The Trabuc Cave contains countless small solid formations, likened to thousands of tiny soldiers standing guard, but in reality, it represents a unique type of mineral formation that has yet to be found anywhere else in the world.
Trabuc Cave is the largest underground cave system in the Cévennes mountains, located in Mialet, France. The cave was first explored in 1823. Since then, experts have discovered approximately 10 kilometers of caverns. However, they believe that Trabuc could be two to three times longer, as reported by IFL Science on June 10.
The “100,000 soldiers” structure in Trabuc Cave is a geological mystery yet to be solved. (Photo: David PAGIS/ Wikimedia Commons).
Trabuc preserves traces of rich human activities from the past. The cave served as a refuge for various groups of people throughout history, including the Camisards and later the Trabucaires.
Trabuc is also famous for a strange and unexplained phenomenon known as “100,000 soldiers.” During an exploration in 1945, cave researchers encountered a structure resembling thousands of tiny soldiers standing guard, which is actually a unique type of mineral formation that remains unexplained to this day.
The “soldiers” are scattered across the cave floor, standing just a few centimeters tall, and have not been found anywhere else in the world. These mysterious mineral blocks form underwater, composed of 95% calcite and 5% clay. Each block appears to consist of many stacked discs, likely due to varying water levels. Beyond this, experts know very little about the processes that led to their formation.
Stalactites and stalagmites, the more familiar cave structures, form in pairs on the ceiling and floor of the cave. As water flows through limestone and drips down, these sedimentary blocks gradually develop. However, “100,000 soldiers” appear without corresponding structures above. Therefore, this formation process has been ruled out. Over the years, various hypotheses have been proposed, ranging from bacteria to electrostatic forces, but none have fully explained the mystery of “100,000 soldiers.”
