Cave & Karst Science (ISSN 1356-191X)

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Contents of Cave & Karst Science 46(3)

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Cave and Karst Science (iv + 48pp) (PDF 6.1MB)        Individual articles may be available below

GUNN, John and David LOWE (eds.). (2019). Cave and Karst Science 46(3). Buxton: British Cave Research Association. ISSN 1356-191X. iv + 48pp, A4, with photos, maps and diagrams.
This issue has a cover date of 2019 (December) and was published in December 2019.

The Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Front cover photo (page i) (PDF 433KB)     

by John BARNATT.
The western side of a buttress (of marginal shelf or back-reef facies limestones of Asbian age) that is sometimes referred to as Frank's Rocks, overlooking Wolfscote Dale, near the Derbyshire–Staffordshire border. See Contents page for a more detailed caption. (Photo: John Barnatt).

 

Notes for Contributors (page ii) (PDF 267KB)     

 

Contents (p97) (PDF 419KB)     

 

Editorial (p98) (PDF 193KB)     

by David LOWE and John GUNN.

 

The archaeology and human remains from Frank i' th' Rocks Cave, Derbyshire: a reassessment of the evidence (pp99-106) (PDF 1.1MB)     

by Catrin M FEAR and Hannah J O'REGAN.
The 1925 excavation of Frank i' th' Rocks Cave, Derbyshire, and the subsequent publication left many questions unanswered. With a focus on gaining an understanding of how the site linked to Quaternary glaciations, the excavators provided a detailed report on the artefacts and fauna but failed to give details of the human remains or to relate the finds to one another. This has left a gap in the understanding of the site, compounded by the later loss of many of the artefacts that were excavated. The current study re-analysed the surviving assemblage, comparing the results with the details in the excavation report and in later catalogues. Re-analysis suggests multi-period usage from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Georgian period. However, most of the evidence, including the human remains, relates to the mid–late Romano-British period. In conclusion, we stress the importance of re-examining archival material as well as conducting new excavations when studying cave archaeology.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 05 June 2019; Accepted: 05 September 2019.

Bibliograph: FEAR, Catrin M and Hannah J O'REGAN. (2019). The archaeology and human remains from Frank i' th' Rocks Cave, Derbyshire: a reassessment of the evidence. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp99-106.

 

William John Burchell (1781 – 1863): missed opportunities to contribute to South African speleohistory (pp107-110) (PDF 1.1MB)     

by Stephen A CRAVEN.
An account is given of William Burchell's brief description of the limestone and dolomite in the Cape Colony.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 07 June 2019; Accepted: 14 October 2019.
Keywords: Burchell, Cango, Danielskuil, Kuruman, Lichtenstein, Polemann, Wonderwerk.

Bibliograph: CRAVEN, Stephen A. (2019). William John Burchell (1781 – 1863): missed opportunities to contribute to South African speleohistory. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp107-110.

 

Stonelands Cave, Littondale, North Yorkshire, UK: evidence for ice caves in the Yorkshire Dales (pp111-114) (PDF 784KB)     

by Phillip J MURPHY, David HODGSON, David A RICHARDS and Dan C NITA.
Evidence from sediments comprising fractured speleothem blocks in Stonelands Cave suggests the possible one-time existence of an ice body within the cave entrance chamber. Results of uranium–thorium dating of one of the speleothem samples constrain such activity to after ~136 ka.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 17 July 2019; Accepted: 01 October 2019.

Bibliograph: MURPHY, Phillip J; David HODGSON, David A RICHARDS and Dan C NITA. (2019). Stonelands Cave, Littondale, North Yorkshire, UK: evidence for ice caves in the Yorkshire Dales. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp111-114.

 

Identification of avian remains from Covesea Cave 2, on the Moray Firth coast, northeastern Scotland (pp115-117) (PDF 749KB)     

by Alex FITZPATRICK.
The Covesea Caves, located on the coast of the Moray Firth in northeastern Scotland, are a series of archaeological cave sites that are hypothesized to be part of a larger mortuary complex used during the Late Prehistoric period. Although much attention has been given to the unusual assemblage of human remains recovered from these sites, there has been less analysis undertaken on the vast amount of archaeofauna from the caves. This is in the process of being rectified through the recent work of the Covesea Cave Project, under direction of Ian Armit and Lindsey Büster and currently being undertaken at the University of Bradford.
This report details attempts to confirm species identifications for several faunal bones of interest through various methodologies; unfortunately, not all of the attempts were successful. However, identifications are confirmed for two avian bones using comparative osteological analysis at the Avian Anatomical Collection at the Natural History Museum at Tring, United Kingdom. These species are placed in context through consideration of previous excavations at the Covesea Caves, as well as recent literature on ornithological analyses of ritual and funerary sites in Later Prehistoric Britain.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 08 June 2019; Accepted: 27 September 2019.
Keywords: archaeology, caves, prehistory, Scotland, zooarchaeology, ornithology, comparative osteology.

Bibliograph: FITZPATRICK, Alex. (2019). Identification of avian remains from Covesea Cave 2, on the Moray Firth coast, northeastern Scotland. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp115-117.

