565 Cueva de los Tres Niños
La Secada VN53159797 Alt. 255m  Length 674m Depth 38m

The entrance lies above the cliff. Just inside was found some pottery and bones which were said by Spanish archaeologists to be a Bronze Age burial urn, although reference DJ doesn't mention this.

The passage continues for 35m of 0.5m wide and 5m high, twisting, keyhole shaped passage. It ends in a flowstone blockage with a hole at the top which has a strong but variable draught. This was dug out in 1991 and leads to a chamber with three ways on: one soon ends in a choked rift, the second is a climb up to a 50 - 70m pitch which is too tight at the bottom, the third is through a small hole in the floor. This enters a steeply descending, sandy hand-line rift into a 10m x 10m passage at around 230m altitude.

The southerly route leads to large boulders, a shattered roof, various pretties, bones and a choke after some 60m. This has been penetrated for some 6m and further blackness can be seen. The area under the slab has been looked at and pushed to a small area with a mud floor and another very low bedding. A strong draught has been felt in places.

The northern route enlarges over large boulders, passes two, small choked passages with 5m pitches, and comes to some floor mud formations. It then swings to the left and chokes in boulders with a strong draught.

On the right of the mud floor, an ascending sand and boulder slope narrows and meets a 9m ladder or handline pitch. Near here is a crawl which has still to be dug properly. At the base there is a hole in the floor which appears to choke. Straight ahead enters a narrow hading rift. A climb leads to walking passage and a parallel rift which is the way on. The passage leads through crawls to a 12m pitch in a phreatic tube (which can draught nearly as strongly as the entrance). (This section of text needs checking and possibly re-writing).

A small sandy crawl leads off to a small chamber. A fixed line is used to climb up into a steeply ascending rift with a route between two boulders which enters another rift which is very high. To the west, a climb using a fixed line leads up a very steep ramp to a section of easy walking passage. A small inlet on the right is choked.

A cross rift is met where the rock appears to have been pulled apart. Down this crack, between muddy walls, a section is entered where water trickles in. A traverse along a block with the ladder allows a drop down to a larger area which was descended at Easter 1993. A 30m pitch leads to a choked bottom and a very narrow way on which needs pushing. Seven metres from the base, a pendulum in the shaft led to a short climb and a small chamber with an arrow-head shaped rock in the bottom. There is also a small passage choked with mud and a second outlet with a short pitch into a 4m diameter, choked chamber.

It is possible to take a bold step or a run and jump across the crack and enter the continuation to a tight rift with a good draught but no way on.

In the summer expedition of '93 the pitch at the bottom of the "wet rift pitch" (discovered at Easter) was dropped to 6m depth with 15m of tightening passage.

A hairy climb above the inclined rift was also carried out which led through a tubular passage with gypsum sand and helictites on the floor and walls to the head of a 30m pitch. This lands on a sand slope which is blind at the foot.

Also in '93, possible holes in the floor of the main passage were checked: one was a 4m free-climbable pot.

The cave crosses over Cueva de Carcavuezo (081) about 80m higher.

References: anon., 1983b (logbook); anon., 1991 (logbook); Neill Ali, 1991; material in file; anon., 1992a (Easter logbook); Corrin J, 1992a; anon., 1992b (logbook); Corrin J and Quin A, 1992; Corrin J, 1993 (survey); anon., 1993c (Easter logbook); anon., 1993b (logbook); Neill Alasdair and Jackson Keith, 1993; Smith P, 1995 (survey)
Entrance picture :
Underground picture(s):
Detailed Survey :
Line Survey : On Four Valleys System line survey
On area survey :
Survex file :