Yorkshire pioneers find more than 100 new caves in Crete

MORE than 100 new caves have been discovered on the Greek island of Crete, after students from a Yorkshire university undertook an expedition at depths of up to 550ft.

Members of the Sheffield University Speleological Society visited the White Mountains of Crete earlier this summer, and hoped to discover and record new caves in an existing network.

They found a total of 139 new caves which included 10 caves which were more than 50m (164ft) deep. The deepest of these was Pandora’s Pot which stretched 170.9m (561ft) below the earth.

The society has conducted a number of trips to the region since the 1980s and pioneered exploration of the network of caves in the holiday island’s Mavri Laki Valley.

Rosie Hadfield, a member of the Speleological Society, said: “This year’s discoveries have increased knowledge of the Mavri Laki Valley, which will be recorded in the form of a journal available to all interested.

“It is clear from this expedition that there is still potential to explore a great deal of unchartered land in the Mavri Laki region and potential for further expeditions by the University’s Speleological Society.”

During the expedition, members marked new cave entrances and recorded their GPS co-ordinates on a log sheet. For small caves, the team descended by free-climbing or using a wire ladder, measuring the depth using a tape measure.

For larger caves, bolts were drilled into the limestone walls and ropes rigged for the team to descend.

The larger caves were surveyed using compasses and clinometers, which measure angles of slope, in addition to a tape measure in order to give greater accuracy.

Ms Hadfield said the caves of Crete were very different to English caves adding that they often end where frost-shattered rocks block any further paths forward.