The Devil's Tower
Near Cserépfalu stands another monolith from an unknown stone culture: It's a cone-shaped rhyolite tuff - a hard rock, volcanic that gradually rose above its surroundings, as softer geological layers eroded from all around it. We can see three little semi-windows carved into it - but we may never know by whom. There are various theories about their purpose: some say, these were medieval beehive stones (which is bizarre, as many of these sites are really difficult to reach), others say, these may be sites to place ashes of the deceased or to perform pagan rituals. This monolith, called among the locals the Devil's Tower, may bring us a lot closer to unlocking the secret of these stones...
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There is a local legend, according to which this cone- shaped rock should be the last remains of an old church. The story has it that one time, the congregation devoted itself to the service of Satan, so God sank the whole building together with them. Only the tower, which turned to stone remained on the surface. Now, it's called the Ördögtorony (Devil Tower). At midnight, sometimes you can still hear the prayers of the repentant believers...
This story can be very significant for finding the secret of these stones. It has a few elements that mean a lot if we can read between the lines... possibly distorted through the centuries... |
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- Since it is a historic fact that around the year 1.000 as Christianity became state religion and pagans were persecuted, we know that the old sacred places have been outlawed or repurposed. The story that devil-worshipping occurred at this particular rock, strongly indicated that something metaphysical indeed happened here.
- We also know from history and anthropology that the gods of an old religion tend to become the devils of the new. If the Christian legend qualifies this rock as a place where "devil-worshipping" took place, it is likely something else or someone else was worshipped there, who was not the devil for those people who practised there.
- Finally, it is also interesting that the "church" was supposed to have sunk into the ground. Ancient Hungarians and many other nomadic people in this region had a shamanic religion, which included a tri-partite worldview, knowing about an Underworld as well as an Upper World, in addition to our earthly realm. A place like this could have been a portal between the worlds, the memory of which the legend may preserve. And if the ancients were not worshipping the devil here, but divinity, the cone-shaped rock raging up into the sky may perhaps not have been a portal to the Underworld, but possibly to the Upper World - where perhaps the dead, or the shamans were travelling.
These might be still riddles for later to be solved but never before have I felt so certain than here, at this Devil's Tower, hearing this old legend, that the so-called beehive stones were spiritual places of the olden days.
- We also know from history and anthropology that the gods of an old religion tend to become the devils of the new. If the Christian legend qualifies this rock as a place where "devil-worshipping" took place, it is likely something else or someone else was worshipped there, who was not the devil for those people who practised there.
- Finally, it is also interesting that the "church" was supposed to have sunk into the ground. Ancient Hungarians and many other nomadic people in this region had a shamanic religion, which included a tri-partite worldview, knowing about an Underworld as well as an Upper World, in addition to our earthly realm. A place like this could have been a portal between the worlds, the memory of which the legend may preserve. And if the ancients were not worshipping the devil here, but divinity, the cone-shaped rock raging up into the sky may perhaps not have been a portal to the Underworld, but possibly to the Upper World - where perhaps the dead, or the shamans were travelling.
These might be still riddles for later to be solved but never before have I felt so certain than here, at this Devil's Tower, hearing this old legend, that the so-called beehive stones were spiritual places of the olden days.
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From the Devil's Tower, we continue our hike into a landscape which hides more magic. We are now going deeper into the Bükk Mountains National Park, which is not only a strictly protected natural area but an international darkness reserve. Here, the land is still without light pollution (and thanks to international treaties, will remain so): At night, the full starry sky is visible. (Can't wait to come back here for a nightly hike, hopefully soon.)
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This area is an internationally protected darkness reserve
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We are in search this time not for another monolith, but a cave... Somewhere here is the famous Subalyuk-barlang (cave) where prehistoric tools and the remains of a Neanderthal woman and small child have been found. Visiting this cave is special, as it gives us the feeling that we are penetrating deeper into the spirit of the land. We are cutting through the layers of permafrost - a freeze our civilisation put on our collective psyche. Ascending the steep rock stairs to get to the cave entrance, I can't help but think of that woman and her child who died here some 70.000 years ago. A young woman, today we would say, of 25-35 years - back then, she may have been considered old. The entire jaw of her approximately 3-year-old child has been found. Was he her son? Grandson? Or was she just an aunt, maybe even a member of the enemy clan who was kidnapped? How human were they? Did they feel the same awe as I feel today while climbing through the cave tunnel, leading to a rock window through which a stunning vista of the mountain on the other side of the Hór Valley opens... Our society tends to think of the ancients as primitive people but I wonder what their judgement would be upon us if they heard about our ways of life? Would they even want to live... cut off the land... spending day after day in sick office buildings... staring at soulless screens that hurt the eye? They had something, we had lost... and no, I don't mean to "go back to nature"... I mean to resurrect the ancient spirit of nature and integrate it into our modern way of life.
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Marius is ahead on the steep, rocky path leading up to the cave
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Marius loved exploring the cave and went ahead...
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... into every tunnel
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View across the Hór Valley
Marius loved the cave. He doesn't always want to stay inside caves but this one he explored with great enthusiasm, climbing through all the tunnels, sniffling out every corner. After the exploration, as we sat in front of the cave to have some snacks, I read about another curious legend, according to which this cave was once upon a time part of a tunnel that connected the castles of Eger and Diósgyőr. Across, in the mountain on the other side of the valley, there should be another cave at the same height, also part of the tunnel system. Even though it was hard to imagine how there ever could be a tunnel at this great height spanning over the valley, I got intrigued enough to climb the other mountain, too. It was considerably more difficult, especially to come down, as there was no trail and railing like on the cave side - and we found no second cave. An underground tunnel system, however, is an idea that has fascinated me for a long time: There is suggestive evidence that there may have been times at the beginning of our written history when humanity was forced underground, perhaps as a result of Solar flares, which perhaps even ended a previous civilisation. We really don't know what happened in the past, we can only feel our way into its depths...
The outline of the cave from the archaeological excavations in the 1930s
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Reconstruction of the boy's face whose jaw was found intact
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Stone tools of the Neanderthals were found in the cave, too
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Old, abandoned stone querry near the cave
We finish our excursion by venturing a little further into the National Park, marvelling at some old, abandoned quarries that reveal various geological layers of the wounded Earth and the early harbingers of the springs, some little flowers and mushrooms. There is so much more and I'm leaving we the distinct feeling that this is just the beginning of a much deeper exploration...
Finally, I could capture the fluffiness of this plant with velvety leaves that likes to grow around the stones
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In front of the prehistoric cave, Marius found a message from earlier ages: "Love is the answer."
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