PIROKEL 1 (Cave at)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Four caves (note 1) at the level of the valley floor in a conglomerate and limestone hill without recognised name (compare Ghar –>Khargolak) were used as troglodyte habitations. SITUATION: In the Jaghuri Valley (Lindberg's Djagouri) at Pir-Khil, a site which LINDBERG (1962a: 9) places à environ 5km [sic! actually a -9- misread as a -5-?] au nord-est de Baréki which appears to correspond to the locality Pirokhel (note 2) about 9 km in a direct line north-east of Baraki (note 3). Nearby, there is a Kuh-e Sang-e Surakh (pierce rock mountain) N33°25'44”: E067°02'40” (WGS84) culminating at 3366 feet (WGS84, nima.mil/geonames accessed 28.05.2004). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1: The largest of the caves at Pir Keyl lacks a permanently dark zone, is about 5 to 6 m wide, more than 2 m high, and about 20 m long. CULTURAL HISTORY - human use: The seriously soot covered walls and ceilings indicate human occupation while a carpet of straw mixed with the dung of sheep indicates that the caves serve as sables. The title -Pir- (a holy Muslim man, saint) might hint to a religious retreat or troglodyte hermitage. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1962: 9) was surprised to find an important cave fauna, which clearly was favoured by a considerable degree of humidity: Isopoda, Coleoptera (Tenebrionidae), and Pseudoscorpions.ables. The title -Pir- (a holy Muslim man, saint) might hint to a religious retreat or troglodyte hermitage. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1962: 9) was surprised to find an important cave fauna, which clearly was favoured by a considerable degree of humidity: Isopoda, Coleoptera (Tenebrionidae), and Pseudoscorpions.