STEW (Krem)
25.295300,91.920300
Description
The rift of a seasonal sinkhole at the base of a cliff gives access to an interstratal cave with two interconnected levels of dendritic river cave passages, which drain the precipitation of a local catchment area to the approximate south-west. ETYMOLOGY: The Khasi noun "u stew" (masculine), pronounced st(y)oo, signifies »a short reed or ekra« (SINGH, N 1906: 211), in Hindi: ikra (note 1). The alternative cave name "Krem Stu" (Kharpran Daly 2006 s.a.: 16) probably represents a spelling version that had been chosen to distinguish the Khasi from the English "stew" as the latter is, in cases, edible and means something else (note 2).SITUATION: Near kilometre 4.75 on the road from Pynursla (N25°18'30”: E092°54') towards Dauki (25°11'10”N: 92°01'20”E), a footpath off to the west leads to a wide, grass-covered valley and a river sink in limestone at the bottom of an approximately 30 m to 40 m high sandstone cliff (060°-240°). Stratigraphically, more than 30 m of Lakadong Sandstone (Middle Sylhet) rest on a 25 m of Lakadong Limestone (Lower Sylhet) on top of a basal Mahadek Sandstone. The top section of the limestone, characterised by equally distributed but irregular shaped aggregates of coarse grained, arenaceous limestone, is separated from the lower limestone strata by several (more than two) sandstone interbeds, which influence the vertical cave development considerably and contribute to the multiple layered cave structure. The cave's general trend of direction is from north-east (060°) to south-west (240°) with an overall dip of about 5°. The water drains, frequently backed up, into sumping passages in the south to south-west. CAVE DESCRIPTION: An initial 10 m ladder drop or, alternatively, a less elegant crawl through gaps between dislocated boulders, descends down to a confusion of 5 m boulders with several possible climbs further down to a relatively wide but low (14 m by 2 m) cave passage with a streambed, which leads across the upper surface of a sandstone interbed to an almost horizontal, joint controlled cave passage (4 by 4 m). A succession of drops (3 m free climbable, 9 m ladder, 2.5 m free climb) descend down into the south-westerly "Waterfall Series" which leads to several wide but low sumps filled with mud and sand. A crawl through the lower waterfall (-2.5 m) gives access to the upstream "Eurasian Tunnel" which runs, again with sumping side-legs to the south-south-east, and eventually leads to a "Stal Chamber" (speleothems) in the far north-east. PROSPECTS: There exists a spacious high level, which could be reached (1st) by a 3 m to 4 m long bamboo bridge from station 8/13, (2nd) by climbing the muddy ascent above 5/1, or -- but only perhaps -- by crossing from between stations 9/3 and 9/4 to the high level of series 4. CAVE LIFE: Comparatively large crabs (Crustacea: conf. Brachyura), about 3 cm to 4 cm in diameter, enjoyed in October 1998 the company of pale fish (not »white« coloured but colourless), collectively trapped in a then just about 15 cm deep pool between stations 9/1 to 9/2 in Crawler's Avenue.
NOTE 1: ikra (Hindi; noun); a kind of thin but strong bamboo (BECKER, C 1927: 362-363). »Ikra. A reed, Saccharum arundinaceum« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 25: xiii). »Die Fächer des Holzwerkes sind mit einer Art dünnem, aber starkem Bambus, Ikra genannt, ausgefüllt, und dieses ist mit Kalkmörtel beworfen« (BECKER, C 1927: 362-363). NOTE 2: stew (English, noun), 1. a dish of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in liquid in a closed dish or pan; [in singular, informal] a state of great anxiety or agitation; [archaic] a heated public room used for hot steam baths; a brothel. Origin (Middle English) in the sense "cauldron" from "estuve" (Old French, related to "estuver", heat in steam, probably based on "tuphos" (Greek) smoke, steam. 2. a pond or large tank for keeping fish for eating; an artificial oyster bed. Origin (Middle English) from "estui" (Old French), from "estoier", confine. 3. [informal] an air steward or stewardess. Origin (1970s) abbreviation.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1998.10.30: H. Daniel Gebauer, Paul Arthur Edmunds, Brian D. Kharpran Daly and Andrew "Andy" Peter Tyler surveyed to the first ladder drop (133.5 m / -21.2). 1998.11.01: Uwe Kalmbach, Roger Galloway and P A Edmunds, assisted by Adora Thabah and A P Tyler descended the ladder drop and surveyed the Waterfall Series etc. (520 m / -32.2 m). 1998.11.02: Uwe Kalmbach, R. Galloway and Neil Sootinck, assisted by Lindsay B. Diengdoh and Elizabeth 'Liz' Millet mapped several muddy downstream series and discovered the Eurasian Tunnel (490 m). 1998.11.03: Uwe Kalmbach, R. Galloway, Gregory D. Diengdoh and A.P. Tyler mapped 660 m, gaining a total of 1921.5 m / ± 35.65 (+3.09 m / -32.56 m).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | UR BAN, Pynursla (Synrang) | ||
| 1.5 | LOREN (Krem) | ||
| 1.5 | LOREN 2 (Krem) | ||
| 1.8 | WAH DIENGROT (Krem) | ||
| 2.8 | Saint Mary's Grotto | ||
| 3.4 | PHRIA (Krem) | ||
| 3.4 | PYNSHAD (Krem) | ||
| 4.2 | BLANG, Mawkyrnot (Krem) | ||
| 6.3 | NONGTHYLLAM CAVES, Pontung (aa -) |