BHEH (Krang)
25.200000,92.216700
Description
The south-west facing, rectangularly shaped cave entrance (up to 1 m wide and 3 m high) leads after a few horizontal metres in instable rock to a just about daylight lit top section of a short blind canyon (Gebauer 1995.11.28), which drops an estimated 20 m (Boycott, Antony 'Tony', 1995.11.28) down to a scree slope (note 1). The cave is set in the base of a cliff exposing calcareous sandstone with frequent intercalations of arenaceous limestone and quartzitic sands with traces of gypsum and carbonaceous matter (coal) -- a mix apparently deposited in an intertidal zone. ETYMOLOGY: The meaning of the Amwi Khasi or Lakadong Khasi cave name »Krang Bheh« (Kharpran Daly, Brian D 1995.11.28 personal communication) has not yet been discovered (note 2). SITUATION: The cave entrance lies about 200 m (less than 10 walking minutes) west or south-west from the village centre of Tarangblang (N25°12'22”: E092°12'30” WGS84) and on the south (right-hand) side of a well-trodden footpath that leads generally east to the edge of the local plateau from where it descends down to the western (orographically right) bank of the river Myntdu, the Hari River of the plains people. Where the path commences to descend across laid stone steps from the edge of the Tarangblang plateau, it soon reaches the base of approximately 15 m high cliffs. Here, the cave entrance itself (note 3) lies on the south (right-hand) side of the footpath (Gebauer 1995.11.28). APPROACH: »Follow a good track north [sic! only if walking at right angles] for 200 m from the village of Tarangblang, descend some stone steps at the edge of the plateau and the cave entrance is situated on the right of the steps in a cliff« (Boyes, P W 2000.02.23 Mss: Spang Beh, Big Cave 23/2/00). Alternatively, you may »Follow a good track north [sic! i.e where the sun rises] from the village of Tarangblang, descend some stone steps at the edge of the plateau and the cave entrance is situated on the right of the steps in a cliff« (BOYES, P W 2000 s.a.: 11). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2000: »Spang Beh [sic!] … Pothole dropping from the end of a short passage, set in base of a cliff. 4 m high by 2 m wide entrance passage to 19 m deep pot. Small tube at base of shaft into very unstable boulders choking continuation« (Boyes, P W 2000.02.23 Mss: Spang Beh, Big Cave 23/2/00). Somehow, »Srang Beh [sic!] proved to be a single pitch, 18 m«(BOYES, P W 2000 s.a.: 5) that was identified as a »pothole dropping from the end of a short passage, set in the base of a cliff«(BOYES, P W 2000 s.a.: 12).
NOTE 1: Boyes, P W (2000.02.23 Mss: Spang Beh, Big Cave) and BOYES, P W (2000 s.a.: 11, 13) created a space warping, if not mind boggling speleometry where a funny »depth (verticle [sic!] range)« or »Surveyed Depth« of 25 m is miraculously combined with »Length 20 m.« Needless to say no cave plan, elevation of cross-section was ever produced. NOTE 2: The Amwi Khasi or Lakadong Khasi "bheh" (Kharpran Daly, Brian D 1995.11.28 personal communication) may correspond to the standard Khasi bah (adjective) means »great, big« but is generally joined with a noun in its abbreviated form (SINGH, N 1906: 7) as in ”mawbah" (great rock, big stone) or in ” 'radbah” (big animal).beh (verb); to send away; to expel; to pursue; to seek (SINGH, N 1906: 10) as ”behmrâd” (verb) means »to hunt after wild animals« or ”behdngiem” (verb) means »to hunt after bears in order to kill« and ”behkhabehman” (adjective) means »to be helpful to neighbours in time of need« (SINGH, N 1906: 10). beh (prefix); about to --as in: ”beh soh, beh leh, beh thok” (SINGH, N 1906: 10).On the other hand, the standard Khasi circumscription ”ka kynhun ki 'sew beh” is an expression for »a kennel« (SINGH, N 1920: 279); in German: die Hundehütte, das armselige Loch. NOTE 3: The position (±2500 m) 25°12'N: 92°13'E is estimated after the position of Tarangblang village on the Half-Inch map (83-SW) and the unreliable GPS readings 25°12'00”N: 92°12'45'E' (±68 m, Everest 1830, Gebauer November 1995, 4-channel Garmin 4): 680 m asl (±100 m, barometric) and »92°12.797' East 25°12.49' North: 710 m asl« (unidentified precision error, obsolete geodetic datum "India / Bngldsh", anonymous recorder February 2000, 12-channel Garmin 12 in: BOYES, P W 2000 s.a.: 11-12) indicating a spot somewhere in the vicinity of 25°12'31.6'N': 92°12'36.5'E': 710 m asl (WGS84).
Documents
Bibliography 23/03/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1995.11.28: Boycott, Antony 'Tony' attempted to descend (BROOKS, S J et al 1998: 18) but the 30 m rope turned out to have the familiar 30 ft (9 m) length. 2000.02.23: BOYES, P W (2000 s.a.: 5) reports to have descended and "surveyed" (sports caver standards) an estimated 20 or 25 m to a degree yielding a "survey" (total sum of survey leg lengths) but no cave survey (cave plan).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.7 | JAWBAW (Krang) | ||
| 1.1 | MANIK, Tarangblang (Krang) | ||
| 2.7 | LAPHIANG (Krem pdeng) | ||
| 3.2 | AM WAR, Thangsah, 3rd cave (Krem pdeng) | ||
| 3.4 | AM LYNTI, Am War (Krem) | ||
| 3.5 | AM WAR, Thangsah (Krem) | ||
| 3.6 | Km 39 CAVE, 5th | ||
| 3.7 | AA CAVE (Galloway 2014) | ||
| 3.9 | AM PYRCHOH (Krem) |