Sorb, Ferenjal (Ma'dan)

Various descriptions

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

There is an extensive ancient lead mine (note 1) at Ferendjal (note 2), which the inhabitants of the neighbourhood (once?) viewed it with a sort of superstitious reverence as a relic of some mysterious folk of former times (LORD 1838: 533). The religious connotation lead Francis WILFORD in 1801 (note 3) and Charles MASSON in 1844 (note 4) to identify this excavation with the –>Cavern of Prometheus noticed by the communication designers of Alexander the Great. Knut Lindberg had heard of -Farindjal / Firingil- in 1947 (note 5) and explored the site in July 1957. SITUATION 1838 (LORD 1838: 533-535): The mine known by the name Feringal (note 6) is situated at the district of Churde [Chehardar], about 30 miles [48 km] from the entrance of the valley of Ghorband, and on the side of a hill facing the east, at an elevation of about 250 feet above its base. The hill is composed beneath of quartz rocks, above conglomerate, and between both is a thin, schistose layer, which, as well as the quart, appears to dip away rapidly to the west. SITUATION 1926 (after HERBORDT 1926c): About 2 km above Frinjal [note 2] and at an altitude of 2100 m. The hills in the immediate neighbourhood of the mine rise 300 m from the valley floor and consist of massive, grey coloured limestones, which dip by 20° to 30° to north-west and lie on a 15 to 20 m thick and red coloured limestone-breccia with marly intercalations some 40 m above the valley. The overlaying limestone frequently incurs deeply into the breccia as a strongly dolomizating and ore-bearing zone. The adit opening lies in this breccia zone. SITUATION 1956 (after LINDBERG 1958: 119, 1961a: 9): Madan-Sorb à Firinjal, vallée du Ghourband lies close to the road at some height in a mountain of schists and Devonian limestone with serpentine intrusions. DESCRIPTION 1838 (LORD 1838): The excavation is entirely made through the conglomerate, and descends to the depth of one hundred feet perpendicular before it reaches the ore, which is a galea of sulphuret of lead extremely rich and valuable. The galleries have been run and shafts sunk, with a degree of skill that does no little credit to the engineering knowledge of the age … [note 7] The galleries were in some places so low that we were obliged to crawl on all fours, and this, added to the heat and smoke of the torches and the quantities of dust which we knocked in our progress, rendered our task not a little fatiguing, and at times almost threatened us with suffocation. […] From the number of galleries we had to examine on our passage downward, before ascertaining the right road, we were more than two hours in reaching the one, but our return only occupied 20 minutes. We did not reach the extreme limit of the excavation, as the fear of our oil being exhausted compelled us to limit our researches. The total time we remained under ground was a little short of 3 hours … DESCRIPTION 1888 (YATE 1888: 330-331): The old gallery worked by the ancients… runs far into the hillsie. The present workings are not at the end of this gallery, some 1200 feet into the hill, of which about 200 feet [60 m] constitute the present workings. DESCRIPTION 1926 (HERBORDT 1926c): Surveying the mine working, which was irregularly driven on, resulted in the following picture: A 45 m long gallery (on average 3 m wide and 2 m high, dipping by 15° to north-east) enters a first chamber (8 m high, 30 m long). Here continues an irregularly worked passage with numerous work faces (on average 5 m wide and high, 60 m long, slightly ascending to the east) and a just about 0.5 m high lead (1 m wide, descending by 10° towards north). The latter enters after 30 m an east-west trending cavity (10 m high, 55 m long) which leads to an uncomfortable crawl (25 m long, slightly descending to north) into a series of impressive chambers (10 m wide and high, descending and ascending by 10° for 100 m to north-east). Having worked these very extensive cavities the old miners turned north with a very arrow gallery (30m long, level) and excavated a south-north orientated cavern (8 m high, 35 m long). Like at the first abandoned work face was here the irregularly distributed lead ore followed in pockets and low labyrinthine passages. DESCRIPTION 1958 (after LINDBERG 1958, 1961a): The mine consists of an extensive system of chambers and galleries. In many places the walls are covered with crystalline deposits of what looks like magnesium sulfate (epsomite, not analysed), of which the crystals sometimes form centimetre long needles. The cave floor consists of stones and soil. Bat guano is rare. The 'cave' is humid and lacks speleothems. CAVE CLIMATE: On 22nd October 1847 found LORD (1838) the mine to be dry (note 8) to a degree that the dryness of the mine was so perfect that putrefaction seemed almost at standstill but LINDBERG (1958, 1961a) considered this item a grotte humide and recorded on 27th July 1957 an air temperature of 17°C in the interior when 21°C were measured at th entrance. CAVE LIFE: LORD (1838): One of the human skulls which we found, had the scalp and hair attached to it, in a good state of preservation, and a porcupine which lay at the bottom of the shaft, though evidently long dead, was almost entire. The only living animal in the excavation was a bat (Rhinolophus) [Chiroptera] which I have preserved; but the quills and other spoils of porcupines [Hystrix indet.] with a great heap of their dung shewed this to have been a favourite resting place with them for many generations. The remains of oxen and sheep which occurred, had probably been taken down for the purpose of feeding its human inhabitants in former times … LINDBERG (1958: 118) lists Coleoptera (Tenebrionida, larval stage of Dermestidaand others, Ptinida), and Chiroptera. JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001: 1749) note: Vertebrata: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae: Myotis blythi oxygnathus MONTICELLI.arrow gallery (30m long, level) and excavated a south-north orientated cavern (8 m high, 35 m long). Like at the first abandoned work face was here the irregularly distributed lead ore followed in pockets and low labyrinthine passages.