The Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Volume 12

Number 4

BeRA

December 1985

Norway's longest and deepest caves

Wallingford bone caves Jamaica
Mousterian chronology
B.C.R.A. Symposium abstracts
Ankarana caves ecology Madagascar
Phreatic conduit morphology and hydraulics

Cave Science

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Cave Science

TRANSACTIONS OF THE BRITISH CAVE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

Volume 12

Number 4

December 1985

Contents
113

Norway's Longest and Deepest Caves

David and Shirley St. Pierre

127

The Quaternary Bone Caves at Wallinford, Jamaica

D.A. McFarlane and R.E. Gledhill

129

Towards a Mousterian Chronology

T.E.G. Reynolds

133

B.C.R.A. Cave Science Symposium, November 1985

Abstracts

135

Ecology of the Crocodile Caves of Ankarana, Madagascar

Jane M. Wilson

139

Morphology and Hydraulics of an Active Phreatic Conduit

Stien-Erik Lauritzen et. al.

Cover:

Looking out from an entrance of the Grotte d'Andrafiabe,

at the tsingy (pinnacle) karst of Ankarana, Madagascar
By Catherine Howard.

Editor: Dr. T.D. Ford , Geology Dept., Leicester Uni ve rsity, Leicester LE1 7RH
Production Editor: Dr. A.C. Waltham, Civ. Eng. Dept., Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham NG1 4BU
Cave Science is published by the British Cave Research Association , and is issued to all
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Individual copies and back numbers .of Cave Science are obtainable from:
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Copyright the British Cave Research Association, 1985.

No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any other publication, used in advertising, stored in an electronic retrieval

system, or otherwise used for commercial purposes, without the prior written consent of the
authors and of the Association.
ISSN 0263-760X

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS
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CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No.3, December 1985

Transactions of the British Cave Research Asso ciation

Norway's Longest and Deepest Caves

David & Shirley ST. PIERRE
Abstract: Lists of Norway's longest and deepest karst and non-karstic caves
are presented together with brief descriptions and details of exploration
and survey.
There are more than 23 caves over 100 m deep, and 34 caves
over 1000 m long.
The data has been abstracted from the authors' cave
index and bibliography which was started in 1963.
The deepest karst cave
is Raggejavre-raige, -620 m, and the longest is the Okshola-Kristihola
system with about 10 km of mapped passages.
The deepest tectonic cave is
Stygghlet -60 m; and the longest non-karstic cave is Halvikhulen a fossil
sea cave, 340 m long.

Westminster and Wessex caving clubs

co-operation with Norwegian cavers.

INTRODUCTION
The majority of the limestone caves tabulated
in the following lists of Norway's longest and
deepest caves are situated in the fylke (county)
of Nordland, between latitudes 65 and 68 degrees
north.
They are formed in marbles generally
described as Cambro-Silurian though some may be
Precambrian in age (Cribb, Norsk Geol. Tidsskr.,
1981, 61: 97-110).
The references cited generally contain a
description and often
a survey of the cave
concerned, though they are not necessarily an
account of the first recorded exploration.
For
conservation
reasons
it
has
been
suggested that casual visits and explorations be
restricted
to
a
limited
number
of
caves
particularly
Hamarnesgrotta,
Setergrotta,
Grnligrotta, and Eiteragrotta ("Caving in Rana.
A brief introduction to visitors".
11 pp.,
surveys.
Rana Turistkontoret, 1983).
Cave
temperatures
are
generally
low,
ice-deposits frequent, and river caves are subject
to rapid changes of water level.
Rescue call-out
is through the police (Lensmannen).
Since many
caves are remote and communications difficult,
self- help
should
be
considered
a
necessity.
Back-up arrangements for supportive action in the
event of an accident should be prearranged with
local contacts and mutually agreed with other
visiting expeditions. Contact can be made through
the authors and Norsk Grotteforbund who should be
advised of visits.
Non-karstic caves are listed separately in
this paper, though glacier caves which are common
in Norway are not included.
History of Exploration
The entrances to many of the caves have been
known
to
local
Norwegians
and
travellers
(geologists, hunters and fishermen)
since the
1 BOO 's.
There have been thre e main periods of
exploration and survey: c . 1870 - 1940 mainly by
Norwegian geologists and naturalists; 1951 - 1965
by
mainly
British
caving
club,
school
and
university expeditions ; and 1965 to date, with
continuing
exploration
by
foreign
cavers,
particularly
the
British ,
but also including
Swedish and French expeditions, and the increasing
activi ty by Norwegian cavers which now exceeds
that of foreign visitors .
Rana Grotteklubb was formed in 1966 and Mo
Speleologisk Selskap in 1968.
The first issue of
the
national
caving
journal Norsk Grotteblad
appeared in 1977 and the national speleological
society Norsk Grotteforbund was founded in 1981.
Cavers active today are found in clubs and small
loosely knit groups such as Bod og Omegn Bre-,
Tinde- og Grottegruppe, Basmo Grotteklubb, Harstad
Grotte
og
Klatreklubb,
Rana
Turistforening
Fjel1sportgruppe,
Troms
K1atreklubb
and
~st1andske Grotteklubb, in addition to individual
interest.
The main British activity at the present time
is by members of the Gritstone, Kendal, "SWETC",
113

often

in

Cave Descriptions
The classic description of Norwegian caves is
Gunnar Horn's "Karsthuler i Nordland", published
in 1947 by the Norges Geologiske Underskelse
(N.G.U, 165, 77pp.)
Other information can be
found in Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift, Naturen, Jean
Corbel's
thesis
"Les Karst du No rd-Ouest de
l'Europe" (Univ. de Lyon, I.E.R., 1957, (12) 541
pp.) ,
in
Per
Gunnar
Hjorthen' s
"Grotter
og
grotteforskning
i
Rana",
(N.G.U.
Smaskrifter,
1968, (9) 40 pp.) and in publications by Shirley
and David St. Pi e rre such as "Cave studies in

R~nnalihlet

entrance (D St Pierre)

Non-ka rst caves 04

,. ~':\
' :'. :'\

:...
' .'

f?
fL,.t.,

,.

i- .

...

..,

. ' ~':.

'

... .
',.'

c,;j 06

SWEDEN
/

Arctic
Circle

~/,. Nordland, Norway

Locat ion of major

caves

Major caves
Towftll

see lists

---

Roads

:'::: Permanent snow

I

oStP

Nordland, Norway", (Studies in Speleology, 1965, 1

(5): 275-284, and "Caves of Gratadalen", (Cave
Research Group Trans., 1966, 8 (1) 64 pp.), "Caves
of Rana" (C.R.G. Trans., 1969, 11 (1) 71 pp.), and
"Caves of Velfjord" (B.C.R.A. Trans, 1980, 7 (2):
70 - 82) .
Many of the major caves are described
with surveys in the reports of expeditions led by
David Heap (Kendal Caving Club). Much recent work
has been published in Norsk Grotteblad, British
Cave Research Association (B.C.R . A.) Transactions
and Bulletin - Caves and Caving, Grottan (Sveriges
Spele o log Forbund), Spelunca (Federation Franyais

de Speleologie) and, by Stein-Erik Lauritzen, in

Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift
(see particularly
1984, 38 (3/4): 139-214 - Arctic and Alpine karst,
Symposium).
Early descriptions of non - karstic caves are
usually found in archaeological and geological
Ii terature.
Finds and cave paintings occur from
the Stone Ages and later, and the topography of
many
of
the
caves
has
been
determined
in
connection with studies relating to isostatic
uplift and the glaciations. Hans Reusch describes
many such caves for example in "Traek av havets
114

virkninger pa Norges vestkys t ", (Nytt Magasin for

Naturvidenskarbena, 1877: 169-242).
A number of
articles on caves in non - limestone rocks have been
published in recent years by lain Schrder in
Norsk Grotteblad, and by Rabbe Sjberg in Grottan .
Descriptions of caves
formed
in glacier ice
include those by Theakstone, at Svartisen, (Norsk
Geografisk Tidsskr,
1966,
20:
38-43), and on
Spitzbergen (Svalbard) - Pulina, (ibid., 1984, 38:
163-168) and Gallo, (Ouarnede, 1977, (9): 17 - 25,
survey) .
Cave Lists
Lists of Norwegian caves have previously been
compiled and published by the authors (Speleo,
1966, 4 (2): 53 - 55; C . R.G . Nl., 1968, (110): 2-10;
B.C.R . A.
Bull.,
1975,
(9):
20-23
and
Norsk
Grotteblad , 1977, (3/4): 5- 13); by Ulv Ho l bye - "Om
vern av kalksteingrotter og grotteomrlder i Norge~
(1974, 59 pp . ); by Cl aude Chabert, "Les grandes
cavites mondia1es" , (Spelunca, 1977, (2) suppl.
47 - 48); and by lain Schrder, 1984 . A Norway sump
index
compiled by
Trevor
Faulkner
has
been
published by the Cave Diving Group (1979, 45 pp.,
maps and surveys).
Cave Bibliographies
A
number
of
bibliographies
have
been
published by the authors for example on caves in
Beiarn
(Norsk
Grotteblad,
1982,
(9):
22-25),
Greftgrottene (ibid ., 1984 (14): 21 - 23), and on
French l i terature on Norwegian caves (Grottes et
Gouffres, 1985, (93): 1 5-2 1) .
In preparation are
bib l iographies on the caves of Tysfjord (5 pp .
publication pending), on the caves and karst of
Svalbard and Bjrnya and on Norwegian cave
archaeology (4 pp. and 10+ pp . respectively).
A regular Norwegian news feature is compiled
for Caves and Caving.
Cave Records
Larshlet ,
listed as the

once Norway's
world's 16th

deepest cave, was

deepest in 1955.

138m pitch in Raggejavre-raige

(A Gr0nlie

However by 1973 Raggejavre-raige, then -575 m and

nearly twice as deep , was only 34th on the world
list in the "Atlas des grandes gouffres du monde"by
Paul Courbon.
The Raggejavre-raige through trip (c . - 617 m,
see list) was claimed to be the world's 3rd
deepest
(Seconde, Claire Obscure,
1981,
(30):
16-21 , survey) using a value of -634 m.
Norway's longest cave dive was made in July
1985 by an Anglo-Norwegian Expedition, at the 500
m long underground outlet to the lake Glomvatn ,
Glomdal , Rana (Ive, Brown & Root News, Oct. 1985,
: 3 & 7; England, Sunday Telegraph Magazine, 1985,
Nov. 24th, (474): 22 - 28). The underground section
is sp l it by a series of karst windows giving a
downstream dive of about 300 m to the resurgence .
Maximum depth reached is about 24 m.
Attempts
were previously made in 1981 and 1982 (Lauritzen ,
Ive & Wilkinson, BCRA Trans., 1983, 10 (2) : 102;
St. Pierre, Caves and Caving, 1982, (18) : 14 - 19).
New world lists will be published by the
U.I.S. in 1986.
Corections and additions to the
li s ts for Norway should be sent to the authors for
future updates.
NORWAY'S DEEPEST KARST CAVES
AI.

August weather at Pikhauggrotta

RAGGEJAVRE-RAIGE
-620m
Hel l emofjord , Tysfjord, Nordland
There are three entrances at altitudes of
about 620 m, 115 m and 3 m above sea leve l (Heap,
Report of the British Speleological Expedition to
Arctic Norway, 1969 (& 1968). Kendal Caving Club,
1969: 1- 21, survey) .
The altitude of the upper
entrance has not been accurately determined and
va r ious surveys wi thin the cave give con flicting
values .
K. C . C. reached depths of - 180 m in 1968
and
- 564
m in
1969
in
the cave which
is
characterised by large steeply inclined shafts up
to 138 m deep.
In 1979 a s ma l l British expedition
c onnected the lower, fjord-side entrances (Rogers,
Descent, 1980,
(46): 10-11, survey), making a
total th r ough trip depth of approximately 617 m.
Other reports include those by Holbye
(Norsk
Grotteblad 1977, (1) 58 pp., long-sec tion), which
describes the first SRT through - trip , by a small
party of Norwegia ns ; Fontana (Spelunca, 1979 , (3):
122 - 124, survey); St Pierre (Grottes et Gouffres ,
1980 , (78) : 25 - 26); Seconde (Speleo-Flash , 1981
(127): 10 - 15, survey); and Graham (Wessex C.C.
Jnl. , 1983, 17 (198): 102-6).
Also see B1 3 ,
Longest caves list.

(0 St Pierre)

115

620 -640 m E-;..--_ __

RAGGEJAVRE- RAIGE
MUSKEN

TYSFJORD NORDLAND

Store
Dirty

SkrA

Rift

Wolf Walk - -........

Store

Stupet P 138

Fell side

LONG PROFILE
SW

NE

\
\
o
I

100 m

Litlstupet

115m

DStP 1986

He lIemofjord

A2.

LARSHLET
- 32 6m
Reingardslivatn, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 394 m.
The cave was discovered by Lars
Bjrnnes in the 1870's.
A small, gated, entrance
leads to a mainly dry, inclined, linear phreatic
system with a low entrance series joining a very
large
major
conduit which
divides
into
two
parallel passages.
Horn's survey, -270 m to the
top of the 23 m pitch in the Nordgang and to -284
m in the sand-blocked Srgang, was made in 1934
(N.G.U., 1947, 165: 45-49, survey). The cave was
bottomed in 1951 by the Railtons, Corbel and local
Norwegians Odd Stormo and Anton Svartisdal (C.R.G.
Trans., 1954, 3 (1): 27-39, plan). AlsoseeB4.

Hulme's Grammar School, Manchester, Expedition to

Arctic Norway, Report.
1972
13-22, survey).
Exploration
and
survey
continues
under
the
auspices of BOB TOG the Bodrp based club (Holbye,
Norsk Grotteblad, 1983, (11): 36 pp., surveys;
ibid, 1984, (14): 15-23, surveys, bibliog . ) .
A
fine sporting cave. Also see B2.
A4.

OKSHOLA-KRISTIHOLA
300m
Vatnan, Fauske, Nordland +161 m / -139 m
Alt.
170 m.
Entered by Holbye,
1967.
Explorations by Kendal C.C. and William Hulme G.S .
begun in 1968 connected the two caves and in 1969
reached a depth of -161 m in Kristihola (Heap,
Report of the British Spel . Exped. to Arctic
Norway, 1969 (& 1968) .
K. C. C., 1969: 22-28,
survey) .
Additional exploration and survey by
Norwegian
cavers.
Holbye
(1974)
produced
a
preliminary survey of the Okshola series.
Also
see B1.

A3.

GREFTKJELEN
- 315m
Greftvatn, Gildeskal, Nordland
Al t. 350 m.
A complex system formed along
Caledonian fold axes with successive phases of
partially eroded phreatic loops.
The large snow
plugged entrance shaft was mentioned by Helland in
1907 and the cave was partially explored and
surveyed in 1971 and 1972.
The depth of the
bottom (-340 m) was an estimation (Heap, William

A5.

GREFTSPREKKA
Greftvatn, Gildeskal, Nordland
Alt. 336 m.
Entrance discovered by

Reingardsl ivatnet Caves

__~~~~__
E~_I
lapph01et

~
~j6~~~--------- larsh01et

E-x::WolaVSgrotta

N.l.

100 m

L--..J
DStP

116

Nord re lapphelet

Ent ranee

Pitch

--=-

-250m
K. C.C.

p23m

-e:::- ,...
N

132 m in 1976 by Grn1ie,

Pushed to
1971.
Holbye and Lauritzen.
A Norwegian International
camp in 1977 bottomed the cave at - 250 m and
started surveying (see r efs . A3 and Lauritzen,
Norsk Grotteb1ad, 1977, (2): 70-83 ). Also see B5.
A6.

LAUKNESFJELLGROTTA
-214m
Hellemofjord, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 630 m.
Explored in 1971 by the Craven
Pothole Club (Be ck, C.P.C. Jn1., 1971, 4 (5):
242 -246, survey). Entered at Ice Hall down valley
of large sink. A dry steeply descending series of
climbs and pitches up to 10 m deep. Length 400 m.

