Cave & Karst Science (ISSN 1356-191X)

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Contents of Cave & Karst Science 50(3)

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Cave and Karst Science (iv + 52pp) (PDF 20.2MB)        Individual articles may be available below

GUNN, John and David LOWE (eds.). (2023). Cave and Karst Science 50(3). Buxton: British Cave Research Association. ISSN 1356-191X. iv + 52pp, A4, with photos, maps and diagrams.
This issue has a cover date of 2023 (December) and was published in December 2023.

The Transactions of the British Cave Research Association.

The PDF files comprising this issue are at a high resolution and have been assembled using an RGB colour space. The single file containing the entire issue (see above) is at a lower resolution, suitable for screen-reading.

Front cover photo (page i) (PDF 6.4MB)     

by Chris HOWES.
Trevor Faulkner ascending the sea cliffs at Culver Hole during the very well-organized BCRA Gower field meeting in 2017. Culver Hole, on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula (Penrhyn Gŵyr) near Port Eynon, has been modified to act as a shelter for pigeons, providing a source of meat and eggs; its name derives from the old English word 'culfre' meaning 'pigeon'. An associated legend, that this was local smuggler John Lucas's fortress (especially given its prominent visibility from the sea), is unlikely to be true. Culver Hole was, however, photographed in about 1856 by John Dillwyn Llewellyn, making it one of the earliest views of a cave to be captured anywhere in the world using this new medium. (Photo: Chris Howes).

 

Notes for Contributors (page ii) (PDF 620KB)     

 

Contents (p97) (PDF 943KB)     

 

Editorial (p98) (PDF 557KB)     

by John GUNN and David LOWE.

 

Retrospective appreciation of Gerald Edward Wilford, 1928 – 2019 (pp99-100) (PDF 1.8MB)     

by David GILL, David GILLIESON and Martin LAVERTY.

 

Observations on caves containing monoxylous (one-log) coffins and on secondary burial caves in Nagaland (India) and in Southeast Asia (pp101-110) (PDF 24.4MB)     

by Roman HAPKA and Thomas ARBENZ.
The observation of monoxylous (one-log) coffins in two caves, along with several secondary cave burial sites in the Indian state of Nagaland, 1000km distant from those located in Myanmar and Thailand, is remarkable and opens up new avenues of research. This is especially true because the tradition of burials in Naga Clan Caves has persisted until recently. Even though the Christian religion was introduced in the region during the 19th century, in many remote rural areas Christianity was only adopted in the 1950s and 1960s (Anderson, 2005, p.237). Therefore, ethnology might be able to help answer archaeological questions. Furthermore, the finds in Nagaland are adding evidence to the possibility of Neolithic migration from Southeast Asia to Northeast India, an assumption supported by archaeological data interpreted by archaeologists such as Peter Bellwood and Georg van Driem (Hazarika, 2006, 39-40).
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 08 June 2023; Accepted: 06 October 2023.

Bibliograph: HAPKA, Roman and Thomas ARBENZ. (2023). Observations on caves containing monoxylous (one-log) coffins and on secondary burial caves in Nagaland (India) and in Southeast Asia. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp101-110.

 

First record of troglophilic behaviour by the Southeast Asian moonrat (Echinosorex gymnura, Raffles 1822) (pp111-112) (PDF 5.0MB)     

by Donald A MCFARLANE, Joyce LUNDBERG and Ellen MACARTHUR.
We report the first record of the Eulipotyphlid insectivore, Echinosorex gymnura, from a subterranean context. In 2018, two individuals of the species were observed in Deer Cave, Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak. During 2020–2021, the species was documented on 19 separate occasions by automated camera traps. The repeated presence of this small vertebrate at locations as much as half a kilometre into the cave establishes this as a troglophilic, not trogloxene (accidental), species.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received:02 August 2023; Accepted: 06 November 2023.

Bibliograph: MCFARLANE, Donald A; Joyce LUNDBERG and Ellen MACARTHUR. (2023). First record of troglophilic behaviour by the Southeast Asian moonrat (Echinosorex gymnura, Raffles 1822). Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp111-112.

 

Portable muon detectors tested in the British Cave Science Centre (pp113-118) (PDF 8.1MB)     

by Matt ROWBERRY, Tomáš TRČKA and Vladimír MIKLUŠ.
Every square metre of the Earth's surface is bombarded by thousands of muons every minute and they are able to penetrate many hundreds of metres of rock. This report describes two CosmicWatch muon detectors that have been built for testing in the British Cave Science Centre. Each detector incorporates a slab of plastic scintillator instrumented with a silicon photomultiplier and a printed circuit board, which amplifies and shapes any signals from the photomultiplier, along with a microcontroller, which measures the peak voltage and assigns an event timestamp. Muon counts have been obtained for twenty-four hours at four monitoring points in different parts of the cave and it can be seen that both the total muon counts and the highest peak voltages correlate strongly with depth below the surface. Although building and testing these detectors appears to represent a realistic aim for many undergraduate students and enthusiastic hobbyists, a number of potential pitfalls are outlined. Finally, it is suggested that muon counts could be used to approximate depth below the surface in situations where other survey techniques cannot be applied.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 01 November 2023; Accepted: 20 November 2023.

