave was studied in 2011.[51]
Malez, Mirko (1974). "Noviji rezultati istraživanja paleolitika u Velikoj pećini, Veternici i Šandalji" [Newer Results of Paleolithic Explorations in Velika pećina, Veternica and Šandalja].Arheološki radovi i rasprave.7:7–44.ISSN0570-8958.
^Drvar, Zvonimir (2011-07-08).Krški reljef Medvednice [The Karst Relief of Medvednica] (Thesis). Zagreb: Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu.
^n.s. (1997).Registar arheoloških nalaza i nalazišta sjeverozapadne Hrvatske (2nd ed.). Bjelovar: Muzejsko društvo sjeverozapadne Hrvatske Sekcija arheologa i preparatora.
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