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Cova Miserachs

Cova Miserachs

A 60-metre-long cave in Sant Pau d'Ordal (Subirats), formed by galleries along joints and a bedding plane, in an advanced state of decalcification.

Subirats • Alt Penedès 60m 7m

A 60-metre-long cave in Sant Pau d'Ordal (Subirats), formed by galleries along joints and a bedding plane, in an advanced state of decalcification.

Characteristics

Location

At present the most appropriate access seems to be from Sant Pau d'Ordal. Coming from the N-340 road, on reaching this village we will take the first street we find on the right (carrer de Can Rosell); at the end of it, where the houses end, we will continue to the right; after about 40 metres we will follow the track on the left; after 70 metres we will reach an esplanade from which several tracks lead off; we will take the one on the right that heads towards can Mata del Racó; after about 350 metres we will see an electricity transmission tower on the right; at this point we will turn off to the left along a path that passes under a dry-stone hut; once we have covered about 150 metres and level with the hut, we will reach a crossroads where we will turn off along the path on the right; after about 60 metres the path makes a pronounced turn to the right; at this point we will observe on the left of the path a small limestone crag that is about 60 metres away above some terraced fields and where the cave entrance is located.

Map

Entrances

Always verify coordinates and access conditions before setting out.

  1. Miserachs, Cova

    Elevation: 350 m

    41.390037, 1.800160
    UTM 31T (ED 50) 399782 4582955
Download all entrances as GPX

Photos

Cova Miserachs - Photo, Subirats, Alt PenedèsView image
Click to enlarge

Espeleoindex · CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ · Image © its author.

Image 1 of 3

Description

Morphology

It is a set of galleries structured along joints, except for the lowest one, which follows a bedding plane. There are points where it forms two superimposed levels due to blocks wedged in the walls. The cavity is in an advanced state of decalcification, from which blocks easily come loose at some points.

History

The first exploration of which there is a record is the one carried out by J. Abad and D. Oriol of the now-defunct SIRE of the Unió Excursionista de Catalunya (Horta), carried out on 22 September 1968. On the other hand, in 1968 Josep de la Vega already published an article about the cave in the magazine Pyrenae, where the same survey appears that years later would be published in the magazine Senderos; this survey was made by J. Abad and J.M. Sanmartí. Later, in 1970, the ERE of the CEC published in Espeleòleg no. 10 a new survey of the plan and sections of the cave.

The name of the cave is given by the surname of the tenant farmer of the farmhouse at that time: “Miserachs”. This fact seems not to be well regarded by the owners of the can Mata del Racó farmhouse, and there are those who have proposed changing its name to “cova de Can Mata del Racó”; this name, however, is relatively modern, since the farmhouse dates from the 15th century and was originally called Mas de Mata. Changing the name would also represent a serious problem, because this cave is profusely documented at an archaeological level as it is a Neolithic site. It can be consulted on the web of the Generalitat de Catalunya patrimoni.gencat.cat

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Bibliography

  1. Carbonell i Virella, Vicenç.(1990).-”Mata, Coscó i Bargalló, Topònims Penedesencs”. Miscel·lània Penedesenca (any 1990):35-48.
  2. Nogués,J.M.; Lagar, A.; Vega, J. de la.(1971).-”La cova Miserachs. Sant Pau d'Ordal” Senderos (156):23-28. UEC. Barcelona.
  3. Romero i Rectoret, Martí.(1970).-”Cova Miserachs”. Espeleòleg (10):428-429. ERE-CEC. Barcelona.
  4. Vega, J. De la.(1968).-”Los materiales prehistóricos de la “Cova Miserachs”. Término de Sant Pau d'Ordal (Barcelona)” Pyrenae (4):163-168. Instituto de Arqueología y Prehistória, Universidad de Barcelona.
  5. Rubinat Aumedes, Francesc.(1984).-”Catàleg Espeleològic del Massís de Garraf. Unitat Septentrional. Sectors 09-11-13-14”. Gours (10):19-73. Foment Martinenc. Barcelona.
  • Coordenades, fotos i dades extretes del blog Espeleobloc.com posts dels dies 10-4-2009 i 29-4-2010.

Source: Espeleoindex (espeleoindex.com), modified. CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/