Bibliograph: ROWBERRY, Matt; Tomáš TRČKA and Vladimír MIKLUŠ. (2023). Portable muon detectors tested in the British Cave Science Centre. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp113-118.

 

Radiocarbon dates on human bone from two Mendip caves (pp119-120) (PDF 2.9MB)     

by Andrew T CHAMBERLAIN and Graham J MULLAN.
Three new radiocarbon dates are reported on human material from Mendip caves. Two cranial specimens from Stoke Lane Slocker date to the Early Bronze Age and the third, from Brownes' Hole, to the late Pre-Roman Iron Age. The newly dated specimens are considered briefly in relation to other similarly dated cave finds from Mendip caves.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 17 November 2023; Accepted: 22 November 2023.

Bibliograph: CHAMBERLAIN, Andrew T and Graham J MULLAN. (2023). Radiocarbon dates on human bone from two Mendip caves. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp119-120.

 

A proposal to establish the Spirits River Cave Nature Reserve, Ayat Karst Area, Sarawak, Malaysia (pp121-124) (PDF 8.1MB)     

by David William GILL.
During the Gunung Buda Caves Project and the Forest Department Sarawak 2000 Expedition to Gunung Buda, Sarawak, Malaysia, a small karstic 'inlier' was discovered in the floor of a heavily overgrown depression that was surrounded by a proposed oil-palm estate development area, just outside the Gunung Buda National Park. The base of the depression revealed limestone with access to a complex cave system (subsequently named Spirits River Cave), within which more than 5km of passages were entered and mapped, with many passages remaining unexplored. It is suggested that the cave and its geological setting have the potential to provide a valuable Nature Reserve, necessarily within an encircling buffer zone. This short Report presents brief details of the major considerations underpinning the proposal.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 23 June 2023; Accepted: 06 September 2023.
Keywords: buried karst, cave biota, cave exploration, limestone cave, Melinau Limestone.

Bibliograph: GILL, David William. (2023). A proposal to establish the Spirits River Cave Nature Reserve, Ayat Karst Area, Sarawak, Malaysia. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp121-124.

 

Deneholes and chalkwells – a brief summary of archaeological and historical research (pp125-133) (PDF 11.2MB)     

by Terry REEVE.
Enigmatic, in some cases controversial, deep excavations into rocks of the Late Cretaceous Chalk Group are present across parts of the Chalk outcrop and shallow subcrop in southeastern England. Such cavities are generally known as deneholes (sometimes daneholes) or chalkwells. Few of them remain open and accessible, many having been filled-in intentionally or simply by encroachment of natural superficial materials, but a relative few have been mapped, described, and discussed. Of those that remain open, some are fitted with grids to allow access and provide some measure of protection for roosting and hibernating bats, while also providing shelter for other creatures. Whereas the locations of some blocked sites are recorded, many more undoubtedly exist, and unrecorded examples are commonly involved in the development of slow or rapid (sinkhole) subsidence or, more rarely, sudden catastrophic surface collapse, whether in open country or beneath modern roads and building developments.
Classification: Feature.
Date: Received: 08 August 2023; Accepted: 04 October 2023.
Keywords: bell pits; chalk mines/chalk mining; Essex; Kent; Neolithic flint-mining.

Bibliograph: REEVE, Terry. (2023). Deneholes and chalkwells – a brief summary of archaeological and historical research. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), pp125-133.

 

Correspondence – The use of Chinese terms in cave and karst science (p134) (PDF 2.0MB)     

by David William GILL.
Classification: Forum.

 

Notes for Authors – The strength and importance of the reference list (p135) (PDF 4.6MB)     

by Stephen K DONOVAN.
Classification: Forum.

 

BCRA Field Meeting – Alderley Edge Copper Mines, 09 October 2022 (pp136-137) (PDF 6.1MB)     

by Mark TRINGHAM.
Classification: Forum.

 

BCRA Spring Field Meeting – Karst Hydrology of the Hertfordshire Chalk, 01 April 2023 (pp138-139) (PDF 8.6MB)     

by John GUNN.
Classification: Forum.

 

34th BCRA Cave Science Symposium, 21 October 2023 [Abstracts (pp140-144) (PDF 5.4MB)     

Classification: Forum.

 

BCRA field meeting – Greenhow Hill and the Upper Nidderdale Karst, 22 Oct 2023 (pp145-146) (PDF 5.9MB)     

by Phil MURPHY.
Classification: Forum.

 

Caves of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Part 2: a geological story (p147) (PDF 4.3MB)     

by Martin LAVERTY.
Classification: Photo Feature.

Bibliograph: LAVERTY, Martin. (2023). Caves of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Part 2: a geological story. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), p147.

 

Caves of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Part 3: historical stories (p148) (PDF 2.5MB)     

by Martin LAVERTY.
Classification: Photo Feature.

Bibliograph: LAVERTY, Martin. (2023). Caves of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Part 3: historical stories. Cave and Karst Science 50(3), p148.

 

Research Fund and Grants (page iii) (PDF 643KB)     

 

Back cover photos (page iv) (PDF 7.9MB)     

A collage comprising eight images related to the mining and mineralization, the caves and underground drainage, and other aspects of the areas around Greenhow Hill and Upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire, which were the venue of the 2023 BCRA post-symposium field meeting. For individual credits see contents page.