 

Carbon dioxide emissions from a 'mofette cave', Costa Rica (pp118-120) (PDF 677KB)     

by Donald A MCFARLANE, Guy Van RENTERGEM, Joyce LUNDBERG, Carlos Umaña RAMIREZ and Keith CHRISTENSON.
Natural caves that emit geogenic CO2 appear to be very rare; here we report CO2 measurements from Cueva de la Muerte, Costa Rica, a natural cave developed in recent volcanic rocks. The CO2 is strongly stratified, emerging from the cave in a density flow that hugs the ground. The total CO2 export from the Cueva de la Muerte is significant, estimated at approximately 272±5.6 metric tonnes of CO2 per year. We propose a new term to distinguish such caves from caves with non-geogenic CO2: 'mofette cave.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 29 July 2019; Accepted: 17 September 2019.
Keywords: Geogenic-CO2, hypogene, geothermal.

Bibliograph: MCFARLANE, Donald A; Guy Van RENTERGEM, Joyce LUNDBERG, Carlos Umaña RAMIREZ and Keith CHRISTENSON. (2019). Carbon dioxide emissions from a 'mofette cave', Costa Rica. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp118-120.

 

The world's largest known subterranean fish: a discovery in Meghalaya (NE India) of a cave-adapted fish related to the Golden Mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822) (pp121-126) (PDF 1.3MB)     

by Dan HARRIES, Thomas ARBENZ, Neelesh DAHANUKAR, Rajeev RAGHAVAN, Mark TRINGHAM, Duwaki RANGAD and Graham PROUDLOVE.
In February 2019 a troglomorphic fish was discovered in a cave in Meghalaya in northeastern India. The largest individual seen in the cave was in excess of 400mm in standard length making it, by far, the largest known subterranean fish found to date. Initial investigations indicate it is a close anatomical match to Tor putitora but differs in its depigmentation, lack of eyes and in its subterranean habitat.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 12 July 2019; Accepted: 23 September 2019.
Keywords: Subterranean fish, cave fish, Meghalaya, standard length.

Bibliograph: HARRIES, Dan; Thomas ARBENZ, Neelesh DAHANUKAR, Rajeev RAGHAVAN, Mark TRINGHAM, Duwaki RANGAD and Graham PROUDLOVE. (2019). The world's largest known subterranean fish: a discovery in Meghalaya (NE India) of a cave-adapted fish related to the Golden Mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822). Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp121-126.

 

Elusive Proteus: carbon dioxide unearthed – Joseph Black, James Hutton and the discovery of fixed air, limestone dissolution and cave morphology in eighteenth-century Britain (pp127-134) (PDF 1.4MB)     

by Frank PEARSON.
Natural philosophers working in chemistry during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, perceived a gas drawn from burnt wood or decaying or fermenting vegetation, and described it as 'fixed air'. Medical experiments designed to dissolve kidney and bladder stones within the human body prompted development of techniques to weigh and measure materials with precision, enabling the identification of fixed air, later to be re-named carbon dioxide. Through wide-ranging social interactions and the communication of experimental reports, the chemists' laboratory discoveries were transferred and applied in fieldwork by geologists. The work of the chemist Joseph Black, and the geologist James Hutton laid the foundations for the geological theory of uniformitarianism and an understanding of the corrosion of limestone and the formation of caves and karst phenomena.
Classification: Paper.
Date: Received: 26 June 2019; Accepted: 26 September 2019.
Keywords: fixed air, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, measurement, fieldwork, corrosion, weathering, limestone dissolution, uniformitarianism.

Bibliograph: PEARSON, Frank. (2019). Elusive Proteus: carbon dioxide unearthed – Joseph Black, James Hutton and the discovery of fixed air, limestone dissolution and cave morphology in eighteenth-century Britain. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp127-134.

 

Report on a field visit to Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (pp135-137) (PDF 961KB)     

by Vanessa J BANKS, Elanni AFFANDI, Tham Fatt NG, Ros F MUHAMMAD and Teckwyn LIM.
The Batu Caves, immediately to the north of Kuala Lumpur, are an important Malaysian tourist attraction. Questions related to speleogenesis of the Batu Caves appear largely to have been ignored in the literature. Some initial observations from a field visit during April 2018 suggest that a range of karst processes are exemplified over a distance of less than 2km. This report provides a brief introduction to some of the features.
Classification: Report.
Date: Received: 27 June 2019; Accepted: 29 October 2019.

Bibliograph: BANKS, Vanessa J; Elanni AFFANDI, Tham Fatt NG, Ros F MUHAMMAD and Teckwyn LIM. (2019). Report on a field visit to Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Cave and Karst Science 46(3), pp135-137.

 

Correspondence on Louis MacNeice with ref to CKS 45(3), pp111–112 (pp138-139) (PDF 470KB)     

by Tim ATKINSON and Stephen CRAVEN.
Classification: Forum.

 

30th BCRA Cave Science Symposium. 19 October 2019. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham (pp139-142) (PDF 505KB)     

Welcome (Prof. John Gunn), and abstracts of the oral and poster presentations.
Classification: Forum.

 

Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts (pp143-144) (PDF 453KB)     

1) Breislin, Catherine (2018), Basin-scale mineral and fluid processes at a platform margin, Lower Carboniferous, UK. PhD: University of Manchester.
2) Šegina, Ela (2019), Holistic geomorphological spatial analysis of karst on Krk Island. PhD: University of Nova Gorica.
3) B.Komac and F.Šušteršic, An initial appraisal of 'Holistic Geomorphological Spatial Analysis of Karst on Krk Island', Doctoral Dissertation by Ela Šegina, 2019.
Classification: Forum.

 

Research Fund and Grants (page iii) (PDF 241KB)     

 

Back cover photos (page iv) (PDF 362KB)     

by Chris HOWES.
The rear cover collage shows a selection of cave images from Meghalaya (See contents page for photo captions).