565 Cueva de los Tres Niños
La Secada VN53139796 Alt. 255m  Length 674m Depth 38m
GPS readings April 2002: VN5312(8)9795(6) and January 2003: VN5312(7)9796(7). The "average" is shown above.

Updated 27th October 2001; 28th April 2002; 25th January, 2nd March 2003; 21st December 2008; 6th January 2011

The cave crosses over Cueva de Carcavuezo (081) about 80m higher. The entrance lies above the cliff. Just inside was found some pottery and human bones which points to the site being a Bronze Age burial cave. Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter et al, 2001 discusses this and has line drawings. The site is cited as a typical Bronze Age burial site in Smith P, Corrin J & Cobo J R, 2008.

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. (It would be worth while checking whether the entrance climb in the meandering fissure continues on the other side of the main, lower passage. This would involve a relatively easy traverse from half way down the rope - TW).

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. Another look at this area is documented in the Easter 2002 logbook (3/4/02). 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.

On a visit early in January 2003, the following moths were noted hibernating in the entrance and identified by Terry Whitaker.
3 Paignton Snout (Hypena obesalis)
10+ Twenty-plumed Moth (Alucita hexadactyla)
1 (dead) Herald Moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix)

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); Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter et al, 2001 (includes drawing and survey); anon., 2002a (Easter logbook); anon., 2002d (Christmas logbook); anon., 2003a (February logbook); Corrin Juan, 2003b; Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter, 2003 (survey of entrance passage); Smith P, Corrin J & Ruiz Cobo J, 2008; Ruiz Cobo Jesús et al, 2008 (survey)
Entrance picture : yes
Underground picture(s):
Digital photos by Pete Smith
A1: entrance passage, A2: squeeze, A3: climb
B1: climb, B2: North Passage, B3: Grotto, C1: stal, C2: South passage, C3: End of South Passage.

	1	2	3
A
B
C

Detailed Survey : entrance passage only (from Ruiz Cobo Jesús and Smith Peter et al, 2001)
Line Survey : On Four Valleys System line survey
On area survey :
Survex file : yes
Passage direction rose diagram (Patrick Warren): yes