The Hoq Cave or Hawk Cave () is a
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
cave on the island of
Socotra
Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...
,
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. It is located in the ''Hala'' spot approximately 1.5 km from the north-eastern coast, facing the open sea to northeast. Clearly visible from the sea, but difficult to access, it is situated at an altitude of 350 m. The about-2-km-deep cave has a main passage with a mean width of 50 m and a mean height of 20 m. Sunlight reaches about 200 m from the entrance. The temperature is constant during the year and varies between 25 and 27 °C, with a humidity higher than 95%.
All sorts of
speleothem
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...
s, where numerous endemic
troglobionts are living, can be found along the way into the cave.
A range of
epigraphy
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
from the 1st to the 6th century CE has been recorded in the back part of the cave, placing Socotra as a major hub in the overseas trading links in ancient times, where merchants from all coasts of the northern
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
were brought together.
Protection
The cave is a protected area under the law. To conserve the cave, a pathway has been constructed. The end of the cave is still under study for future archaeological investigations.
Description
In 2001, a group of Belgian speleologists from the Socotra Karst Project mapped and investigated the cave, finding numerous
graffiti
Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
s and drawings on speleothems and floors. Subsequent research concluded that they were the work of navigators or merchants who visited the island at the beginning of the first millennium. The corpus of inscriptions is in
Indian Brahmi,
South Arabic,
Ethiopian Geʽez,
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
,
Palmyrene, and
Bactrian scripts. All the inscriptions are rather short, containing personal names, hometowns, professions, or ethnic and religious affiliations.
Gallery of speleothems
File:Hoq Cave - speleothem2.jpg
File:Hoq Cave Speleothem, Socotra Island.jpg
File:Hoq Cave - speleothem1.jpg
File:Hoq Cave - entrance.jpg
See also
*
Tablet De Geest
*
History of Socotra
References
{{reflist
Caves of Socotra
Buddhist caves
Rock art of Socotra