DAHAN GHAR, Tang-e Lalandar

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

An extensive, complex, and spacious cave (note 1), obviously sacred and possibly used as a troglodyte hermitage (note 2), is situated opposite of the village of Lalandar (N34°23'28”: E69°01'03”) in the Tang-e Lalandar (N34°24': E69°05'), which both lie about 10 km from Golbagh (note 3) and about 25 km (note 4) south-east of Kabul. The cave entrance lies at an elevation of 2000 m (note 5) in the rocky slope of a limestone hill, the Kohe Qorugh, and about 30 m above the left bank of the Kabul Rud (Kabul Rod, Kabul River). CAVE DESCRIPTION (after LINDBERG 1958: 114; 1961a: 6; 1962a: 5): A large initial passage (10 m long) leads to a short, narrow and very low squeeze which opens into the Vestibule, a spacious chamber with four ways on. On entering on the left-hand side only a small sized chamber is found but on the right ascends an about 50 m long bedding plane (ending impenetrable in a descending passage), a low side-passage, and, again on the right-hand side, two long and almos horizontal galleries. One of these two right-hand side passages is a slightly ascending gallery, measured to a length of 120 m, with a couple of side-passages. The directions are varying but the overall orientation is “towards- (on entering?) north-east. CAVE CONTENTS: Initially recorded LINDBERG (1961a) a complete lack of calcite formations (je n'y ai vu aucune stalactite ou stalamite) but later (LINDBERG 1962a: 5) discovered large stalagmites and cauliflower concretions (botryoidal speleothems) in the North-East Passage on the right-hand side. This part of the cave is comparatively wet, contains a few pools of water and is characterised by moist soil and cave walls. Near the cave entrance is the cave floor dusty and, to a certain extent, covered with small amounts of bat guano and animal droppings of carnivores (?) along with bones of hoofed animals. Also recorded are fragments of pottery and apparently ancient sculptures. CAVE CLIMATE: Air temperature measured at the entrance wa 28°C (28.06.1958) and 22°C (27.05.1960), in the Vestibule 11.5°C (28.06.1958) and 17°C (27.05.1960) at 98% humidity (28.06.1958), in the North-East Passage 18°C (27.05.1960), and in the water of a pool in North-East Passage 17.5°C (27.05.1960). The difference in air temperatures between the Vestibule and the terminal North-East Passage was 7°C on 27th May 1960. CAVE LIFE: Dahan Ghar yielded of one of the very few cave adapted Japygids (note 6), Kohjapyx lindbergi Pages (Insecta, Diplura, Japygidae) connue par un exemplaire in addition to a lot of other creepy crawlies listed by LINDBERG (1961a, 1962) and JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001). horizontal galleries. One of these two right-hand side passages is a slightly ascending gallery, measured to a length of 120 m, with a couple of side-passages. The directions are varying but the overall orientation is “towards- (on entering?) north-east. CAVE CONTENTS: Initially recorded LINDBERG (1961a) a complete lack of calcite formations (je n'y ai vu aucune stalactite ou stalamite) but later (LINDBERG 1962a: 5) discovered large stalagmites and cauliflower concretions (botryoidal speleothems) in the North-East Passage on the right-hand side. This part of the cave is comparatively wet, contains a few pools of water and is characterised by moist soil and cave walls. Near the cave entrance is the cave floor dusty and, to a certain extent, covered with small amounts of bat guano and animal droppings of carnivores (?) along with bones of hoofed animals. Also recorded are fragments of pottery and apparently ancient sculptures. CAVE CLIMATE: Air temperature measured at the entrance wa 28°C (28.06.1958) and 22°C (27.05.1960), in the Vestibule 11.5°C (28.06.1958) and 17°C (27.05.1960) at 98% humidity (28.06.1958), in the North-East Passage 18°C (27.05.1960), and in the water of a pool in North-East Passage 17.5°C (27.05.1960). The difference in air temperatures between the Vestibule and the terminal North-East Passage was 7°C on 27th May 1960. CAVE LIFE: Dahan Ghar yielded of one of the very few cave adapted Japygids (note 6), Kohjapyx lindbergi Pages (Insecta, Diplura, Japygidae) connue par un exemplaire in addition to a lot of other creepy crawlies listed by LINDBERG (1961a, 1962) and JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001).