SKOCJANSKI JAMSKI SPLET AND E. A. MARTEL'S "LES ABIMES"
ŠKOCJANSKI JAMSKI SPLET IN MARTELOVA KNJIGA "LES ABIMES"
DANIEL ROJŠEK

Izvleček	UDK 551.442 (497.12 Skocjan)	i
Rojšek, Daniel: Škocjanski jamski splet in Martelova knjiga Les Abinies
Avtor predstavlja vlogo Škocjanskih jam v monografiji E.A. Martela Les Abimes. Poudarjena sta svetovni pomen jamskega sistema in monografije.
Ključne besede: E.A.Martel, Les Abimes, Škocjanski jamski splet, Slovenija.
Abstract	UDC 551.442 (497.12 Škocjan)
Daniel Rojšek: Škocjanski jamski splet and E.A. Martel's Les Abimes
The role of Škocjanski jamski splet in E. A. Martel's monograph Les abJmes is,illuminated by author's interpretation. The world importance of the System and a meaning of the monograph is emphasized.
Key words: E. A, Martel, Les Abimes, Skocjan Cave System, Slovenia.
Address - Naslov mag. Daniel Rojšek samostojni konservator.
Zavod za varstvo naravne in kulturne dediščine Gorica v Novi Gorici,
Delpinova 16,
SI - 65000 Nova Gorica
INTRODUCTION
The speleology is placed in the last position of extremely rich E. A. Matrel's monograph Les abimes headline, nevertheless in the first chapter explanations of terms, purposes, programmes of works in underground and techniques of spelaeology are published in 1894.
In the same chapter photographs of the first Velika voda - Reka ponor and of Miklov skedenj cave entrance with the highest waterfall in the Skocjan Cave System (as an example of karst spring) are published.
I was very surprised seeing the photos in pages four and six of the monograph, twenty years ago. My first thought was, that the author had decided to accent the world importance of the System by publishing the photos in the early beginning of the book, already at the end of the last century.
LES ABIMES AND SKOCJANSKI JAMSKI SPLET
At the end of the 19"" century started a dividing of speleology in two human activities: -spelaeology as a science of underground karst phenomena and - caving as discovering and description of accessible karst caverns by amateurs of nature.
Les Abimes is undoubtly one of the most important scientifical works ofthat time, but it is also a manifest of modern caving with a review of the most important caves of France and other parts of Europe and even of continents Africa, Asia and both Americas.
Author tried to ask questions of karst and speleological terminology using active local names of karst phenomena in different countries of the Earth.
Les Abimes is outfited by 60 reproductions of photographs, 47 copperplates, many very illustrative cave plans with profiles and cross-sections of karst regions.
ŠKOCJANSKI JAMSKI SPLET IN THE MONOGRAPH
Klasični kras - classical karst or Karst propre called by E. A. Martel represents central object of the 27* chaptaft entitled Le Karst, where the System is partly overshadowed by Postojnski jamski splet - the Postojna Cave System. Namely, E. A. Martel was one of the discoverers of the active Pivka river channels of the Postojna System. A reason for the
Statement is supposingly psychologic, everyone who discovers something new is emotionally bound to that thing and put it on the first place.
In the 32"'' page of the 27"" chapter (pp 364) the Kras region and the Skocjan Cave System designations begin. Austrian official toponyms (in German language) are used in the book, mostly with Slovene names cited in parenthesis, but somewhere only Slovene and even Italian toponyms are quoted.
The Velika voda - Reka river is denoted as the most important karst river.
A discourse about name Recca or Reka and quotations of six "Rekas" from Dinaric orographic system have amazed me, like publishing of comparative terminology of six karstological phenomena in five languages (Franch, German, Slovene (from Carniola), Serb (from Montenegro and Serbia), and Czech (from Moravia); pp 433).
After presentation of the Skocjan Cave System hydrogeological situation of Velika voda-Reka is discussed (pp 467 - 471). Historical and geogaphical role of the river is accentuated by citation (pp 470) of a part of Roman poem Aeneis by Virgilius, where the Timavus springs are mentioned.
The Cave System is introduced very clearly and particularly in five pages. The most important is starting statement, that the System should be the most gigantic among existents. Descriptions of karst features with precise estimations of lengths, widths, heights and depths are based on printed and manuscripted reports of explorers, members of German-Austrian Alpine Club - Coastal Section of Triest. Existent bibliography review is presented, too.
4 ? [ ^ ^ ^ 5
SI. 1: Martelovo posvetilo Puticku v knjigi Les Abitnes Fig. 1: Martel's dedication to Putick in his book Les AMmes
The System is graphically illustrated by three reproductions of photographs, seven copperplates and by longitudinal cross- section of the System, other speleological objects and the Kras region.
The first and the second photographs are mentioned in the introduction of this paper, the third one is reproduction of postcard, showing rimstone pools or gours in the Dvorana Ponvic - the Hall of Rimstone Pools (pp 84). The author published it as example of big rimstone pools to illustrate bigger or giant's gours in Grotte de Saint-Marcel-d'Ardeche. The copperplates are reprints of F. Müller (1987), the cross-section is based on austrian topographic maps and cave maps published by members of German-Austrian Alpine Club-Coastal Section (F. Müller 1891).
The final illustration of Le Karst chapter is plan and cross-section of side hole above Müllerjeva dvorana - Müller Chamber called Grotto of Jubilee, discovered on the 21of January 1894. Monograph brings discoveries of 1888 to 1893, but with mentioned plan of the Grotto the book was current like a magazine.
CONCLUSION
Škocjanski jamski splet is presented in Les abimes as cave system of world importance and as beginning of the Velika voda - Reka drainage zone in the Kras region with immense karst holes connected by the water, as an example of ponor cave and of karst spring cave, and by ten illustrations (three photographs and seven copperplates), which present aproximately 10 % of the book's graphic material.
Les Abimes is also a manifest of modern caving.
Discovering technics of protected paths (cutted steps into rocks protected by steel ropes of Alpine standards from that times), leading down- and upwards in the System are important contribution to caving technics in the World.
REFERENCES
Martel, E.A., 1894: Les Abimes. Librarie Ch. Delagrave, 1-578, Paris
Müller, F., 1887: Führer in die Grotten und Höhlen von St. Canzian bei Triest und Notizen
über den Lauf der Reka. 1-105, Section Küstenland, Trieste Müller, F., 1891: Entdeckungsfahrten in den St. Canzianer Höhlen im Jahre 1890 vom 18. bis 25. Unterirdischen Wasserfall. Mitt. D.u.Öst. Alpenvereins, 8,99-103, 129-131, Wien.
SKOCJANSKI JAMSKI SPLET IN MARTELOVA KNJIGA "LES ABIMES"
Povzetek
V Martelovem delu Les Abimes je Škocjanski jamski splet predstavljen kot jamski sistem svetovnega pomena, kot pričetek podzemeljskega odtoka Velike vode - Reke v podzemlje Krasa z ogromnimi votlinami ob podzemeljskih vodah, kot primer ponorne jame in izvirne jame. Ti primeri so podkrepljeni z desetimi ilustracijami (tri fotografije in sedem bakrotiskov), kar predstavlja okoli 10 % vsega grafičnega gradiva celotne knjige.
Les Abimes je tudi odraz moderne speleologije. Tehnika odkrivanja in nadelavanja zavarovanih poti (v skalo vklesane stopnje, zavarovane z jeklenimi vrvmi po standardih takratnega planinstva), ki vodijo gor in dol po sistemu Škocjanskih jam so pomemben prispevek k svetovni jamarski tehniki.