.. ..... ;? K"

->;

Lau knesf jellgrotta

. r_ _ _

-ssw

NNE

Salthulene entrance

SOm
I

-184*m
STORDALSGROTTA
Stordal, Bardu, Troms
Alt. 960 m.
Explored by Sveriges Speleolog
Forbund to -110 m (Andreason, Grottan, 1984, 19
(3): 43-47, plan).
Extended Dec. 1984
(p.c.
Ho1bye, see Caves and Caving, 1985 , (28): 13) and
Feb. 1985 (Ho1bye, Norsk Grotteblad , 1985, (15):
6-13, plan).
Est. depth -260 m * - 83 m plus
measured depths of climb s and pitches.
Also see
B17.
A9 .

DStP

A7.

0STHOLET
-210m
Hellemofjord, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 650 m.
Explored in 1971 by Craven P.C.
(ibid.,: 244 & 246-247, survey).
Complex series
with five entrances decends steeply to "a great
inclined plane", 150 m deep, terminating in a
collapsed choke. Length 780 m.

A12. NESMLNELVGROTTA
-13 3m
Nes, Saltdal, Nordland
Alt. 220 m.
Explored in 1971 by William
Hulme's
G.S.
(Heap,
W.H.G.S.,
Manchester,
Expedition to Arctic Norway 1971 and 1972. 1972:
7-8, survey)
Three sporting entrances to an
impressive stream pas sage ending at sumps.
Also
see B32.

100m
L---J

A10. YTTERLIHOLET
-180m
Brygfjelldal, Hemnes, Nordland
Alt. c. 840 m.
Explored by William Hulme's
G.S.
(Heap, Report of Expedition to Nordland,
1974.
1975: 9-15, survey).
A sporting stream
passage with wet pitches, rapids, tight crawl and
duck terminating at a sump. Length 700 m.
157m
All. SVARTHAMARHOLA
Mefjell, Fauske, Nordland -80 m/+77 m
Alt. 250 m.
Explored 1970 by Holbye and
William Hulme's G.S. (Heap, W. H.G.S. Spel. Exped.
to Arctic Nordland, 1970.
1970: 13-16, survey).
The large cavernous passages contain a 250 m long
ice lake with an ice fall to a lower chamber.
Also see B12.

(T St Pierre )

A13. DUNDERHLET
Dunderlandsdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 600 m.
Explored 1968 by
Exploration Group.
(Report of the
Exped.
to Arctic
Norway,
1968.
survey). A series of pitches leads
stream passage with 17 m wet pitch.

Inclined Rift

~stholet

-1 25m
the Northern
N.E.G. Spel.
1968:
7-8,
to a sporting
Length 300 m.

-115m
A14. KRYSTALLGROTTA
Plurdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 410 m.
Known to Olaf Grundstrm, a
local farmer for over 50 years, this generally
spacious and well decorated cave was explored by
the
Northern
Speleological
Group
in
1965
(Mitchell, N.S.G. Bull., 1966, Oct.,
6-10).
Surveyed N.S.G. 1965, Rana Grotteklubb 1966 (St.
Pierre, C.R.G. Trans., 1969, 11 (1): 53-56, plan).
Also see B22.

DStP

A8.

SALTHULENE
-19 5m
Srfjord, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 620 m.
Explored and surveyed (unpubl.)
by Lauritzen, BOBTOG et al.
1985. A~so see B8.
117

A15. RNNALIH0LET
-110 m
Gratada1, Beiarn, Nordland
Alt.
c.
320
m.
Remarkable
tunnel-like
resurgence, alto 210 m, described by Vibe (Det
norske geogr. selsk. aarb., 1892, (3): 87-90) and
Corbel (1957: 179-181, survey).
Upper entrance
discovered by SWETC 1963 and explored downstream,
below 9 m and 5 m wet pitches and junction with
inlets from surface Store Rnnaga and Satisfaction
and Tunnel Caves 1964-65 (St. Pierre, C.R.G.
Trans., 1966, 8 (1): 29-37, plan).
Connection
made
1972
by climbing second,
inner,
6 m
waterfall from below (SWETC C.C. Occasional Pub.,
1973, (3): 23-26, plan - Holbye, St. Pierre et
al.). Also see B19.
-11 0m
A16. JORDBRUGROTTA
Plurdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 608 m.
A classic through-trip emerging
at Sprutfossen.
Main explorations 1962 and 1964
by Haberdashers' Aske' s Hatcham School (Poston,
Cave Science, 1964, 5 (36): 217-228, plan; Wolfe,
N.S.S. Bull., 1967, 29 (1): 13-22). Also see B3.
A17. LISETERBEKKGROTTENE
-110m
Rvassda1, Rana, Nordland
Alt.
200
m.
Sink
(Tekkelhlet)
and
resurgence caves explored in 1967.
(St. Pierre,
C.R.G.
Nl.,
1967,
(109):
22;
Newill,
The
Speleologist, 1968, 2 (15): i8).
Caves surveyed
1969 (unpub.) and connected 1975 by Orpheus Caving
Club (Potts, O.C.C. Nl., 1969, 5 (8): 3-4; ibid.,
1975, 11 (7/8): 40-41). Also see B23.
A18. GR0NLIGROTTA
-1 07m
Rvassdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 236 m and 223 m.
Entrances in cliff
face lead to planar phreatic network roofed by
overlying micaschist in places. Partially invaded
by vadose streamway which has cut separate canyon
below maze in lower part of cave. Final 12 & 7 m
deep pitches in the Labyrinten first descended by
Kaptein
Hvoslef
in
1906.
Cave
studied
and
surveyed by Oxaal (N.G.U., 1914, 69 (2): 5-24,
plan). Also see B9.

-1 07m
A19. BUMPERH0LET
Hellemofjord, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 600 m.
Sink cave with 45 m inclined
pitch and series of sumps.
Stream dye traced to
fjord near Raggejavre-raige resurgence by Hulme's
School/K.C.C. in 1969 (Report, 1969: 19 & 30,
survey.
Depth c.
50 m,
length c.
180 m).
Exploration continued by Craven Pothole Club
(Beck, C.P.C. Jnl., 1971, 4 (5): 245-246, survey).
Length 390 m.

-."",
SH

......

A20. 0YFJELLGROTTA
-106m
0yfje ll, Vefsn , Nordland
Alt.
150
m.
Drained
vertica l
phreatic
network of tubes up to 6 m diameter with a vadose
streamway. Partially surveyed by Bjrn Grimsby in
1960's. New series explored and surveyed in 1967
(Heap, Report of the Ermysted's G.S. Spel. Exped.
to Northern Norway, 1967. 1967: 11, plan). Also
see B31.

2r
~.'
s
5

Jordbrugrotta (A Grnlie)

50m

Bumper holet
DStP

118

Duck

-100m
A2l. NORALDAGRAIGE
Hellemofjord, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 660 m.
Sink in large shakehole and
undersea resurgence noted by Foslie (N.G.U., 1942,
150: 103-104).
Explored and surveyed by Kendal
C.C. 1968 (Heap, Report of the British Spel .
Exped. to Arctic Norway 1969 (and 1968).
1969:
8-9, plan). Extended by Craven P.C. (Beck, C.P.C.
Jnl., 1971, 4 (5): 242-243, plan). The streamway
and
parallel
interconnected
chambers
descend
steeply to a series of sumps and a choked rift.
Length 500 m.
A22. VIKGROTTA (Trragrotta)
-100 m
Vikfjell , Saltdal, Nordland
Alt. 110 m.
An attractive cave above the
course of the underground Storaga.
Length 752 m.
(Heap,
Hulme's
G. S.,
Manchester,
Report
of
Speleological Expedition to Arctic Norway, 1970.
1970 : 18-20, survey).
-100m
A23. JORDBEKKGROTTA
Virvassdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 580 m.
Sink entrances mentioned by
Helland
(Norges
Land
og
Folk,
1907:
470).
Explored since 1965 by Orpheus C.C.
Linked with
Jordbekkhlet 1969. Also see B15.

NORWAY'S LONGEST CAVES

Bl.

Larsh~let

OKSHOLA-KRISTIHOLA
9500m
See A4.
Okshola a predominantly dry maze
cave
with
several
entrances,
connects
with
Kristihola a 900 m long stream passage leading to
a series of sumps and a dry phreatic network.
Norway's only maj or cave rescue took place here
(Holbye, Norsk Grotteblad, 1984, (13): 3- 8; Lys~n,
Grottan, 1984, 19 (1): 3-4).
Estimated length
11000 m.

(S St Pierre)

Okshola - Kristi hola

Okshola

100 m

L--J

DStP

119

B2.

GREFTKJELEN
3725m
(Cave of the Lost Waters)
See A3. Estimated explored length 4890 m. A
connection with Greftsprekka (B5) is being sought.
Bibliography: St. Pierre, Norsk Grotteblad, 1984
(14): 21-23.

2900m
LARSH0LET
See A2.
Surveyed length of c . 500 m (Oxaa1,
N.G. U., 1914, 69 (2): 24-27, plan) extended by
Ho rn, 1934, to 2300 m. Further extensions in 1951
by Railton and Corbel and in 1957 by Cambridge
University C.C.
(Wells, C.R.G. Trans., 1957, 5
(1): 23-33, survey).
B4.

2600m
GREFTSPREKKA
See A5.
Estimated explored length 3200 m.
Swedish extensions, a maze of rifts and shafts
scaled and surveyed by H.G. Karlsson and Umea
cavers, 1984 and December, 1985, to just below
small inlet from sink in the upper large shakehole
(p.c. Holbye, January 1986).

B5.

Grefthulene
o

100 m

2400rn
SETERGROTTA
Rvassdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 100 m.
Entrances at base of Grnli
cliff;
see B9.
Large collapse chambers and
drained
phreatic
passages
lead
to
separate
sections of vadose streamway.
Horn surveyed 1500
m in 1939 (N.G.U., 1947, 165: 39-42, plan).
Extended,
upstream of intermittent sump into
collapse chambers (St. Pierre, Speleo, SWETC C.C.
Nl., 1965, 4 (1): 11-14, plan - pace & compass)
and downstr eam to sump (Mitchell, N.S.G. Bull.,
1966, Oct.: 6-7, plan).
B6.

N
Greftkjelen

2200+m
HAMARNESGROTTA
Langvatn, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 210-220 m.
A zig-zagging dry phreatic
system with seven entrances truncated by cliff

B7.
Snow slope
E

The
Gr~nli-Seter

Cave System

...

From Greftvatn

DSIP

EB3.

JORDBRUGROTTA
3000m
See
A16.
Dry
upper
phreatic
network,
described by Otnes (Norsk Geografisk Tidsskr.,
1954, 13 (5/6): 362-364) following a visit with
Martin Jordbru, connects with streamway at 12 m
pitches. Passage at sink, explored by Newill and
St. Pierre (C.R.G. Nl., 1967, (109): 21-22), was
blasted by Grnlie and Opsjn to make a passable
dry weather connection with the lower stream
passage (Norsk Grotteblad, 1979, (5): 46).
There
is a lower inlet from Hatcham Hole.

Jordbrugrotta
REP
\

/~

ba .. of
SOmClItf

?
Contlnuea unaurveyed
E
Entrence
SH Sink
R
R.. urgence
W
Kerat window
P
Pitch

I'

r
o
I

100 m

Sump

DSlP
OSIP

120

100 m
I

210 meal
E

-'i

Hamarnesgrotta

Ole's -

100 m

Entrance

Sump

Gr0 n li grotta ma z e

(0 St P ierre )

t
Cliff ...

,,
,,

Sargrott.
220 m asl
DStP

-80

face.
At junction of marbl e with underlying
schists.
Corneliussen mapped 300 m in 1874
(N.G.U., 1891, 4: 178-179) extended to 445 m by
Oxaal (Naturen, 1915: 23 -28, plan), to 975 m by
Natvig (D.N.T. Arbok, 1923: 170-183, plan) and to
2200 m by Horn, 1934- 1939 (NGU, 1947, 165: 20-29,
plan).
Lauritzen (Norsk Grotteb1ad, 1981, (7):
21) shows a further 180 m. Depth 80 m.
B8 .

SALTHULENE
205 6m
See A8.
A number of shafts in a narrow
marble band give access to a series of large
ice-filled
passages.
Entrances
described
by
Foslie (N.G.U., 1941, 149: 262) and Corbel (Karsts
du n.o. de l'Europe, 1957: 111-115, survey).
B9.

GRNLIGROTTA
2000m
See A18.
Tourist cave.
Oxaal's surveyed
length of 1210 m (1914) was extended to 1500 m by
Horn
(N.G.U.,
1947,
165:
37 - 39,
plan).
Baekkes1ugten extended 300 m by SWETC (St. Pierre,
Spe1eo, 1965, 4 (1): 14) was surveyed with other
extensions by Grn1ie, Haugane et al.
1969 /70
(Norsk
Grotteblad,
1979,
(5):
22-38,
p lan).
Hydrologically linked with Setergrotta (B6).

Pik hauggrottene

Gr0nligro tta streamway

B10. PIKHAUGGROTTA No.1.

2000m
Alt.
540 m.
Remote,
predominantly dry,
phreatic, sub-vertical, maze system, aligned along
th e strike, with seve r a l entrances. Horn surveyed
EO m in 1937 (N.G.U., 1947, 165: 34-36, plan).
Extended by Cambridge Univ.
C.C.
in 1957 /58
(Jenkins, Ca ve Science, 1959, 4 (29): 209-220,
survey) .
Further study by Lauritzen,
(Norsk
Geografisk Tidsskr., 1982, 36: 1 83 -209, survey).
Depth c. 50 m.

No 1

___

_--------

;:0!-- -----..----~-------J!(- :;
~-==-..
Long Profi Ie

(A Gr0nlie)

:$:;: . ,j(~

-:::~<
o

Strike ====;;=== 40
DiP+6D-70

-r-

L~~_2 __________ ~_

> __ J

100 m
I

DStP

121

B11. STORE GRUBLANDSGROTTA

I 90 0m
Ivarrud, Hattfjelldal, Nordland
Alt. 480 m.
A sporting and impressive cave.
Depth 50 m.
A comp l ex upper series of overf l ow
sink passages
lead to the underground Store
Grublandselv which backs up from the Siphon Series
and floods the lower part of the system.
(Report
of the Ermysted's G.S. Spel. Exped . to Northern
Norway,
1967.
1967
12-16,
plan) .
The
explorable length (July 1985) was much less due to
the whole of the phreatic maze from "White Trout"
downwards being blocked by a recent infilling of
silt and sand (p.c. Heap, Dec. 1985).

streamway
in places .
Remote
location.
Cave
entered 1967 (St. Pierre, C.R.G. Nl., 1967, (109):
20 & 22; SWETC C.C. Occ. Pub., 1977, (4) : 58 - 63).
Main
exploration
and
survey
1972/73
(Hobbs,
Gritstone Club Jnl., . 1975,
(5): 51-57, plan).
Depth + c. 60 m.
B19 . R0NNALIHLET See A15

r~

B12 . SVARTHAMARHOLA
I8I4 m
See All.
The cave was extended 100 m by the
Sveriges
Speleolog
Forbund
in
1975
(Haugum,
Grottan, 1975, 10 (4): 24 - 27, plan).

l 200 m

~~

SHE~320 m . . 1
~

, Svarthamarhola

Jj

t
oI

0-

SHlE

Short Tunnel

RE

Cav.

100 m
I

Entrance

DStP

SH Sink

I8l0m
B13 . RAGGEJAVRE -RAIGE
See AI.
Foslie (N.G.U., 1942, 150 : 103)
mentions the underground course which resurges in
the sea.
He estimated the length as 1. 5 km and
the depth as 675 m. Also see A19 .

Resurgence

"0-

SH E
,

Surface course

Rennili h"let
Tunnel
Cave

B14. FISKEGROTTA
l650m
Plurdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 280 m.
A large stream passage entered
at the sink.
(Whitehouse, Eldon Pothole Club
Exped . to N. Norway, 1968. 1969: 10-11, plan).

