NOQRA, Khawak (Ma'dan)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

What appears to be a modified natural cave, perhaps of vadose origin, is locally called Ma'dan Noqra (Silver Mine) and said to have been exploited as a silver mine in ancient times (note 1). Some working traces are still visible. SITUATION: At an unclear location. LINDBERG (1962a: 7-8) places the mine or cave at 2540 m asl and about 30 m above the right bank of the river bed of a stream called Darya Khavak (note 2), about 7 km north of it's confluence with the Darya Parian (note 3). The relevant AIMS sheet PI42-03 (May 2002 edition) shows two river courses (without names) in the area south and south-east of the villages Chawni Khawak (N35°38'28”: E69°52'38”, WGS84) and Dehe Khawak (Dehe Khavak, or simply Khawak at N35°38'21”: E69°54'28” WGS84, nima.mil/geonames accessed 28.05.2004). Since there is a road, which, arriving from the Panjshir Valley, meets the southern one of these two rivers at a point (near N35°40': E69°58' and about 7 km in a direct line north-east of teir confluence at Dehe Khawak), one may assume the latter confluence is the one to which Lindberg referred —but this is mere guesswork. CAVE DESCRIPTION: There are passages at two different levels, all short and mostly ending in dead ends. Two passages lead to a spacious chamber from where, descending a bit, the first large main chamber is reached. Here lies, on the left-hand side, a second chamber with two different penetrable passages. Getting up a slightly ascending slope, followed by a descent, gains the terminal chamber (5 by 7 m) where a small person could stand upright. On the left-hand side in this chamber one finds a round, narrow but penetrable chimney. The développement total lies in the range of 30 m (note 4). Another two, smaller cave entrances are found at higher elevations. CAVE CONTENTS: Water percolates in the parts of the cave close to the surface. Not a single calcite concretion (speleothem) was seen. In some places the walls are smooth as if planed by the action ofwater. There are efflorescenses of a white, hygroscopic salt. The cave floor consists of soil and stones, and is strewn, in the terminal chamber only, with excrements of rats and goat dung. CAVE MINERALOGY: Rock chips sampled from the cave's interior were examined by Mr. J.P. Hunger who declared them as calcite with crystals of siderite and limonite, and others a mica schists (muscovite + biotite + phyllite). CAVE CLIMATE: The cave entrance part is sort of wet but in the terminal chamber humidity is a bit smaller. On 5th (or 6th) July 1960 a temperature of 20°C in the air was measured at the entrance.CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1962a: 8) records to have collected Diptera, Coleoptera (Carabidae, Tenebrionidae (Leptodes sp.nov.)). Except one all Coleoptera were collected from beneath rocks in the terminal chamber.water. There are efflorescenses of a white, hygroscopic salt. The cave floor consists of soil and stones, and is strewn, in the terminal chamber only, with excrements of rats and goat dung. CAVE MINERALOGY: Rock chips sampled from the cave's interior were examined by Mr. J.P. Hunger who declared them as calcite with crystals of siderite and limonite, and others a mica schists (muscovite + biotite + phyllite). CAVE CLIMATE: The cave entrance part is sort of wet but in the terminal chamber humidity is a bit smaller. On 5th (or 6th) July 1960 a temperature of 20°C in the air was measured at the entrance.CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1962a: 8) records to have collected Diptera, Coleoptera (Carabidae, Tenebrionidae (Leptodes sp.nov.)). Except one all Coleoptera were collected from beneath rocks in the terminal chamber.