MARGHUNDAY (Cave on the)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Two cave entrances give access to an approximately 50 m long main passage with side passages (note 1) situated in the flank of Marghunday (note 2), a limestone hill above the right bank of the Darrah-ye Sangu (note 3) at a distance of about 15 km along the road north-east of Uruzgan town (note 4). CAVE DESCRIPTION: The lower cave entrance, some 15 m beneath the soil plugged upper cave entrance, is penetrable but just big enough to allow a person to enter. Having negotiated the entrance crawl (some 6 or 7 m long), one arrives at a junction from where an ascending passage (again some 6 or 7 m) leads to the upper cave entrance. Continuing some 3 or 4 m in the main drag, one reaches a second junction where, on the right-hand side, descends an about 10 m long passage to a bend to the left and terminal blockage. Proceeding from the second junction to the left, continues the main drag in a zig-zagging way and descends on a slight angle to a short horizontal bit which leads to a landing whereone has to stoop. Here, 17 m from the second bifurcation, rises a joint controlled chimney, about 6 or 7 m high. From this spot onwards continues the conduit, all the way steeply descending, for about 25 m till it runs into two collapsed passages at right angles to the main conduit. The vertical range between the landing and the terminal T-junction is estimated to 20 m while the total depth between the cave entrance and the deepest spot to more than 30 m. In the lowest part of the cave one has the impression of having come close to the level of the water table. CAVE CONTENTS: The walls of the conduit are not rough but rounded and smooth. The cave floor consists of dry earth (literally: terre) and stones. CAVE LIFE: Porcupine (Hystrix) droppings are abundant but there is very little bat guano (Chiroptera). Fragments of a human skull and the paw of a large Colubride were found in the debris. LINDBERG (1961a: 9) records to have collected Diptera and Acaria.Two cave entrances give access to an approximately 50 m long main passage with side passages (note 1) situated in the flank of Marghunday (note 2), a limestone hill above the right bank of the Darrah-ye Sangu (note 3) at a distance of about 15 km along the road north-east of Uruzgan town (note 4). CAVE DESCRIPTION: The lower cave entrance, some 15 m beneath the soil plugged upper cave entrance, is penetrable but just big enough to allow a person to enter. Having negotiated the entrance crawl (some 6 or 7 m long), one arrives at a junction from where an ascending passage (again some 6 or 7 m) leads to the upper cave entrance. Continuing some 3 or 4 m in the main drag, one reaches a second junction where, on the right-hand side, descends an about 10 m long passage to a bend to the left and terminal blockage. Proceeding from the second junction to the left, continues the main drag in a zig-zagging way and descends on a slight angle to a short horizontal bit which leads to a landing whereone has to stoop. Here, 17 m from the second bifurcation, rises a joint controlled chimney, about 6 or 7 m high. From this spot onwards continues the conduit, all the way steeply descending, for about 25 m till it runs into two collapsed passages at right angles to the main conduit. The vertical range between the landing and the terminal T-junction is estimated to 20 m while the total depth between the cave entrance and the deepest spot to more than 30 m. In the lowest part of the cave one has the impression of having come close to the level of the water table. CAVE CONTENTS: The walls of the conduit are not rough but rounded and smooth. The cave floor consists of dry earth (literally: terre) and stones. CAVE LIFE: Porcupine (Hystrix) droppings are abundant but there is very little bat guano (Chiroptera). Fragments of a human skull and the paw of a large Colubride were found in the debris. LINDBERG (1961a: 9) records to have collected Diptera and Acaria.