RE

----'F.""i.

oj

Caves of the
Store R0nni')ga

B15. JORDBEKKGROTTA
l~50m
See A23. Eldon Pothole Club surveyed 7-800 m
(Cooper & Huntingdon, E.P.C. Recce Exped. to N.
Norway,
1966.
1966
4- 6 survey).
Further
exploration and unpublished surveys by Orpheus
C.C. (Potts, B.C.R.A. Bull., 1982, (18): 43) and
BOBTOG
(St.
Pierre,
ibid.,
1982,
(16):
25).
Estimated explored length 2000 m.

o
DStP

B16. S0YLEGROTTA
l400m
Dunderlandsdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 295 m.
Possibly the cave mentioned by
Oxaal (N.G.U., 1914, 69 (2): 33).
Eldon P.C. dug
crawl and surveyed 360 m down a series of pitches
(Cooper
& Huntingdon,
1966:
8-9,
survey).
Extended 400 m by Rana Grotteklubb, 1967 and
further 450 m by Mo Speleologisk Selskap the same
ye ar.
A second entrance was dug by White Rose
Pothole Club in 1968.
(St. Pierre, C.R.G. Trans.,
1969, 11 (1): 39-40, plan) . Depth 82 m.

50m

B20. NONSHAUGGROTTA
l200m
Alt. 300 m.
Sub-horizontal, dry, maze cave
truncated by c l iff face . Explored by Railtons and
Corbel with Jens Arntzen in 1951 (C.R.G. Trans.,
1954, 3 (1): 33-36. plan; Karsts du n.O- de
l'Europe, 1957: 155 & 159, plan).
Surveyed by
Holbye et al 1969 (unpubl.).

B17. STORDALSGROTTA
I400m
See A9.
Norway's highest maj or cave system
nearly 1000 m a.s.l.
Two entrances, one a 40 m
shaft at the sink.
Remote location.
Mainly a
single passage with a number of climbs and 27 m,
20 m and 70 m deep shafts.
Exploration has
reached the start of a collapse zone.
Estimated
explored length 1730 m.
B18. UGLEGROTTA
I300 m
Galtaga, Beiarn, Nordland
Alt. 540 m.
From sizeable dry resurgence a
smal l passage, between slabs of granite-gneiss
leads to ice chamber and large phreatic cave with
122

l200m
B2l. TRUDEHULLET
Glomdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt.
430
m.
Multi-level,
strike-aligned
system with two separate streamways.
Named after
Trude Wansvig.
Surveying and study by Lauritzen
et al. continues.
Estimated length 2-3000 m (St.
Pierre, Caves and Caving,
1982,
(18):
14-19,
schematic long section). Depth 66 m.
l160m
B22. KRYSTALLGROTTA See A14
The entrance near the sink of the Storelv is
gated. The underground river enters the cave in a
spectactular 20 m high arched fall.
B23. LISTERBEKKGROTTENE See A17

1150m

Nonshauggrotta

W's
l ine

Iv

DSIP

o
I

50 m
I

W karst window

E entrance

B24. OLAVSGROTTA
1150m
Reingardslivatn, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 397 m.
Maze cave.
Named after Olav
Sjanes.
Horn surveyed 425 m in 1933 and 1935
(N.G.U., 1947, 165: 49-51, plan).
Extended 1967
(Franck and Muxart, Spelunca, 1973 , 13 (1): 10-11,
plan). Depth 60 m.
B25. LAPPH0LET (Bjrnagrotta)
1120m
Reingardslivatn, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 398 m.
Described by Corneliussen after
a visit in 1874 (Den Norsk Turistforeding Arbok,
1875 : 66-69). Two gated entrances give access to
two spacious, interconnected, drained phreatic
passages ending in sand chokes.
Oxaal's 1914
survey extended by Horn (1947: 50-53, plan) and
Cambridge Univ. C.C. (Wells, 1957: 25-33, survey).
Conne cted with Nordre Lapphlet 1967 by Franck and
Muxart (1973: 9-12, survey). Depth 70 m.
B26. GR0NNDALGROTTA
1110m
Grnndal, Hemnes, Nordland
Al t. 580 m.
A river system with several
entrances.
Explored
and
surveyed
Holbye,
Lauritzen et al. since 1972.
Survey (unpubl.)
Holbye, 1972.
(Lauritzen, Norsk Grotteblad, 1977,
(2): 15-17 & 34-43, survey). Depth 76 m.
B27. STORSTEINHULA
110 0m
Kjpsvik, Tysfjord, Nordland
Alt. 55 m.
Discovered by quarry workers.
Side passage joins, at lake, a large dry passage
terminating in sumps.
Surveyed by Holbye (C.R.G.
Nl., 1969, (115): 2-7, plan) and Craven Pothole
Club (Beck, C.P.C. Jnl., 1971, 4 (5): 247-248,
plan) who named it Kjpsvikgrotta. Depth 32 m.

cave.
(Heap,
Report
of
the
British
Spel.
Expedition to Arctic Norway, 1969. 1969/70: 35-37
plan - Aspfjord-grotta). Depth +21/ - 61 m.
B29. STORMDALH0LET-JORDBRUH0LET
1 039m
Gratada1, Beiarn, Nordland
Alt. 300 m.
Jordbruhlet a large through
river cave 110 m long was described by Vibe, (Det
norsk geogr. selsk. aarb., 1892, (3): 87-90) and
Sommerfeldt
(Trondhjems
Turistforening
Arbok,
1901: 17-18, illus.).
Stormdalhl et , 670 m, and
Isgrotta, 20 m downstream to sump, explored and
surveyed with Jordbruhlet by SWETC C.C. 1963.
Isgrotta exten ded downstream to second sump, 122 m
1964.
(St. Pierre, C.R.G. Trans., 1966, 8 (1):
38-44, map, plan, illus.).
Isgrotta through-trip
upstream from Jordbrugrotta shakehole 1972 (SWETC
C.C. Occ. pub., 1973 (3): 26-27, plan), length 239
m. Connection, 20 m long, made between "Overflow
Passage" and upper ent rance of Jordbruhlet by
BOBTOG, 1983 (Nor sk Grotteblad, 1985, (15): 16,
plan) .
System
subject
to
rapidly
changing
water-levels. Depth c. 60 m.
B30. SIRIJORDGROTTA
1009m
Eiteradal, Vefsn, Nordland
Alt.
200 m.
Ve rtical looping system of
phreatic passages with vadose streamway.
Several

.(7E
Stormdal-

B28. STORTUVHOLA
1097m
Aspfjord, Srfold, Nordland
Alt. 250 m.
Upper series of large drained
phreatic passages with stream descending to lower

Jord bruh01et

Isgrotta

(S)

t
RE
"

SHE

Nedre~, St.

RE

<:)
10

Lapph01 e t

(5 5t Pierre)

123

DSIP

entrances including 40 m shaft with pitfall bone

deposits.
Explored by members of SWETC, Eccles
and Wessex Caving Clubs 1978/79.
Depth 90 m
(Faulkner, B.C . R.A Trans., 1980, 7 (2): 53-69,
survey).
Stalagmite dated to 7 . 57 0.42 ka B.P.
(Lauritzen and St. Pierre, Norsk Geogr. Tidsskr.,
1982, 36: 115-11 6). Estimated length 1400 m, 1984
(p.c. T. Faulkner, 1986).
B31. YFJELLGROTTA

See A20

B32. NESMLNELVGROTTA

See A12

a streamway with a number of entrances.

Signs of
previous visitors.
(Hawkes, Wessex C. C. Jnl.,
1985, 18 (202): 14; Tuck, Belfry Bull., 1985, 39
(1): 15-16).
S2.

UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA CAVE

2000m
Glomda1, Rana, Nordland
Stream cave 759 m long surveyed (unpubl.) by
Univ. of E. Anglia cavers in 1984.
A connection
(unsurveyed) was made via a maze of sandy crawls
by Wessex Cave Club the same summer (Hawkes,
ibid., 1985: 12-13; Tuck ibid., 1985: 14) to a
down valley cave also partly explore d by U.E .A.,
81 m surveyed + 200 m estimated (p.c. Bottrell,
1986) .

1000m
1000m

B33. SATISFACTION CAVE

1000m
Gratadal, Beiarn, Nordland
Alt.
c.
350 m.
A predominantly vadose
through cave; part of the Store Rnnaga cave
system.
Explored SWETC C.C . 1963.
(St . Pierre,
C.R.G. Trans., 1966, 8 (1): 34-37, plans). Linked
with Birch Pole and Unnamed Caves by Holbye et al.
1969 (Faulkner and st. Pierre, SWETC C.C. Occ.
Pub.,
1973,
(3):
23-24,
plan
end paper).
Altitude revised to new N.G.O. mapping. Depth c.
70 m. Resurging stream passes through Tunnel Cave
and sinks in Rnnalihlet shakehole, see A15.

S3.

TROLLKIRKA (Trollkjaerringhola)
1500m+
Lavangseidet, Evenes, Nordland
Alt. 80 m.
Large river sink cave with dry
inlet passage ending at a sump.
Extensive high
level series.
Explored Grnlie, Jensen and Skog,
(p.c. Grnlie, 1981).

S4.

HAGEN HULLET
1500rn
Jordbrudal, Saltdal, Nordland
Alt. 385 m.
465 m surveyed by Ermysted's
G.S. 1965/66 (Heap, Report of Spel . Exped. to
Sa1tdal,
Nordland.
1966:
11-12,
survey).
Extension (Holbye, pc, March 1978). Depth 48 m.

1000m
B34. KVANDALHOLA
Kvandal, Skjerstad, Nordland
Alt. 260 m.
Sporting cave with several
stream inlets ending in a sump.
Sinks described
by Vogt (N.G.U., 1897, 22: 230-231).
Explored
Kendal C.C., Handsworth G.S., 19 79 (CowIe and
Wilcock,
B.C.R.A.
Bull.,
1982,
(17):
19-22,
survey) . Depth -67 m, +4 m.

S5.

SVERREHOLA
1500m
Kobbelv, Srfold, Nordland
Alt. 270 m.
950 m surveyed (Herstad, Norsk
Grotteblad, 1984, (14): 3- 5, plan). Depth 70 m.
S6 .

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST OF UNSURVEYED LONG CAVES

Sl.

3000 - 6000m
DEVIL'S HOLES
Burfjell , Rana, Nordland
Complex system of large sandy passages above

STORBEKKGROTTA
1018m
Glomdal, Rana, Nordland
Alt. 250 m.
Incised tubular passages ending
in sumps. Cambridge Univ . C.C. surveyed 300 m in
1958
(Jenkins,
Cave Science,
1959,
4
(29):
226-227 , plan).
Dry upper series extended and
surveyed to 918 m with a further 100 m estimated
(Lauritzen et al. 1977-79). Depth c. 55 m.

DStP

E ...;'
SH "

t
o

25m

Storbekkgrotta
5
11

Trollkirka (0 St Pierre)

124

D9.

CAVES IN NON-LIMESTONE ROCKS

DEEPEST CAVES
C1.

STYGGHLET, Steinvik, Bjugn, Sr Trndelag

Alt.

160 m.

Tectonic cave,

(Schrder, Norsk

Ai, Buskerud
Alt. 700 m.
Tectonic cave , 70 m long
Grotteblad, 1980, (6): 10, survey).

-SSm
(Schrder, Norsk

C2.

(9): 7).

survey).

LJ~TEHLET,

160m

and
Martel
(La
Nature,
1895,
(1176):
19-22).
Main
description by Rekstad and Vogt (N.G.U., 1900, 29: 95-105 ,
survey); also see Sjberg, (Grottan, 1983, 18 (3): 19-21,

- 60m

100 m long

Grotteblad , 1982,

TORGHATTENHULLET, Brnny, Nordland

Alt.
112 m.
Fossil sea cave.
A l egendary through-cave
in gneiss.
Early descriptions by De Cappel Brook
("Travels
through Sweden, Norway and Finnmark in 1820", 1823: 202-212) ;

There are a number of strandline within the cave.

D10. FINNEKIRKEN, Tysfjord, Nordland

Alt.

145

m.

Tectonic

160-200m
cave

in

granite

He llemobotnvatn,
(Hoel, Norges Land og Folk, 1907,
412-413 cited in Foslie, N.G.O., 1942, 150: 104).

LONGEST CAVES

at

( 4):

HALVIKHULEN (Helvikhulen) , Osen, Sr Trndelag

340m
117 m.
Fossil sea cave.
Massive entrance, 250 m
wide, 80 m high.
(Hell and , Norges Land og Folk , 1898: 32;
Sommerfjelt, Trondhjerns Turistforening Arbok, 1906: 13-30;
Sjbe rg, Grottan, 1984, 19 (4): 9-10, survey).

D11. GAUPEHULA, Rmmesfje11, Bjugn, Sr Trndelag

150m
Alt. 170 m.
Calcite lens formation.
Depth 30 rn.
(Schroder, Norsk Grotteblad, 1982, 3 (9): 7-12, survey).

D2. GUTVIKKIRKEN, N. Gutvik, Austra, N. Trndelag

325m
Alt. 114 m.
Fossil sea cave in granite also known as
Lispingdalskyr ka (Rekstad, N.G.U., 1910, 53 (5): 14; Sjberg,
Grottan, 1984, 19 (4): 10-11, survey).

N.G.U., 1910, 53,

D1 .

Alt.

D3.

TROLLHOLA No.2., Reksten , Sogn og Fjordane

Alt. 52 m.
Folk, 1901: 172).
04.

STORHOLA,

Fossil

sea

cave

(Helland,

Land 09

300m

Domen, Varanger, Finnmark

(Helland, Norges Land og Folk, 1905: 163).

D5.

HARBAKHULEN , Stokksund, Afjord, Sr Trndelag

Alt.

97

m.

Fossil

sea

cave.

Depth

37

m.

Fossil

sea

cave

in

granite .

At

strandline.

150m
(Rekstad,

(5): 14).

D13. SKJONGHELLEREN, Valdery, Giske, Mre og Romsdal

300m

Norges

D12. ROSVIKHOLA, Solstad, Nord Trndelag

200m

140m

Alt.
57
m.
Fossil
cave
in
gneiss.
Classic
palaeozoological
excavations.
(Neumann,
IIBjerghulene
i
Bergens stiftll.
Urda, 1 837: 201 - 229; Reusch, Nytt Magasin
for
Naturvidenskarbena
1877
185-194,
survey,
illus.;
Sjberg, Grottan,
1983, 18
(4):
26 - 28; Larsen,
"Weichsel
stratigrafi 09 glasialgeologi pa Nordvestlandet.
1984, Dr
scient. diss., Bergen Univ., unpublished).
Bones from top
part of 20 m thick sediment bank have been dated as 29,590
800 years B.P. Others may be as old as the Eem interglacial,

120,000 years B.P.

(Kr efting,

Il1ustreret Nyhedsblad, 1865, (14): 84; Somrnerfjelt,

see above; Sjberg, Grottan, 1983, 18 (3 ): 23-25).

1906,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The above lists have been compiled from data abstracted
from the authors' Norwegian Cave Index and Bibliography which
was started in 1963 with the aim of cataloguing all Norwegian
caves and related literature.
Acknowledgements are due to
the many individuals, in Norway, Britain and elsewhere who

have

contributed

information

thus

helping

to

keep

these

records complete and up to date.

Simon Bottrell, Claude
Chabert, Trevor Faulkner, Andrew Ive, Arne Grnlie, David
Heap, Ray Mansfield, Rabbe Sjberg, Per Str a umfors, Roger

Sutcliffe

and

particularly

Dlv

Holbye

have

assisted

with

.recent
contributions
and
suggestions
relatin g
to
this
..a rticle.
The assistance of Tony Waltham in the preparation

for publication is gratefully acknowledged.

Any errors however remain our own and the authors would
like to be inf ormed of any mistakes and omissions so that
suture lists can be amended and updated.
They would also be
grateful for details of any new discoveries, surveys and
publications even those of a minor nature.
Received December 19 85
David and Shirley St. Pierre,
Norwegian Cave Index and Bibliography,
148 Rother Crescent,
Gossops Green , Crawley,
Sussex, RHll 8ND.

12

Harbakhulen (R

Sj~berg)

188m

D6.

REPHELLEREN, Srland, Vaery, Nordland

(Helland, Norges Land og Folk, 1907: 211).

D7 .

DOLLSTEINHOLA, Sanden, Sande, Mre og Romsdal

Alt .

60

mentioned

in

described

m.

by

Fossil sea cave.

the

Orkney

Sagas

Pontoppidan,

of

Depth

the

(Norges

40 m.

