Al Mudhlem (Dahl)

Length 150m Depth 30m
Grottocenter / carte

Location

Turn off the Salwa Road at the satellite earth station junction and drive to the satellite station. Drive offroad around the eastern edge of the satellite station and the cave is 600m south-south-east of the south-east corner of the station. There is the remains of an enclosure around the outcrop with the cave entrance. Martin Ellis - 16/04/2019

Comments

Other names: Mudhlem Sinkhole, Dahl Modhlam, Dark Cave, Cockroach Cave, Dahal adh Dhalam Surveyed by Ellis, October 2004, Grade UISv2 2-2-F The entrance is about 12m wide and the sandy floor slopes down at about 30°. Unfortunately the cave soon gets tight and on a visit in 2004 the author thought the cave choked after a short squeeze. However, the author was informed in 2016 that it possible to pass another tight squeeze into the rest of the cave which was reported as being as big and long as Dahl al Musfer. There are rat or bat droppings on the sandy floor and these droppings support a fauna which includes 4cm long cockroaches and large black beetles. Most reports describe the cave as being about 150m long and 30m deep, with a pool at the bottom which was used by the Bedouin as a water supply (e.g. Sadiq & Nasir, 2002). However, in 2016 it was reported that there was no water at the bottom of the cave. Lorimer (1908), under the name Dahal-adh-Dhalam, also describes this site, 17 miles west of Doha as being "another pool in the rock containing good water; it is in a dark cave and cannot be approached without an artificial light".

Martin Ellis (16/04/2019)

Caves nearby

Distance (km)NameLength (m)Depth (m)
6.1Al Musfer (Dahl)7836
31.6Duhail Sinkhole405
34.6Dahl Al Hamam6015
76.5Al Suberiat Sinkholes
81.2Um Kareibah Sinkholes405
93.2Al Ghosheimah Sinkholes175
808.6Qaleh Bozi
917.9Kalahrod Cave [Ghar-e-Chah-e-Vazmeh]
1175.8Ghar-e Roodafshan150291