180m

The

cave

is

and

is

12th Century
Naturlige

Historie,

Copenhagen, 1752: 76-77); Reusch (Nytt Magasin for Naturv.,

1877: 173-183, survey, illus.; and Sjberg (Grottan, 1984, 19
(4): 8-10) .
D8 .

TONNESHULEN, Melfjord, Lury, Nordland

Alt. 100 m.
Fossil sea cave.
(Kraft,

Beskr.

o.

Kongeriget

Norge ,

1838,

(2):

Topo.
302;

170m
Stat.

Rekstad,

N.G.U., 1912 , 62: 64-65).

125

CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No.3, December 1985

Tran sactions of the British Cave Research Association

The Quaternary Bone Caves at Wallingford, Jamaica

D A McFARLANE and R E GLEDHILL
Abstract: A group of caves associated with the sink of the One Eye River
in St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, have been the subject of numerous
important palaeontological investigations beginning 1919.
Unfortunately,
considerable confusion has arisen in the literature through inadequate
documentation of different sites.
The caves of the immediate area are
described
and
located,
and
their
palaeontological
significance
is
summarised
in
the
light of
recent
taxonomic
review and
relevant
geochronological evidence.

The caves at Wallingford,

St.
Elizabeth
Parish, have been the focus of palaeonto l ogical
investigations in Jamaica since they were first
discovered by H. E . Anthony in 1919 (Anthony,
1920).
Subsequent work has been intermittent and
until
very
recently,
hampered
by
inadequate
documentation of the stratigraphy, the sites and
their
locations.
Nevertheless,
the
palaeontological record from the caves remains of
critical value to the interpretation of Caribbean
vertebrate history, and a rec ent re-evaluation of
some
of
the
material
(MacPhee,
1984)
has
established the Wallingford record as amongst the
oldest known from the Caribbean .
The first attempt at a consistent cataloging
of the Wallingford caves was that of Fincham
(1977)
as
a
small part of
a
comprehensive
catalogue of Jamaica's caves.
Unfortunately,
Fincham's
register
located only one of the
fossiliferous caves in the area and did not
address the confusion of sites established in the
palaeontological
literature.
MacPhee
(1984)
pointed out that prior to his own work, not a
single fossiliferous cave site had been adequately
described
from
Jamaica with
respect
to map
location and physical description. MacPhee's work
has cleared up much historical confusion resulting
from these inadequate site descriptions, but his
summary emphasises only Wallingford Roadside Cave
and
does
not
provide
surveys
or
detailed
descriptions of the other caves in the immediate
area.
The purposes of this review are to locate
precisely and to describe the known caves of the
immediate
area
and
to
summaris e
their
palaeontologi cal
and
geomorphological
significance.
Wallingford Roadside Cave
Grid Reference; 3275 4664 . Altitude; 234 m.
Length; 11 metres.
Located 6 m above the road (Highway B6), 61 m
southwest (bearing 217) of the sink of the One
Eye River.
The entrance to Roadside Cave is a rift-like
opening with a steeply sloping floor of earth and
flowstone.
Immediately within, the cave opens out
into a small chamber and then c l oses in to a
substantial earth and flowstone choke.
The floor
of the chamber consists of a hard-packed, brown
earth which is at least one metre deep at the back
of the cave.
This earth has been the source of
fossil or subfossil representatives of the extinct
Rice Rat Oryzomys, the extinct bat Tonatia, and a
variety of other mammalian and reptilian taxa.
The rear wall of the cave has a heterogeneous,
calcite-indurated
'breccia'
accreted
to
it,
although the bulk of the origina l deposit has now
been
removed
by
successive
generations
of
palaeontologists.
Frequently referred to in the
literature
simply
as
a
"cave
breccia",
the
material is a clay -r ich earth intimately cemented
wi th calci te and interspersed with thin calcite
layers and vugs.
Examples of this mat=rial are
housed in the collections of the Florida State
Museum and the American Museum of Natural History
in New York.
127

Also known as: Wallingford Cave; Balaclava

Cave ; "J1" (Anthony, 1920, field notes in the
American Museum of Natural History); Wallingford I
(Patten, 1966 c.f.MacPhee , 1984).
The palaeontology
has
been
reviewed
by
MacPhee (1983, 1984).
This site is the type
locality
for
the
Heptaxodotid
rodent
genus
Clidomys and its two recognised species C. osborni
Anthony
1920
(includes
the
synonomised
taxa
Speoxenus cundall i Anthony 1920 and Alterodon
major Anthony 1920) and ~ parvus Anthony 1920
(includes the
synonomised taxon Spirodontomys
jamaicensis Anthony 1920).
The cave is also the
type locality for the phyl1ostomatid bat Tonatia
saurophila Koopman and Williams
1951 .
Other
fossil remains include;
(Mammalia) Geocapromys
brownii,
Oryzomys
palustris,
Nata1us
major,
Phyllonycteris aphylla, Eptesicus sp..
(Reptilia)
Celestus sp., Crocody1us sp., Pseuemys floridana
A1isophis sp., Tropidophis sp., and Anolis sp.

WALLINGFORD

SINK

ASSOCIATED

AND THE

CAVES

SI.IEII,.b'lh, J ,m 'I!;'

lI eR"

GRADE 2

I d 01'1

MCFARLANE I GlEOHllL

o
low

,u''''''

b,

end JCC

metre,

100

I
O ... M HII!5

'oo ,

GRID

N O RTH

Wallingford Main Cave

Grid Reference; 3278 4671.
Altitude; 240 m.
Length; 77 metres.
Located 17 m above the road (Highway B6), 45
m due north of the sink of the One Eye River.
Main Cave is large, dry, strike- oriented
passage with a boulder floor.
Remnants of cave
fill are present, but the cave was formerly mined
for guano (Peck, 1975) with the resultant loss of
palaeontological
materials.
At
its
furthest
reaches the cave closes down to two bifurcating
crawls which rapidly become choked with flowstone
deposits.
The structure and location of Main Cave
clearly indicates its role as a former sink of the
One Eye River, long since abandoned. MacPhee
(1984) has proposed a Sangamon (125,000 yr BP) age
for
secondary
bone-bearing
cong lomerates
in
Wallingford Roadside and Main Caves based on
taphonomic considerations,
implying a minimum
downcutting rate of 28 cms/Kyr.
Additionally,
Gascoyne
(1981)
has presented uranium series
speleothem dates from the abandoned Oxford Cave
and active Coffee River Cave at the upstream
resurgence of
the
One
Eye
River.
Although
Gascoyne has only calculated downcutting rates
within these caves, their altitudinal separation
can be used to derive a downcutting rate between
the
caves
of
27
cms/Kyr,
neglecting
the
complexi ties introduced by the migration of the
subte r ranean drainage channel. This compares very
favourably with the rate of 28 cms /Kyr derived
from MacPhee's estimate and suggests that an
Interglacial age for active development at Main
Cave is highly probable.
Also known as: Wallingford Cave (Fincham ,
1977); Balaclava Cave; "J2" (Anthony, 1920, field
notes in the American Museum of Natural History);
Wallingford II (Patten, 1966 c.f. MacPhee, 1984).
The palaeontology was originally similar to
Roadside Cave but much less rich.
Both Anthony
and
Patten
seem
to have
collected Clidomys
fragments here, but the location and extent of the
breccia
is
unclear.
At
Roadside
Cave
the
fossiliferous breccia is intimately associated
with the earth choke at the back of the cave, but
at Main Cave the choke is of much purer white
flowstone alone. Breccia was noted by the present
authors in 1985.
The nature and extent of the
original cave fill was most unfortunately not
described or documented adequately by any of the
earlier workers and it is now impossible to
determine what may have been lost.

becoming choked with flowstone.

It has no other names, but was referred to by
Peck (1975) as an un-named site near Wallingford
(Main) Cave.
No
palaeontological
material
has
been
reported.
Collapse Cave
Grid Reference; 3279 4655.
Altitude; 250 m.
Length approx. 12 metres .
Located 205 m due south of the sink of the
One Eye River, on the west side of, and 22 m up a
dirt road ascending from Highway B6.
A small entrance opens onto a walking - sized
passage with a steeply descending boulder floor.
At the bottom, a chamber is almost completely
filled by a large, flat-topped slab apparently
fallen from the roof. Rifts and crawls around the
periphery of the slab give access to portions of a
mud and gravel floor.
No prior reference to this cave has been
found.
No palaeontological record is known. Remains
of a feral house cat were observed by the authors
in
1985.
The
sediments
have
not
been
systematically examined, but appear to be of more
recent origin than those in Roadside Cave .
Wallingford Sinkhole Number 1
Grid Reference;
332?
467?
(unconfirmed).
Altitude; Unknown. Length; Unknown.
Located
to
the
west
of
the
track
approximately 450 m north of Wallingford Tunnel
Cave.
Reported by Fincham (1977) but not seen by
the present authors in 1985, and not known (?) by
locals.
A shaft some 10 m in diameter and 20 m deep.
Apparently choked, but not undescended.
Wallingford Sinkhole Number 2
Grid Reference;
327?
467?
(unconfirmed) .
Altitude; Unknown. Length; 15 metres.
Exact location unclear.
Described as lIa few
metres north of road, opposite house" (Fincham,
1977).
Not seen by present authors in 1985, and
not known to locals.
Apparently a 7 m pitch to a descending
passage choked by a rock.

REFERENCES

Wallingford Sink
Grid Referenc e; 3278 4667.
Altitude; 205 m.
Length; 413 metres.
The sink of the One Eye River, located 65 m
east - southeast and 21 m below the centre of the
road
(Highway
B6)
at
hairpin
bend
in
the
Wallingford .
The sink is a large, strike-orientated river
passage which carries the entire flow of the One
Eye River.
A number of gour pools and swims (in
wet weather) lead to a sump and thereafter by an
unexplored route to a resurgence in Mexico Cave
approximately 1500 metres to the east.
The cave
is subject to periodic, severe flooding which may
submerge the entrance by 10 metres or more.
"Gulf"
Also known as:
Wallingford Cave;
(local parlance).
No
palaeontological
remains
have
been
reported.
However,
Peck
(1975)
reported
observing
indurated
breccias
in
Wallingford
Sink, which led him to confuse this cave with
Roadside Cave.
This observation has never been
followed up.
Wallingford Tunnel Cave
Grid Reference; 3272 4671.
Altitude; 228 m.
Length; approx. 40 m.
Located 88 m northwest of the sink of the One
Eye River, on the north side of the foot track and
opposite a small house.
The
small
overgrown
entrance
desc e nds
steeply to the northeast and then swings southeast
as a low, heavily decorated crawl eventually
128

Anthony, H.E. 1920.

New mammals from Jamaica.
Bull. Amer.
Museum Nat. Hist., 10, (2) 55 - 59 .
Fincham, A.G. 1977. Jamaica Underground: A register of the
caves of Jamaica. Spec.

pp.
Gascoyne, M. 1981.

Pub . Geol. Soc. Jamaica.

247

Rates of passage entrenchment and valley

l owering determined from speleothem age measurements.

Proc 8th Int. Co ngress Speleology,

1 , 99-100.

(Beck, B. , ed.) vol

Koopman, K.F.

and williams, E.E . 1951.

Fossil chiroptera
collected by H.E. Anthony in Jamaica, 1919-1920. Amer.
Mus. Noviatates, No. 1519, 1-29.
MacPhee , R.D.E. 1984.
Quaternary mammal localities and the
Heptaxodontid rodents of Jamaica.
Amer. Mus. Novitates,
No. 2803 , 1-34.
Peck, S . B . 1975.
The invertebrate fauna of tropical American
caves , part 3; Jamaica, and introduction .
Int. Jour .
Speleology, 7, 303 - 326.
Received December 1985
Donald A . McFarlan e
Natural History Museum Los Angeles County,

900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.

Richard E. Gledhill,
7 Southgate Close,
Liverpool L12 OJN

CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No.3, December 1985

Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Towards a Mo u s t e rian Chronology

T E G REYNOLDS
Abstract : The chronology of Mousterian industries from southwestern France
has been derived from archaeological cave sites .
Currently, few absolute
dates are available and chronology relies upon a composite inter-site
sequence based upon sediments.
The sampling of these sediments, however,
has not been taken into account in formulating the scheme.
Th1.s paper
outlines the importance of dating the Mousterian and questions the
sediment-based scheme.
A need for
closer examination of sampling
procedures and for control studies is suggested and also for greater
co-operation between archaeologists and environmental scientists .

It has been argued on the basis of revised

dating that in situ evolution of Neanderthals
into H. sap . sapiens could not have tak en place in
France , for too little time separates the two
forms (Ap Simon, 1980).
This revised dating is
the
product
of
an
inter - site
sedimentary
comparative scheme (Laville, Rigaud and Sa ckett,
1980).
As yet, this scheme appears to have been
rather uncritically accepted. The irrunediate and
obvious benefits from it tend to obscure possible
limitations and complications . As the scheme has
serious
implications
for
both
physical
anthropology and palaeolithic archaeology, it will
be reviewed here.
Archaeological explanations of the behaviour
of Neanderthals in southwest France hinge around
different i nterpretations of the significance of
what has become known as 'Mouste rian variability'.
This has been the subject of a protracted debate
and certain general points have emerged. Firstly,
this debate is limited to the early last glacial
(Wiirm) , phases I to II/III interstadial, and its
interests end with, although they are not without
significance
for,
the
onset
of
the
Upper
Palaeolithic in phase III. These phases have been
defined on
the
basis of pollen,
fauna
and
sedimentological
evidence .
Secondly,
the
southwestern French case is important because it
is
particularly
rich
and
comparatively
well
documented; especially notable is the typological
work of Bordes (1961).
This remarkably inclusive
and extensive study yielded a series of five
assemblage types, the 'Mousterian variants', which
are
recognized
by
characteristic
forms
of
cumulative
percentage
frequency
graphs
and
technological indices.
These variants have been
adequately described elsewhere
(Bordes,
1961,
1968,1972,1973,; Mellars, 1967, 1969, 1970) and
therefore will not be re peated here.
However, it
is useful to note their names:
the Typical,
Denticulate, Ferrassie and Quina Mousterian and
the Mousterian of Acheu l ean Tradition
(MAT).
Explanations
of
the
significance
of
these
variants have been the perennial archaeological
arguments of function (Binford 1973; Binford and
Binford,
1966,
19 69 ;
Freeman,
1966),
cultu re
(Bordes, 1972, 197 3 ; Bordes and de Sonneville
Bordes, 1970; Collins 1969, 1970) and chronology
(Mellars, 1965, 1969, 1970).
One particularly
convincing aspect of the debate has been the study
of chronology. Mellars examined the succession of
variants occurring within sites and from this it
was noted that within the Greater Perigord region,
twelve sites had the MAT variant stratified above
Quina variants whilst no clear reversal of this
order could be demonstrated elsewhere .
Further,
it was noted that MAT frequently occurred directly
beneath Upper Palaeolithic levels and that at the
important site of Combe Grenal, where a remarkable
fifty-five l ayers of Mousterian are documented,
the MAT occurs only in the top four layers,
clearly above the Quina variant levels.
Tying
these observations in with evidence from faunal
and pollen records, it was suggested that the MAT
was chronologically the latest Mousteri a n variant,

probably
occurring
in
the
re l atively
mild
conditions of the Wiirm II/III interstadial and in
Wiirm II.
In addition to this succession, another
less clear stratigraphic argument could be made
for a success i on of the Ferrassie evolving into
the Quina .
This was documented at only two sites
and must , therefore , remain tenuous . However, the
typologica l and techno l og i ca l seriation (Mellars,
1969) str engthens this view.
A limitation of this technique is , however,
that the two variants are assumed t o be linked but
separate forms ; time is an assumed explanation
(see Orton , 1980 : 80 ).
Bordes (1 968, 1972, 1973)
has ,
with
o t her
workers ,
noted
the
close
resemblance between Ferrassie and Quina variants ,
which are grouped together as ' Charentian ' types.
It may be that the classic typo l ogy has been
over - cladistic in this case and that a single
Charentian is to be preferred as a variant in its
own right .
After all, the tool t ypes which
comprise the Bordes type list have never been
subjected to stat istical analysis to determine how
far they represent distinct, and how far similar ,
forms.
Also,
recent
work
has
shown
the
technological trends in the use of Levallois
technique, platform facetting , etc., that Mellars
takes to represent a Ferrassie - Quina evolution,
continue within the Quina itself (Le Tensorer,
1978).
This
aspect
of
the
chronological
succession requires further investigation .
Recently ,
this
view
of
chronological
succession has been rejected
(Laville ,
1973;
Laville , Rigaud and Sackett, 1980) .
On the basis
of
sedimentology
it
is
c l aimed
that
interdigitation of the variants occurs without
significant chronological patterning - if not at
any given site then throughout the early last
glacial in the Perigord region.
This conclusion
was reached following the examination of the
series of sediment layers from four different
si tes ; it noted their morphology as representing
the environmental regime of their production and a
master stratigraphic sequence was constructed for
the region, tied into the climatic fluctuations of
the early glacial.
Thus , the interdigitation of
the variants necessary to refute the chronolog i cal
succession is created indirectly.
The result of
this is to leave the question of the significance
of
Mousterian
variants
back
with
the
culture-function debate and the variants, to some
degree, contemporary, without significant change
or interaction for tens of thousands of years.
Similar work in Spain (Butzer, 1981) fails to
inform on the chrono l ogical sequence established
by Mellars
although
showing
Denticulate
and
Typical Facies were coeval.
The question must
then be 'how valid is the new sediment - based
sequence?'
The problems inherent in interpreting
any sequence of sediments are many.
Cornwall
(1958 : 31 - 34) has shown how del i cate the balance
between temperature, moisture and location is in
both cryoclastic weathering of cave surfaces and
in the pedogenetic cycles o f cave contents, a
point noted in the field by Legge (1972) for the
sites of Asprochaliko and Kastritsa.
This means

129

that the sediments within a cave wi ll be unique

rela ting to i ts individual circumstances.
This
uniqueness of a cave's geomorphic history is not
overlooked in the Perigord sequence, but the
degree to which sediment sequences can be matched
needs questioning.
The
bulk of our understanding of
cave
sediments has been obtained from archaeological
sites.
It is the archaeology which usually draws
attention to a site and is the reason for study.
While to a large extent the effects of human
occupation may be small, in combination they
require further consideration.
Not only is an
empty cave's sedimentary history likely to be
unique but occupational histories of sites will
also vary . This poin t is generally recognised but
where further thought may be required is in the
sediment sampling itself.
Human use of fire in
caves is well-documented in the Perigord sites and
the lighting of fires will produce local air
movements, alter gradients of temperature and
humidi ty and may l ocal l y increase the amount of
water present by liberating it from frozen rock.
Al l these phenomena will alter rates of weathering
in the cave relative to where it might otherwise
occur. Cornwall stated (195 8: 34) : "Samples taken
from close to the en tr ance of a cave may not show
climatic and chronological zoning very clearly";
work at Creswell Crags is currently investigating
the internal variabi lity of cave environments
(Smithson,
1985).
It is suggested that the
presence of fire i n a site will require due
account in sampling strategy and analysis.
This
may also be a relevant po int for pollen studies.
These comments question the straightforward
sampling of sediments from archaeological sections
without due account of the archaeology itself.
The degree to which the above effects operated in
the past wi ll depend upon the duration and number
of occupations , numbers of people involved and the
activities they undertook.
Bouchud (1966) has
suggested that occupation was generally occurring
all year round, on the basis of studies of
reindeer teeth.
However, this view has recently
been
challenged
(Binford,
1981) .
The
archaeo log ical layers themselves are often noted
as rich in tools and as being relatively thick
with many hearths occurring. This may be taken to
suggest stays of some duration. However, evidence
on this remains unclear (Binford, 1982).
The Perigord sequence for the Mousterian is
essentially based on four archaeological sites:
Combe Grenal, Pech de l' Aze I, Le Moustier Lower
Shelter and Caminade Est.
At three of these
sites, erosional phases have been documented and
some removal of sediment has occurred.
Thus, at
each site a gap in the sequence exists.
Further,
the site of Le Moustier h as had the bulk of the
deposit removed by archaeologists prior to the
development
of
refined
sedimentological
techniques. Recent work has been carried out on a
block
of
'control'
sediments
that
remain.
However, it is likely that this controls on ly for
archaeology.
There is no way of assessing how
representative these control blocks are of the
sedimentary history of the site ; the sequence is
based on two non-abutting sections and comprises
both cryoclastic and water - lain deposits .
The
only site without a hiatus in the sequence is Pech
de l'Aze I. However, there, too, past excavations
have removed a considerable amount of the deposit .
It is possible that at all of these sites some
events in sedimentary history may be omitted .
Thus it is that the gaps in the sequences are
flaws in the master sequence. The sediments, when
correlated ,
show parallelism in environmental
erosional regimes but do not prove synchroneity:
it is possible that longer sequences have been
telescoped together.
Synchroneity is an assumed
feature strengthened by further correlations above
and below in the sequence .
However , it may be
that phases of occupation and abandonment create
their own pedogenic and erosional cycles; how far
these would correlate with the major climatic
fluctuations
of
the
region
remains
to
be
demonstrated .
It
has
yet
to
be
seen
how
fine-grained
the
sedimentological
record
is.

Cross - corre lati on

between
sediment
layers
at
different sites that are not synchronous would be
dangerous, for once a basic correlation is made,
such a scheme is partly self-fulfilling.
This is
particularly an important consideration in the
light of new dating for the Mousterian using
uranium series dating (Dennell, 1983; Schwarcz and
Blackwell, 1983) which expands the possible range
of the Mousterian succession considerably.
It is unfortunate that the sedimentologist
is so often dependent upon the archaeologist for
sections . to
sample.
It
cannot
usually
be
determined how representative the sample is and
very often in publication no account is given of
the cave as an enclosure
(see,
for example,
Schmid, 1969).
The face of a cliff, outcrop,
etc., in which a site occurs may recede during a
site's lifetime, a feature apparent at Combe
Grenal . Thus, the sample taken at the middle of a
site and representing the erosional events of a
central entrance environmen t may have once been
much deeper within the cave and ,
therefore,
subject to a different eros ional regime.
The
location may change its
'place'
(Parkington,
1980).
These problems will only be resolved
following further work in the reg~on and a new
concentration on gaining representative samples by
archaeologists as well as sedimentologists.
What
is needed in any attempt to create a regional
master sequence of sediment stratigraphies is a
development
of
'middle-range'
investigation
(Binford, 1977).
To account for the relative
effects of human occupation and archaeological
sampling, a control sequence, or set of sequences
from unoccupied sites, could be used, through the
expans ion of studies into variation of sediment
forming factors for single layers within a site.
This could be used to devise a consistent set of
factors to be incorporated into sediment sampling
strategies and so increase comparability.
This
would develop the picture of regional climatic
flucta tions
wi thou t
the
complications
of
archaeology.
Against
this
picture
could be
employed
a
comparative
approach
using
the
archaeological data, with an allowance for the use
of statistical techniques, to demonstrate the
relative strengths and weaknesses of correlations
in the series.
Until the regional stratigraphic
sequence of the Perigord has been strengthened in
this way, it must remain tenuous.
The succession
of Mousterian variants documented by Mellars (1969
and 1970) has the intrinsic strength of being
based upon intra-site stratigraphy and until the
inter-site composite sediment stratigraphy can
match this strength , the chronological ordering of
certain Mousterian variants may remain a strong
viewpoint .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author acknowledges receipt of a

grant from the Science

and Engineering Research Council for this study, which forms
part of a Ph.D. thesis.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Binford , L.R .
1972 Contemporary model building: paradigms
and the current state of Palaeolithic research in Models
in Archaeology . Clarke, D.L. (ed) .
London 109 -1 66.
Binford, L . R.
1973 Interassemblage variability - the
Mousterian and the functional argument in Explanation of
Culture Change.
Renfrew, A. C. (ed ).
London 227 - 254 .
B~nford , L .R.
1977 For Theory Building .
London.
BlnfO~~~d~~R.
1981 Bones, Ancient Men and Modern Myths.
Binford, L.R.
1982 The Archaeology of Place , Jour
Anthropological Archaeology 1(1) 5 -31.
Binford, L.R . and Binford, S.R.
1966 A preliminary analysis
of functional variability in the Mousterian of Levallois
Facies.
American Anthropologist 68 , 238-295.
Binford, L . R. and Binford , S.R.
1969 Stone Tools and Human
Behaviour .
Scientific American 220 , 70-82.
Bouchud, J.
1966 Essai sur Ie Renne et la Climatologie du
Paleolithique Superior .
Perigeux.
Bordes , F .
1961 Typologie du Paleolithique Ancien et Moyen.
Bordeaux .
Bordes , F.
1968 The Old Stone Age . New York.
Bordes , F.
1972 A Tale of Two Caves .
New York.

130

Bord e s , F.
1973 On the chronology and contemporaneity of
different Palaeolithic cultures in France in Explanation
of Culture Change , Renfrew, A.C . (ed). London.
Bordes, F. and de Sonneville - Bordes , D.
1970 What do
Mousterian types represent? The significance of
variability in Palaeolithic assemblages . World
Archaeology 2,61-73.
Butzer , K.W.
1981 Cave Sediments, Upper Pleistocene
Stratigraphy and Mousterian Facies in Cantabrian Spain.
Jour Archaeological Science, 8, 133-183.
Collins , D.
1969 Culture traditions and environment of early
man . Current Anthropo l ogy , 10, 267 -4 16.
Collins, D.
1970 Stone artifact analysis and the recognition
of culture tr adit i ons . World Archaeology , 2, 17 - 27 .
Cornwall, I .W .
1958 Soils for the Archaeologist . London.
Dennell, R.
1983 A New Chronology for the Mousterian.
Nature ,

301, 199-200.

Farrand , W.R .
1975 Analysis of the Abri Sediments. Bull
American School of Prehistoric Research, 30, 27-68 .
Freeman , L.G.
1966 The nature of the Mousterian facies in
Cantabrian Spain. American Anthropologist, 68(2),
230 - 237 .

Laville, H.
1973 The relative position of Mousterian
industries in the climatic chronology of the early Wurm
in the Perigord . World Archaeology, 5, 323 - 329.
Laville , H.
1976 DepOSits in calcareous rock shelters:
analytical methods and climatic interpretation in
Geoarchaeology . Davidson , D.A. and Shackley, M.L.
(eds).

London , 137 - 155.

Laville , H. and de Sonneville-Bordes , D.

1967 Sedimentologie
des niveaux mousteriens et aurignaciens de Caminade Est
(Dordogne).
Bulletin de Societe Prehistoire Francais,
LXIV , 35-52.

Laville , H. and Rigaud , J .-Ph 1973 The Perigordian V

industries in Perigord: Typological variations ,
stratigraphy and relative chronology. World
Archaeology , 4, 330 - 338 .

Laville, H. , Rigaud, J .- Ph . and Sackett, J.R.

1980 Rock
shelters at the Perigord , geological stratigraphy and
archaeological succession. London.
Legge, A. J.
1972 Cave Climates in Papers in Economic
Prehistory.
Higgs, E.S. (ed).
London, 97- 103.
Limbrey, S.
1975 Soil Science and Archaeology, London.
Mellars, P . A.
1965 Sequence and development of Mousterian
traditions in South Western France.
Nature 205 ,
626 - 627.

Mellars, P.A .
1969 The Chronology of Mousterian Industries
in the Perigord Region . Proc. Prehistoric Soc 35,
134-171.

Mellars, P.A.
1970 Some comments on the notion of
' functional variability ' in stone tool assemblages.
World ArChaeology 2 ,

74 - 89.

Orton, C.
19 80 Mathematics in Archaeology, London .
Parkington , J .
1980 Time and Place : Some observations on
spatial and temporal patterni ng in the later Stone Age
sequence of Southern Africa.
South African
Archaeological Bulletin 35 ,

73 - 83.

Rolland, N.
1976 The antecedents and emergence of Middle
Palaeolithic industria l complex in Western Europe.
Unpub Ph . D. Thesis . University of Cambridge .
Rolla nd, N.

1981 The Interpretation of Middle Palaeolithic

Variability. Man 16, 15- 42 .

Schmid , E.
1969 Cave Sediments and Prehistory in Science i n
Archaeology.
Brothwell, D. and Higgs, E.S. (eds).
London 151 -1 66.
Schwarcz , H.P . and Blackwell , B.

1983 230 Thu/234U age of a

Mousterian site in France. Nature 301, 236 - 237.

Shackley , M.L .
1972 The use of textual parameters in the
analysis of cave sediments. Archaeometry 14, (i),
133-145.

Simon , A.M . Ap

1980 The Last Neanderthal in France?

Nature

287 , 271-272.

Smithson , P . A.

1985 Cave Temperature Investigations: Results

from Cresswell Crags.

( Abstract ) Cave Science 12, (1),

20 .

Tensorer, J .M. Le ,
1978 Le Mousterien type Quina et son
evolution dans 1a sud de 1a France . Bull. Soc. Prehist.
Francaise 75 , 141 - 149 .

Revision received August 1985

T . E.G . Reynolds

St Catharines College
Cambridge CB2 1RL

l31

CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No . 3 , December 1985

Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

B . C.R.A. Cave Science Symposium, November 1985

Abstracts of papers presented at the meeting
Un i vers i ty o f Sheffield, November 1 985

TEMPORAL CONTROLS ON THE COMPOSITION

OF DERBYSHIRE RESURGENCES

GEOTHERMAL DETECTION OF SHALLOW CAVITIES.

RESULTS FROM THE SOUTH WALES KARST
M. Noel, Department
Sheffield .

of

Geology,

University

N S J Christopher, Houseman Ltd., Wythenshawe,

Manchester.
J D Wilcock, 22 Kingsley Close, Stafford.

of

Estimates based on simple models suggest that

shallow cavities may be detected from their
associated ground temperature anomaly as measured
by thermistor probes placed below the range of
diurnal fulctuations.
In karst areas the anomaly
arises from the heat flux refraction , ventilation
cooling an d hydrotherma l effects caused by the
cavity.
The relative importance of these factors
i s dependent on the conduit type but model
calculations suggest that a 10 . m cavity could be
detected at a depth of 60 m.
The technique has
proved successful in locating Pwll y Pasg cave,
Powys .

Research
has
shown
the
existence
in
Derbyshire of a complete spectrum of groundwater
types.
Previous research by the authors in
spatial controls on groundwater composition will
be reviewed briefly.
Weekly water samples from
these representative resurgences were collected
and analysed for all principal ions . The data was
then
computer
analysed
in
conjunction
with
climatic
information.
Principal
component
analysis has identified 57-83% of the variance of
the
sites.
The
dominant
control
on
the
concentration
of Ca,
HCO,
and
Mg
is
soil
temperature .
Whereas K, Na, Cl and NO, are
dominantly
controlled
by
flow
and
rainfall.
Sulphate and silica are affected by both factors .
A similar picture emerged from both conduit and
resurgences and diffuse flow resurgences, although
the proportion of unexplained variance in the
latter case is high (45%).
This is tentatively
assigned
to
random error
in
the
analytical
chemistry accounting for a larger proportion of
overall
variance
in
a
chemically
stable
resurgence.

THE MINING HISTORY OF THE SPEEDWELL CAVERNS,

CASTLETON, DERBYSHIRE
T D Ford,
Leicester .

Department

of Geology ,

University

of

A re - assessment of contemporary historical

sources in conjunction with the results of recent
explorations in Speedwell and Peak Caverns enables
some deductions to b e made about the sequence of
events leading to the driving of the Speedwell
Levels 1771-1 782.
The Oakden-Gilbert partnership
clearly designed the Level to intersect previously
known
stream
caverns
so
as
to
develop
a
boat- haulage lead mining operation.
There is now
considerable evidence for there having been at
least two route s into the stream cave sy stem
before the Level was driven.

HYDROLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE VALE OF

TRALEE KARST, CO . KERRY, IRELAND
John
Gunn,
Department
of
Evironmental
Geographical Studies, Manchester Polytechnic.

THE HYDROLOGY OF MYNYDD LLANGATTWG

W. Gascoine,
Pontypool.

18

Groveside

Villas,

Pontnewynydd,

Mynydd Llangattwg is an up l and area of the

northern outcrop of Carboniferous Limestone in the
Powys and Gwent areas of South Wales .
The
mountain
contains
many
caves
including
the
extensive systems of Agen Allwedd , Craig - a - Ffynnon
and the recently discove r ed Daren Cilau. All the
caves so far discovered drain the limestone t o
l arge resurgences in the Clydach Gorge to the
s outh - east of the mountain upland. Using dyes an d
lycopodium spores, flow pa t terns have been drawn
up for water sinking into the limes t one and
passing through the strata to the resurgences and
these patterns seem to point to water courses
being at three or four different leve l s within the
l i mestone st r ata ; some cave streams being able to
pass over other streams without any mixing of the
wa t ers occ u rr i ng . The results to da t e indicate a
complex history of underground water flow within
the mountain probably related to the formation of
the Usk river valley to the north and the Clydach
gorge to the south - east .

and

The vale of Tralee is a narrow tract of

Carboniferous Limestone lowland, bounded to the
north by the Stacks and Glanaruddery Mountains
(Namurian Shales) and to the south by the Slieve
Mish Mountains (Old Red Sandstone).
In common
with most Irish lowland karsts the limestones are
mantled with a variable thickness of superficial
deposits including drift, alluvium and bog which
mask the pre - glacial karst topography and support
a considerable amount of surface drainage.
Prior
to 1980 the
area had received very
little
attention from cavers and was one of the least
known of the Irish karsts.
During 1980 Kerry
County Council became concerned at a deterioration
in the quality of water from a karst rising which
supplies
some
5000
domestic
consumers
in
Castleisland town. The writer was asked to carry
out water tracing experiments to identify the
source of pollution.
During the course of this
investigation several caves we re discovered and
this l ead to further studies which are still
continuing. By September 1985 some 7500 m of cave
had been explored and surveyed, inlcuding Crag
Cave which is now the eighth longest cave in
Ireland
at
3810
m.
This
cave
and
the
Ballymacelligott
Caves
(1442
m)
contain
substantial clastic sediments and speleothems
which it is hoped will shed l ight on the l ate
Quaternary history of the area.
Water tracing
experiments are also being undertaken to evaluate
the present day underground drainage patterns in
the Vale of Tralee.

133

THE CASTLEGUARD FORMATION, ITS AGE AND ITS

IMPLICATIONS FOR CENOZOIC LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT IN
THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

PONTNEWYDD CAVE: CONTINUING EXCAVATIONS AT A

MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HOMINID SITE
IN WALES

S J Gale, C.C.A.T., Cambridge.

C 0 Hunt, Creswell Crags Visitors Centre, Worksop.
C C Smart, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

H S Green, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park,

Cardiff.
Pontnewydd Cave, Clwyd, is the only known
Middle Pleistocene hominid cave-site in Britain.
It has produced an Upper Acheulian
industry
associated with the fragmentary remains of at
least the hominids who have been compared, on the
basis of the cha racteristics of taurodontism with
early
Neanderthals.
The
industry
includes
frequent hand-axes, the use of the Levallois
technique for the production of flakes, blades and
points, and numerous side-scrapers, normally with
minimal retouch. The finds have all been emplaced
by the mechanism of debris
flow,
which has
resulted also in the intra-cave preservation of
the finds in an environment which has seen several
subsequent episodes of glaciation.
The most
likely
age
of
the
hominids
and
of
the
archaeologicaJ artefacts is within Oxygen Isotope
Stage 7.
Recent work has continued to produce
prolific finds and has demonstrated that the
archaeological/hominid cave-deposits continue for
a substantial distance into the cave and the
future promise of the site is thus considerable.
This promise has been further increased by the
discovery of a new entrance, deeply buried under
hill-slope deposits, which will be excavated in
1987.

Castleguard Cave is an 18 km long karstic

drainage conduit located beneath the Columbia
Icefield in the Canadian Rockies.
The cave is
in-filled by a unique, laminated sedimentary unit
which is exposed along almost the entire length of
the
conduit.
This
unit,
defined
as
the
Castleguard Formation, the first cave sedimentary
unit to be fromally defined in these terms,
appears, on the basis of palynological evidence,
to be of Upper Miocene age.
Since the oldest
deposi ts
previously
known
in
the
cave
are
speleothems
dated
by
palaeomagnetic
and
Uranium-series methods to between 0.73 and 1.25 Ma
bp, these results necessitate a radical revision
of previous ideas regarding the age of the
landscape of the Rocky Mountains and the rate at
which the relief of the region has developed.

DYE TRACER AND STABLE ISOTOPE STUDIES OF THE

UNSATURATED ZONE ABOVE WHITE SCAR CAVE, YORKSHIRE
T. C. Atkinson, School of Environmental Sciences,
University of East Anglia, Norwich.
The behaviour of water in the unsaturated
zone of an aquifer is interesting from the point
of view of protecting groundwaters from pollution,
estimating percolation times of pollutants to the
water table, and estimating the flushing time
needed to clear away accidental pollutant spills.
Caves provide entry to the unsaturated zone and
allow its study from the inside.
The unsaturated
Carboniferous
Limestone over White Scar Cave
varies from 0-60 m thick.
Transit and residence
times of water in this zone were studied with dye
tracers injected beneath the soil in a shallow
pit, or into fissures.
The natural variations of
the
stable
isotope
composition
of
rainfall
provided a second type of tracer, with an input
which was evenly spread over the whole area. Both
types of trac er showed similar results.
The
unsaturated zone shows strong mixing behaviour,
with mean residence times in the order of tens of
days.
These results can probably be extended to
other strongly fissured or fractured rocks such as
some granites or sandstones.

RATES OF VALLEY INCISION IN THE CARBONIFEROUS

LIMESTONE OF THE SOUTHERN PENNINES
P
Rowe,
School
of
Environmental
University of East Anglia, Norwich.

Uranium series dating has been used to

determine the ages of speleothem samples taken
from fossil phreatic caves in the sides of the
Manifold Valley, Staffordshire. Many samples have
proved to be beyond the range of the method (350
ka) .
Palaeomagnetic analysis of samples taken
from thick flowstones in Elderbush Cave, near the
crest of the valley side indicate that both
normally and reversel y magnetised calcite
is
present. Some of the normally magnetised material
lies beneath reversely magnetised layers. Uranium
series analyses suggest that, whilst some of the
normally
magnetised
calcite
is
probably
of
Jaramillo age (0.91 - 0.97 My), some may well be
of Olduvai age (1.6
1.8 My).
The maximum
average downcutting rate for the valley at this
point over the last 1.6 My is calculated to be
6.87
cms /ka.
This
compares ,with
calculated
entrenchment rates in the Yorkshire Dales of
between 5 cm/ka and 20 cms/ka (Gascoyne et al
1983), around 21.0 cms/ka in the Mendips (Atkinson
in preparation) and 0.04 - 2.07 m/ka in the Rocky
Mountains
(Ford
et
al
1981).
The
evidence
indicates that exposure and dissection of the
limestone plateau of the Southern Pennines was
well under way 1.5 My ago.

THE PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF CAVE FAUNA IN THE

BRITISH ISLES AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE
INTERPRETATION OF QUATERNARY HISTORY
J T Jefferson, Department of Zoology,
College, Cardiff.

Sciences,

University

The relatively few obligate cave-dwellers in

the British fauna can be divided into two groups:
the ancient, relict "palaeotroglobites" and the
much more recently sub-terra nean "neotroglobites".
The
latter
are
widely
distributed
and were
probabl y derived from a tundra or taiga fauna
which, at the end of the Pleistocene, followed the
retreating glaciers
in a generally northward
direction.
The pa laeotroglobitic fauna , however,
shows
marked
di fferences
between
areas
and,
although not confined to previously unglaciated
regions,
is
virtually
absent
from
the
more
northerly parts of the countr y .
Its present
distributional features might be indicative of
ear lier divergence as island faunas if, as has
been suggested, there has been a considerable
overall eustatic fall of sea -level since the end
of the Tertiar y .
134

CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No.3, December 1985

Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Ecology of the Crocodile Caves of Ankarana, Madagascar

Jane M WILSON
Abstract: This brief introduction to Malagasy caves focuses on one of
Madagascar's longest cave systems which is in the Ankarana limestones of
the tropical north-east.
A survey of the 11 km long Grotte d'Andrafiabe
and species lists of cavernicoles are given.
Resume: Une courte introduction aux grottes malgaches se concentre sur les
calcaires d' Ankarana au nord-est du pays, ou se trouve I' une des plus
longues grottes de la Madagascar (plus de 11 km de galeries).
Nous
presentons un plan de la grotte et des tableaux d'especes cavernicoles.

The island of Madagascar is 1600 km long and

lies 235 km from the nearest point on the mainland
of East Africa.
Most of Madagascar's 33,000
square kilometres of karst (fig. 1) (Balazs 1980)
have
been
ngelected
by
geologists
and
speleologists, although Decary and Keiner (1971)
provide a useful inventory of the island's caves.
The depth potential on Madagascar is limited:
the highe st limestone outcrop is under 600 m and
the deepest known pothole is only 160 m.
There
is, nevertheless, great scope for discovering many
kilometres of fine new passage, as the French have
demonstrated on their repeated trips to Ankarana
in the northern tip of the island.
Madagascar 's
caves
have
considerab le
ethnological and biological interest as well as
sporting potential.
Some caves are used by
Malagasy
to
inter
their
ancestors
between
pentennial 'Body Turning' (Famadihana) exhumation
celebrations,
and are all likely to contain
fascinating fauna. Madagascar boasts a mar v ellous
variety of endemic species
an ecological and
evolutionary museum of plants and animals whose
nearest relatives became extinct either with the
appearance of carnivorous mammals on the mainland
or later with anthropogenic en v ironmental changes.
The island lacks large predators (if one excludes
man) and it was colonised by man less than 2000
years ago.
Most
of
Madagascar's
epigean
(surface-dwelling) species are endemic and odd.
For example, the little known sucker-footed bat,
Myzopoda aurita, is the only representative of a
family of bats characterised by mushroom-shaped
ear processes.
The cave-adapted animals are even
more bizarre and difficult to classify.
One of
the
two
known
species
of blind
troglobi tic
Malagasy fish, for example, lacks a lateral line
or any other obvious external sensory apparatus

Eocene
limestones
Cretaceous
limestones

Jurass Ic

limestones

100

200

300 km

--====--

KE"' FE "V ---Hl-l---"":

Bt:MARAHA - - ' r - -___, /

PlAorEAU

MAHAFAlY_-,,=V

Figure 1.

Karstic areas o f Madag asca r (after Ba lazs 1980)

Sedimenta r y r ock s are only found wes t and north of

the chain-dotted line.

The s mall o u tcrop o f

Cr e taceous l imes t one which ove rlooks Di ego -Suare z

contains c aves but these are dirty and vandalised .

and yet is particularly adept at avoiding capture

(Decary and Arnoult 1981).
A
discussion
of
the
cavernicoles
of
Madagascar was presented by Decary and Keiner
(1970)
and
there
are
lists
of
Malagasy
cave-dwellers in reviews by Paulian (1961) and
Remillet (1973).
Although Remillet refers to 152
papers on Malagasy cave invertebrates, they all
seem to be purely taxonomic descriptions with no
ecological information.
Further biospeleological
work in Madagascar, which has had very little
attention so far, is likely to be rewarded by the
discovery of new "missing link" species with
fascinating ecology.

The northwest - facing cliffs of the Ankarana Massif. The

Cassure des Buttes Chaumonts

(= Gorge)

is left of centre.

135

Entrance

500m

LA GROTTE D'ANDRAFIABE, Ankarana

Figure 2.

A plan of la Grotte d'Andrafiabe from surveys by

Jean Radofilao.

diameter, with some avens reaching heights of 150

m.
(Boase, Wilson and Wilson 1982).
The Southampton University Expedition of 1981
was the first to attempt any systematic biological
work
in
the
Ankarana
caves.
La
Grotte
d'Andrafiabe with its contrasting habitat types
(from blue underground lakes to desiccated guano
beds) proved to have a striking variety of fauna,
including several species which were new to
science.
Some of its passages open out into
dramatic
and
luxuriant
gorges
and
isolated
forests. This contrasts with the smaller but very
fine Antsatrobonko river cave.

THE ANKARANA MASSIF

The
middle
Jurassic
limestones
of
the
Ankarana Massif,
60 km south of Antsiranana
(Diego-Suarez) in the tropical northern tip of the
island, have been searched for caves over the last
20 years (Radofilao 1977) and since 1981, yearly
expeditions by French cavers (Peyre 1982, 1984)
have revealed 93 km of passage.
There is still
more to be found (Radofilao 1985, pers.).
The
Massif has been the subj~ct of some hydrological
and geomorphological studies (Rossi 1974, 1975)
and a useful aerial photograph has been published
(Rossi 1976).
The Ankarana Massif is small, only 28 x 8 km,
and a
little
over
200
m higher
than
the
surrounding basalt plains, but even in the dry
season it contains substantial subterranean rivers
and provides high humidity, alkaline refuges from
the desiccating conditions of the surrounding
bush.
Nile crocodiles
(Crocodylus niloticus)
capitalise on this rare water source and hide in
the caves from hunters.
They seem to thrive in
the deepest sections of the caves, even in the
Dark Zone.
HABITAT TYPES WITHIN ANKARANA
In 1981 (Adamson 1984), the longest known
cave system was la Grotte d'Andrafiabe in the
Ankarana Massif (figure 2).
This has over 11 km
of dry phreatic passage, much of which is 50 m in

High Humidity Refuges (Andrafiabe)

In the blind passages, particular ly towards
the Salle des Ramanavy the air is still and the
humidi ty approaches 100%.
Here several hundred
large leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros commersoni)
roost providing food (faeces and carcases) in
abundance for the invertebrates on the cave floor:
frui t
flies
and
two
troglobi tic
paranelloid
springtails (Troglopedtes madagascarensis) (Wilson
1982) and another yet to be described thrive there
with some of their predatory mites, troglobitic
spiders (Psechridae) and black troglophilic ants
(Pheidole megacephala).
Unlike
the
higher
insects,
springtails
(Collembola) continue to moult periodically even
after reaching maturity, but since they only
continue
to moult when they are well
fed,
frequency of moulting could be used as an indirect
index of food availability.
This is of interest
because
in
some
cave
environments
food

Several ravines interrupt the large

passage of the la Grotte d'Andrafiabe.
This view is looking out of the Grand Axe
Nord across Cassure des Buttes Chaomonts.
(Photo: M Boase)

136

Hipposideros comrnersoni from a

roost in the northwest portion
of la Grotte d'Andrafiabe.

availability seems to limit populations.

The
abundance
of
springtail
exuvae
(shed
skins)
wherever there was bat debris therefore implies
that springtails were gaining adequate nutrition
from either the bat detritus itself or (more
likely) from the fungi growing upon it.
This
rather
obvious
relationship
illustrates
how
dependent troglobi tes can be upon food imported
from the surface and shows how vulnerable these
trog lobi tes might be to any changes outside the
cave which might affect the ecology of the bats.
Intermediate Humdity Passages (Andrafiabe)
In sections of the cave where the substrate
is
'sterile'
silt, rather than guano, white
troglophilic woodlice, Synarmadillo madagascar,
are to be found.
These were most abundant in Ie
Grand Axe Nord.
In the furthest sections of the cave system,
Fitsangansanganan Ilay Olana Tokana (Gallery of
the Lone Barefoot Stranger) the cave floor is
covered by vast mud banks, some 20 m high.
Wherever there is sufficient organic material to
allow fungus to grow, troglobitic white diplura
and springtails are to be found grazing upon it.
Pools (Andrafiabe)
There are many small muddy-bottomed lakes
throughout the cave and troglobi tic shrimps live
in these (Gurbey 1984).
They measure just 8 mm
and despite their reduced or absent eyes, they
were
surprisingly
good
at
avoiding
capture.
Remarkably, nine closely related shrimp species,
which should compete with one another for food and
space, live in one small corner of the Massif. In
two instances, three con-generic species were
sharing the sames small pools.
Shrimps, like
springtails, are good at withstanding starvation
but it is difficult to understand how such close
relatives can avoid competition which usually
brings about the extinction of all but the most
successful species.
In caves where food is often
at a premium, un competitive species are rapidly
excluded (Culver 1973).
Dry Guano Beds (Andrafiabe)
Wherever the cave takes a through draught,
the humidity is much lower and so cave adapted
(usually humidi ty-Ioving)
animals
are scarce.
Here the more resilient troglophiles can thrive;
booklice, pseudoscorpions, and (most numerous of
all) crickets. These crickets, with antennae more
than four times longer then their bodies, resemble
animals collected in the extreme south east of the
island,
hundreds
of
kilometres
from
any
sedimentary rocks and living an epigean lifestyle.
Where desiccated guano beds have formed (up to 12
m high
in
places)
the
American
cockroach
proliferates:
Peripleneta
americana
is
particularly numerous in Grand Axe Sud.
137

River Passages (Antsatrobonko)

Without a boat, it is impossible to penetrate
more than a few hundred metres into this fine
river cave.
The animals listed in the table
represent the small proportion of the cave's fauna
which inhabit the boulder ruckles and subterranean
river banks.
Entrances, Cliffs, Gorges, Isolated Forests
These zones within the Ankarana Massf provide
shelter and roosting sites for the Madagascar
Turtle Dove, the Madagascar Black Swift and the
little Rousettus fruit bats. Apparently the local
people smoke these bats out of the caves (Paulian
1981:80), knock them down as they leave and
collect them,
presumably for the pot.
This
contrasts with behaviour
in
other parts of
Madagascar where bats and butterflies are seen as
incarnations of The Ancestors and it is fady
(taboo) to kill them.
The two diurnal lemurs of the region (Lemur
coronatus and L. fulvus sanfordi) and many birds
and insects come to drink at the pools at the foot
of the Ankarana cliffs and at streams within
gorges of the Massif and so this "island" of lush
vegetation seems to act as an oasis for the
inhabitants
of
the
surrounding
dry
basalt
scrub lands
Wi thin
the
Massif
are
numerous
patches of luxuriant forests walled in by 200 m
limestone cliffs. In an environment threatened by
over-felling,
over-hunting
and
slash-and-burn

Madagascar Black Swift

(Apus apus balstoni) which roots in

the e ntrance of la Grotte d'Andrafiabe.

agriculture these act as important natural nature

reserves since some may only be entered via the
caves.
The speciation which must be going on
within each isolated forest and in the caves which
link them will provide plenty of wotk for any
biologists
granted
permission
to
enter
this
fascinating region.

CAVERNICOLES FROM ANKARANA CAVES , MADAGASCAR

La Grotte d ' Andra fiabe
INVERTEBRA'l'ES
INSECTS
COLLE~1BOLA ( Sp ringtails)
Troglopedetcs madagasca rensis* (Wilson 1982)
A new troglopedetine from an undescribed genus
DIPLURA
A blind white sepcies whi c h seems t o be new to science
BLATTODEA
Periplenata americana: a ubiquitous cockroach
HYMENOPTERA (Forrnicoidae: ants)
Pheidole rnegacephala

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

owe a great debt to the Government of Madagascar for

permission to conduct this work and to many Malagasy friends
who helped us, especially Mr J
Radofilao.
I am also
enormously grateful to the other members of the 1981
Southampton University Madagascar Expedition: Andre Adamson ,
Mike Boase (who drew the survey ), Catherine Howarth (who drew
the
map),
Mary
Wilson
(who
helped with much of
th e
invertebrate collections ) and El izabeth Sparke.
Eric Gordon
and many other members of Southampton University gave much
appreciated encouragement. We received technical advice from
Peter Lawrence, Dr R Hay, Phil Chapman, Harry Pearman and
Joh n Middleton, and financial support from the University of
Southampton ,
Churchill
Trust
(to
Mary
Wilson),
Sports
Counci l, Ghar Parau Foundation, Bri tish Ecological Society,
French Protestant Church of London, Cadbury Trust, Westcroft
Trust, Royal Geographical Society, Twentyseven Foundation,
Gilchrist Trust, John Spedan Lewis Trust Fund, Flora and
Fauna Preservation Soci e ty, and the Mammal Society.
Finally,
thank you to Jill Wilson for translating the r~sum~ and to
Simon Howarth for cr iti cism of this paper.

trag lobi te
troglobite
troglobite
tr oglop hi le
trog lophi Ie

CRUSTACEA
ISOPODA (Wood lice)
Synarmadillo madagascarensis
DECAPODA (Shrimps and crabs )
Paris i a dentata*
Parisia macrophthalrna
Parisia microphthalrna
Caridina norvestica
Caridi na nilotica
Caridina isaloensis

troglobi te
trog lophile
?troglobite
entrance pool
entrance pool
e ntranc e pool

DIPLOPODA (Milliped es )
Undetermined juveniles of the fa mily Paradoxosomatidae

? trog loph i Ie

CHILOPODA (Centipedes)
Cormocephalus lambertoni

accidental

trog lophi le

ARACHN I DA
ARANEAE: spiders of the families: Ctenidae, Psechridae
Tetrablemmidae and Filistatidae

(trogl obi te s ),

VERTEBRATES

REFERENCES
Adamson, A.P., Boase, M.J., Howarth, C.J. Wilson, J.M., &
Wilson, M.E. 1984. Southampton University Madagascar
Expedition Report. 136pp.
Balazs, D. 1980 Madagaszkar karsztvidekei Karszt es Barlang
no 1 , 25-32.
Boase, M.J ., Wilson, J.M. & Wilson, M.E. 1982. Speleo - Mad
'81. Caves and Caving no 16, 10-13.
Culver, D.C . 1973. Competition in spacially heterogeneous
systems: an analysis of simple cave communities. Ecology
54, 102-110.
Decary, R. & Arnoult, J. 1981. Poissons d ' eau douce. In
Madagascar, un sanctuaire de la nature; ed P Oberle
(lechevalier, Paris) page 97
Decary, R. & Keiner, A. 1970. Les cavites souterraines de
Madagascar Annales de Speleol. 25, 409-440.
Decary, R. & Keiner, A. 1971 Inventaire schematique des
cavites de Madagascar. Annales de Speleol. 26, 31-46
Fincham, A. G. 1978. Histoplasmosis in Jamaican caves. Trans.
Brit . Cave Res. Assoc. 5, 225 - 228.
Frankland , J.C. 1974. Studies on the response of healthy
English speleologists to expose the histoplasmosis
infection. Trans. Brit. Cave Res. Assoc . I, 153-157.
Gurney, A.R. 1984. Freshwater shrimp genera Caridina and
Parisa of Madagascar with descriptions of four new
species . J. Nat . Hist. 18, 567-590.
Hay, R.H., White, H.St J., Fields, P.E., Quamina, D.B.E.,
Dan, M., & Jones, T.R . 1981. Histoplasmosis in the
eastern Caribbean: a preliminary survey of the incidence
of the infection. J. Trop. Med. & Hygiene. 84, 9 - 12.
Paulian, R. 1961. La faune cavernicole.
In Faune de
Madasgascar XII: La Zoogragraphie de Madagascar et des
lIes Voisines (Tananarive)
Paulian, R. 1981. Les mammiferes: vestiges d'un monde
disparu .
In Madagascar un sanctuaire de 1a nature; ed P
Oberle (Le chavalier , Paris) pp.75-94.
Peyre, J.C. 1982. Expedition speleologique Madagascar 1982.
Federation francais de speleo1ogie . 48pp.
Peyre, J . C. 1984. Speleologie : special Madagascar 1984.
Bull. Club Martel - CAF.
Radofilao, J. 1977. Eilan des explorations speleologique dans
l'Ankarana.
Annales Vniv. Madagascar Ser: sci, nat. &
math. 14pp. 195-204.
Remillet, M. 1973. Apercu de 1a faune souterraine a
Madagascar.
Livre di Cinquantenaire de l'Institut de
Speleologie "Emile Racovitza" (Bucharest) , 135-159 .
Rossi, G. 1974. Morphologie et evolution d'un karst en milieu
tropical: l'Ankarana.
Mem. et Documents du C.N.R.S, No
14, Phenomenes Karstiques II , 15, 279 -2 98.
Rossi, G. 1975. Resultats du deux annees de mesures de
teneurs en CaCO d'un resurgence karstique tropicale. ,
Spelunca. 2, 27-28.
Rossi, G. 1976. Karst et dissolution des calcaires en milieu
tropical. Zect. Geomorph . Suppl.-Bd 26, 124-152.
Salmon, J.T. 1964. An index to the collembola. R. Soc. New
Zealand Bull. no. 7, vol.1, pp128 et . seq.
Wilson, J .M . 1982. A review of world Troglopedetini,
including an identification table and descriptions of
new species .. Trans. Brit. Cave Res. Assoc. 9, 210-226.
Received December 1985
Dr J M Wilson
69 Thame Road
Warborough
Oxford
OX9 8EA

BIROS
Streptopelia picturata : the Madagascar Turtle Dove
Apus apus balstoni: Madagascar Black Swi ft

entra n ce roost
e ntr a n ce roost

MAMMALS
CHIROPTERA (Bats)
Hipposideros commersoni
trog loxene
Tadarida jugularis
trogloxene
Mi niopterus minor
trogloxene
Rousettus sp.
trogloxene
PRIMATES (Lemuridae)
Hapalemur simus: Broad - nosed gentle lemur sub - fossil skeleton
La Grotte d'Antsatrobonko

(river cave)
INVERTEBRATES

INSECTS
DIPLURA
Blind white species similar to those in Andrafiabe
COLEOPTERA (Beetles)
Undetermined pigmented species
CRUSTACEA
DECAPOD A (Shri mps and crabs)
Caridina parvoculata*
Caridina crurispinata*
Caridina unca *
A white crab was also seen but not collected
ARACHNIDA
ARANEAE: spiders of the family Pholcidae
OPILIONES (Harvestmen)
Fageibantes bicornis
Specimens included the first male to be collected

trog lobi te
?troglophile

troglophile
trog loph i Ie
?trog lobi te
troglobite
trog1obi te

VERTEBRATES
OSTEICHTHES (Bony Fish)
Cobius sp.
MAMMALS
CHIROPTERA (Bats)
Miniopterus minor

accidental

trogloxene

* indicates a species collected for the first time during our

expedi tion .
Specimens were identified by : Barry Bolton, Joan Ellis, Ann Gurney ,
Paul Hillyard, Keith Bannister, C . S. Cowles, J.E. Hill and P.O. Jenkins
of the British Museum (N atural History), London, I.J.L. Dobroruka of
Prague, J.P. Mauries of Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Pa ri s and
the author . The spiders are wi th Prof. P.M. Brignoli, L'Aquila
University , Italy.

APPEND IX:HISTOPLASMOSIS IN ANKARANA, by Mary E Wilson

Very little work is done upon cave flora, but the
dimorphic fungus responsible for histoplasmosis is sometimes
difficult to ignore (Frnakland 1974).
Histoplasma capsulatum
occurs in both Africa and India (Fincham 1978) and it 1S
quite likely that the disease exists in Madagascar, despite
the lack of literature to support this.
Members of the expedition (Adamson et al 1984) were
skin -tested for
the disease before
and
after visiting
Mad,:,-gascar, and samples of bat guano were collected from
var10US sites within
la Grotte d'Andrafiabe during the
September dry season.
On return to England, suspensions of
guano were inoculated into mice , which were later examined
histologically for Histoplasma
(see Hay et al 1981 for
methods) .
Neither the skin testing nor the culture methods showed
any evidence for the presence of histoplasmosis in the
Ankarana caves.
This may be because the disease does not
exost in this area (it is of course impossible to prove it is
absent) or that disease acquisition is seasonal.
It would
seem,
then,
that
there
is
a
low
risk
of
catching
histoplasmosis in Ankarana in September.

138

CAVE SCIENCE Vol. 12, No.3, December 1985

Transactions of the British Cave Research Association

Morphology and Hydraulics of an Active Phreatic Conduit

Stein-Erik LAURITZEN, Jim ABBOTT, Ronny ARNESEN, Geoff CROSSLEY,
Dag GREPPERUD, Andrew IVE and Stein JOHNSON
Abstract: The underground outlet of the Glomdal lake, Svartisen, North
Norway, was explored and surveyed along its full length by cave diving.
The conduit is 580 m long, with cross-sections exceeding 20 m 2.
It is
basically a true master conduit, making two bathyphreatic (State 1) loops,
intersected by one shallower (State 2) loop with water-table features.
Scallop morphometry was in accordance with the continuity equation, giving
a mean discharge of 26.8 8.9 m 3 Is. This belongs to the high flow regime,
supporting previous results.
At high discharges, the hydraulic gradient
relationshiop approaches the hydraulic equations for turbulent flow.
D'Arcy-Weissbach friction
factors and Manning numbers, derived from
scallops and hydrodynamic records,are consistent with comparable studi es

The purpose of this paper is to update a

previous, preliminary study of the morphology and
flow rates of a completely phreatic cave system in
Glomdal, Svartisen, North Norway (Lauritzen et.
al. 1983).
Traditionally, the study of phreatic
passages has been confined to the case of drained
or "fossil" conduits.
Active phreatic conduits
are completely waterfilled and cannot normally be
entered by man.
This situation is a direct
parallel to the case of anatomists dissecting a
dead body rather than studying the physiology of
the living organism .
In terms of speleology, cave diving is a
unique opportunity to study phreatic caves when
they still are active. A cave diver may perform a
direct study of the process of scallop formation,
sediment transport modes or rates, or of water
chemistry deep into the phreatic zone.
Even with
relatively
simple
scientific
equipment,
very
important
information
may
be
collected,
information that will help us to understand and
interpret more correctly what we see in to-day's
fossil
phreatic
conduits.
The
questions
approached in this paper are the calibration of
scallop flow rates to the variable conditions of
nature, the morphology and the hydraulics of a
master conduit which is known to have been
functioning for a considerable time.
SCALLOPS
Many fossil conduits bear scallop markings on
their walls, i.e. regular concavities formed by a
current of aggresive water that moved along the
limestone surface at a certain velocity. Scallops
are
also
asymmetric;
in
their
longitudinal
profiles, the steepest side is always on the lee
side of the crests.
A scallop pattern theref ore
provides information about both direction and
probable velocity of the water which the conduit
once conveyed. The experiments of Curl (1974) and
of Blumberg and Curl (1974) have revealed that the
size of scallops is dependent on the rate of flow
as follows:
(1)
Where u= the mean velocity for the conduit,v= the
kinematic viscocity of the water at a given
temperature,
L32
the "Sauter - mean" of the
scallop lengths ( L 32 = LLI 3ILL I 2 ), Re"
the
scallop Reynold's number, 2.5= a proportionally
constant, Rb= the hydraulic radius of the conduit,
and BL = is a friction factor.
This equation is
valid for a circular conduit, a shape which is
rarely encountered in nature.
Blumberg and Curl
(1974)
performed laboratory experiments, where
they were able to generate scallops on plaster
blocks under different flow velocities, and they
could
determine
Re*=2,200
and
BL
9.4.
Substituting
these
constants
into
(1)
and
139

adjusting
the other constants to a compromise
between a circular and parallel wall conduit, the
following equation results
(Curl, pers. comm.
1982) :
u = (v/L 32 ) [55.1n(Dh/L32)+811

(2)

where Dh is the hydraulic diameter of the conduit.

Equation (2) has been used throughout this work
and in the previous studies (Le. Lauritzen 1982;
Lauritzen et. al. 1983).
From equation (2), a certain set of scallops,
the dimensions of the conduit
and a qualified
guess of the water temperature, we may calculate
the rate of flow which correspond to the scallop
sizes.
However, in nature, discharge is never
constant. Flow rates vary, often drastically with
seasons and rainstorms. Hence, a cave conduit may
experience a wide range of discharges.
The
question then become, which of these discharges
corresponds
to
the
one
represented
by
the
scallops?
In other words; are scallops formed
under flood or baseflow conditions, or both? Only
direct calibration in a natural system may answer
these questions.
The previous study approached
this problem with slightly incomplete data, which
suggested
that
phreatic
scallops
probably
represent the upper parts of a flow regime, i.e.
periods of flooding (Lauritzen et. al. 1983).
In
the present work, we have gained more complete
information to investigate this problem further.
THE GLOMDAL AREA
The only outlet of Lake Glomdal at Svartisen,
North Norway, is through a more than 500 m long,
completely phreatic cave.
The lake and its
drainage area are shown in Fig. 1.
The present
catchment area is 27.7 km 2 , with a specific
discharge of 90 - 95 lis Ikm2, giving a mean annual
runoff of 2.5 m 3 / s.
The principal point is that
all runoff from the catchment has to pass through
the cave system.
The karstic marble bands are
relatively
narrow,
which
eliminates
the
possibilities
of
major
leaks
elsewhere.
Therefore, if the cave system could be adequately
explored, to correct for possible oxbows or major
tributaries, scallops might be compared with the
present hydrology with greater confidence.
METHODS OF INVESTIGATION
Cave diving
The remoteness of the area would prove to be
a problem if decompression sickness occurred. The
nreaest decompression chamber is several hours
drive from the site. It is therefore of paramount
importance to stay well within the safety margins
of the
repetitive dive
tables
produced
for
Norwegian cold waters.
However, the dives tended
to be mostly "bounces" down to 23 m with stops in

previously been marked for every 10th, and in some

cases, 5th metre. Depth readings were recorded at
every mark, as well as the compass bearing of the
line between them.
It was also recorded at which
side of the passage the line was running. Passage
outlines and dimensions were noted at regular
intervals, depending on the diving logistics and
the
condi tions
of
visibili ty.
Prominent
landmarks,
such
as
buttresses,
flat
floors,
boulder fills, silt banks, etc. were recorded as
well.
The surface and the air - filled sections of
the
cave were
surveyed
conventionally.
The
underwater survey bearings were converted to
conventional bearings
(declination, inclination
and distance) before the complete data set was
computer processed and plotted.
The horizontal
misfit between surface and underwater survey
distance was less than 1% , which is acceptable,
considering the apparently crude survey conditions
prevailing under water in a dark cave.

Scallop and passage morphometry

At selected sections, which were chosen for
thier regularity, the long and short axis of
cross-section
(assuming
an
elliptical
cross - sectional profile) were measured along each
cross-section. The scallop data were processed by
compute r , according to equation (2), assuming a
mean annual water temperature of +2 0 C.
Figur e 1. Locat i o n of th e stu dy area , catchme n t a r ea and
ma r b l e o utc r o p .
1) Lake Glo md al s v a tn, 2) J o rdtulla Sink,
3) Res urg ence .
Sh a d e d Area: Ma rble o utcrop.

chambers and for surveying .

Oxygen was on hand
for all dives and a strict log kept for all dives
and times.
Air was supplied by a portable petrol-driven
compressor, kept at the diving base beside the
lake.
This tended to be somewhat slow, but gave
us no problem with starting, or with impure air.
The lamps were charged using a portable generator
(1500 watts).
Basic cave diving equipment was
used for all dives.
Lighting was generally with aqua flashes on
the helmet and hand held beamguns.
The beamguns
proved to be invaluable.
Due to the large
dimens i ons of the passages, we were able to use a
back-mounted bottle and two side bottles, using 3
sets of valves.
Some dives were done using 2
side-mounted bottles only.
In most dives, 1 x 10
1 and 2 x 7 1 cylinders were used on each.
Most
of the dives were done with dry-suits.
Bouyancy
compensators were used by all divers, with direct
feeds
from first stages,
if available.
The
No rwegian team members have developed their own
equipment requirements.
A chest harness is used
to carry side bottles which are held by carabiners
to steel loops on the tanks.
The divers also
carry a spare mask taped to the wrist.
Sea diving techniques were possib l e in the
system, meaning buddy-teams of two divers or more.
This proved to be vital, when taking passage
cross-sections.
Line laying was done mostly by
using 4 mm orange Nylon on 70 or 80 m drums.
One
diver would lay the line, and a second diver or
dive team would secure the line in place with
pieces of inner tube strips around boulders. The
smooth, boulder less floor inhibited the use of
this technique in some places, but generally it
wo rked very well.
Except for Grodzicki (1983), this is one of
the few studies of submerged caves carried out
till now.
Scallop measurements and survey data
were taken and noted on underwater slates with
flipover pages. This caused a problem in that the
slate, pencil and measure all had to be tied on
and got somewhat tangled.
Crossley overcame this
problem by having a wrist-mounted unit with
compass, depth gauge, pencil etc, all incorporated
on a slate.
Surveying
The phreatic sections were surveyed using the
diving line as base line.
The diving line had
140

Hydrology and Runoff

water stage scales were set up in the lake
outlet, the cave sink (Jordtulla) and in the first
air - filled section of the cave (Mellomgrotta). An
automatic stage recorder was set up in Jordtulla
sink. The scales and stage recorder have been in
operation since 1980 and
1983,
respectively.
Volumetric
discharge
and
water
stage
was
calibrated using flugel
(propeller)
and salt
dilution gauging.
Based on hydrographs for the
years 1983 to 1985, a flow duration curve was
constructed (Fig. 7).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Cave Morphology
The cave survey is shown in Fig. 2 . A total
of 580 m was surveyed along the underwater course,
as well as 90 m of air - filled passages, giving a
total of 670 m surveyed cave.
Diving has
confirmed that the cave consists of only one
conduit
(i.e. master conduit)
with a cross sectional area in the range of 15 . 7
28.3 m2
(corresponding to a diameter of 4.6 to 6.0 m),
with one constricted section of about 9 m2 (3.4 m
diameter). Oxbows have only been detected in one
location, between Mellomgrotta and Val tergrotta,
(Fig.2).
Cross-sections were recorded as either
tubular (ellipses), rifts, or of the flat-floored
railway - tunnel type.
Angular boulders and tree
trunks were frequently seen al o ng the flo o r. The
greatest depth recorded was 22 m below the water
table .
This depth was reached 3 times; twice in
the first phreatic loop between the sink and
Mellomgrotta, and once more in the long, deep loop
between Valtergrotta and the resurgence.
Overall, the conduit is of the looping type,
with only 3 water table intersections between sink
and
resurgence:
Mellomgrotta
(upstream
and
downstream), Valtergrotta and Tinker bell.
The
cave is therefore definitely of the phreatic
looping type, i.e. State 2 of Ford and Ewers
(1978) .
However,
the
phreatic
loops
are
irregularly spaced,
and
it would have been
justifiable to classify the cave as consisting of
two bathyphreatic (State 1) sections, separated by
a shallower, State 2, section.
The cave follows the contact between a
karstified marble
(on the NW side)
and the
impermeable mica schist (SE side).
This contact
0
plane strikes 350-015 with a dip of 20-30 0 to the
SE.
The most prominent master joints in the
vicinity of the cave display a NNW/SSE strike or
almost due N/S, both with a very steep NW dip.
These three structural elements are sufficient to
explain the attitude of the cave passages (Fig.3).

...

.....
.....

b..

CJ

D.Grepperud , A.lve, S . Johnsen ,

S .E . Laur it zen and I. Schrflder .

Drown by S .E . L.

Fi gure 2 .

Vallergrotta

EtIDb

c ~D
~~
>"i:;~;::22Z. '.'.~. ""c:,::. ::S~i3!
. . . ,.".,.,

"""

SURVE Y by : J.Abbott,R . Arnesen , G. Crossley ,

\()

BCRA grade 3 and 5 .

GLOMDAL SVATN
underground outlet.

SECTION :

Jordlulla
sink

PLAN:

Legend

submerged conduit :

water surface
{airbel l l :

N. ~

50

.......

2EID

,J

mica schist contact :

. . .,.......................,.,. . .,.,.,.,.,.".,',',',',',':':':",':'}:::""':::::

-- _
o

100m

Green rising

Tinker bell.

b)

F i g ur e 5 . Vertical projection, looking 350 (NNE), into the

r es ur ge n ce. Th is is app r oxi mate ly along the strike of the
schist/mar ble cont act , as it is observed in the sink,
Mellomgrotta and the res urgence. The mica schist projection
is shaded. However, mica schist was also observed in the
passage ro of in the Valte rgrot ta/Resurge nce l oop (l eft
bottom of figure). Thi s may reflect a s light syncline in
this par t of the contact plane.

Figure 3. Comparison of geol og ic structure with cave survey

data .

m.
This is to be expected if the conduit is
controlled by the confining mica schist.
This
plane dips SE, and with the mica schist acting as
an aquiclude (rock layer that is impermeable to
water), any eastward turns and descents will have
to coincide (Fig. 4).
A vertical projection of
the cave, seen from the resurgence, along the
apparent strike of the contact plane, is shown in
Fig.5. The slight syncline suggepted in Fig.5. is
also consistent with Fig.3b, where the strike of
the mica schist/marble contact rotates about 30 0

a). Wulff stereonet diagram of the traces from 10 prominent

j o ints in the near vicinity o f the cave.
Two pro minent,
steeply dipping ma s ter joint sets are distinct: one almost

N/S, another at 335 NNW/SSE.

b). Traces of the marbl e/ mica schist con tact plane; the
strike is approximately N/S, with a 20-30 dip to the E.
c ). Attitudes of inte rsecti ons of the planes of weakness.
A: Intersections between master jOints a n d the mica schist
i nterface . B: I ntersections between mas t er joints alone.
c: Mica schist in ter fa ce plane.
d). Cave survey bearings, as they intersect the Wulff net.
The shaded areas represent the allowance for a + / _5 0 error
in the survey data related to the passage direction . The
darkest shade cover 75% of all bearings.

Scallop discharge, continuity of flow

Including the resurgence site, which was
measured in 1982 (Lauritzen et. al. 1983), scallop
discharges have been calculated at 5 stations
along the phreatic course of the cave.
The
results are summarised in Table 1 and in Fig. 6.
The volumetric discharge varied between 8.8 and
33.2 m 3 / s. However, the statistical errors in the
calculations are up to 60% of the mean, making the
differences less significant.
At station II
(between Mellomgrotta and
Val tergrotta, Fig. 6.), the only known oxbow is
located.
Unfortunately, only the deepest of the
two limbs could be measured. The measured scallop
discharge, 8.9 m3 s- 1 is, however, conceivable as a
realistic fraction of the total flow through the
bifurcation.
Rejecting the oxbow from the data,
the
remaining
4
stations
are
not
significantly
different within 10 standard deviation. Station V
displays the lowest value and may reflect a minor
bifurcation.
The
original
surveying
in
the
resurgence
(Lauritzen et. al. 1983), suggests
small
side
tubes
close
to
the
resurgence.
However,
with the present data, we have no
statistical evidence to say that the discharges
were really different.
The size distribution
inherent in scallops is not sensitive enough to
detect bifurcations that are less than about 20%.
We may therefore
conclude
that
the
scallop
discharges support the continuity equation, which
states that the same amount of liquid has to pass
through each section of a continuous conduit.
Hence, the scallop data suggest that there is no
major tributary or distributary along the phreatic
conduit.
We are therefore dealing with a master
conduit in the true sense, which is also confirmed
by
the
divers'
observations.
The
weighted
arithmetic mean of the scallop discharges through
sections I, III, IV, and V is 26.20
8.9 m3 / s.
This is almost twice as high as the estimate done
in the previous study, which was based on station
Valone.

Cave passages in general are either formed

along a single plane of weakness, or along a line
of intersection between two or more such planes.
Hence, cave passage bearings should appear as
lineations on the stereographic traces of the
guiding joints and bedding planes, preferrably
concentrated around the zones of intersection
between them.
From Fig.3, we may infer that the
conduits are controlled by:
A)
The directions of intersections between
the mica schist/marble interface and the N- S
striking master joints.
B)
Intersections between the two prominent
master joint sets.
C) Mica schist/marble interface alone.
In decreasing order A, Band C correspond to the
shaded areas in Fig.3c. For example, the shift in
passage direction
from almost due
south
to
south-east
(between
Valtergrotta
and
the
resurgence) coincides with a descent of almost 20

Figure 4. Phr ea tic loop in the sloping contact plane between

an aq uiclude (trans paren t t op ) and a karstic aquifer. The
plane is given the same strike and dip as the marble/mica
schist interface in the cave .
Any descending segment s

within this plane must turn down dip (i.e. east), ascending
segments must turn up dip (west).

142

Scallops and the hydraulic regimes of the conduit

In Fig.7 the flow duration curve for the
system based on 21 months of hydrograph records is
oxbow
so shown.
The discharge deduced from scallops occurs
so
for less than 2% of the total duration of flow.
However ,
hydrochemical and micro-erosion meter
studies have revealed that the direct corro sion
rate corresponds to approximately 0.025 mm/a.
(Lauritzen in prep).
This
implies
that the
scallops
need'" 800
years
to
develop
if
the
preceding pattern was different.
Such a timespan
introduces another problem, which is the proximity
to glaciers.
Glacier expansion,
which at least
happened 250 years ago, in The Little Ice Age,
20 would
affect the runoff condit ions.
Then, the
Ill,
IV~
II,
v,
catchment area increased by about 10 Jcrn 2 of
glaciers.
The present glaciers of the area have a
Fig ure 6 . Scal l op discharge alo ng the cave conduit. Except
specific runoff of about 100 1/s/km 2.
This adds
for the oxbow value at station II; the d i sc harges sa ti sfy
another 1 m3 /s to the annual mean,
i.e.
an
the cont in uity equation , with a weighted mean discharge of
increase of 40%.
A crude assumption would be that
26 . 2 + / - 8.9m'/s (shaded area).
this increase was distributed in proportion with
10
20
30
the present-day discharge, but only through the
5
melt season, i.e. April - September.
This will
concentrate the increased runoff to periods when
the
present-day
system
also
displays
high
discharges.
This
gives
an
increase
of
,
,
approximately 2.4 ,m 3/ s to the higher discharges
I
I
with frequency of less than 5/12 for about 40% of
I
o
,I
the time.
This addition has a relatively small
I
effect on the duration of the scallop discharge
I
I
(Fig.7).
Discharges higher than 15 m3 /s would
I
occur for less than 4-5% of the time.
We judge
I
I
this as a reasonable estimate on the order of
magnitude that a glacial influence would have on
the relative duration of scallop discharges.
Hence, the new results do not contradict the
previous, preliminary conclusion (Lauritzen et.
50
aL 1983):
scallops are .formed at the highest
discharges, representing less than 5% of the total
time of flow.
These are also the periods when the
maj ori ty of the total annual dissolution takes
place in a snow melt and glacier melt dominated
climatic regime as this (Hellden 1974).

m3s-.

m.

3 -1

oL---~-----r----~--~-----r----~----~--~
30
5
20
10

Hydraulic gradient as a function of discharge

Smith et. al. (1976) discussed the hydraulics
of closed conduits in relation to cave conduits,
and suggested the D' Arcy - weissbach equation to
describe
the
relationship
between
hydraulic
gradient, discharge, conduit diameter and wall
friction:
(3)
Q2/a 2 =[2dg /fl
[ ll h/llll

Figure 7. Flow duration curve fo r t he pe ri od Sept . 198 3 to

April 1985. The f l ow rate deduced from sca llops with 10 is
shown . This discharge only occurs in 2% or less of th e time

of flow, representing the highest peaks of snow-melt and

rainstorm f l oods. Adding the . probable co ntri bution of flow
from glaciers in the past, yielded the dashed duration

where Q= discharge, a= cross-sect i onal area, d=

diamteter of tube, llh/lll =the hydraulic gradient,
and f= a friction factor _
Rearranging equation (3), yie lds:
Q

curve. This shifts the duration of scallop discharge up to

(4 )

(2dga 2 If) 1/2

5% or less of the duration of the flow. See text for further

[flh/ flll 1 / 2

K.

(5)

discussion .

Station

x , (m)

y,

(m)

(m

2)

L32 ~

(cm)

u,(cms-')

u,(cms-')

Q,

(m

-1

10.23
7.39

6.0

5.0

23.6

5.11 +1 .69
1.27

11 0.4

II

3. 6

4.6

13.0

7.40 -+4 .42

2.77

67.8

5.0

8.82

+6.46
3. 77

III

5.5

4.5

19.4

3.46 +1.80
1. 18

170.7

10 . 7

33 .1 8

+20 . 56
12.78

IV

6.5

5. 0

25.5

4.6 +1 .98
1. 38

125 .2

8.1

31. 96

+16.34
10.88

6.0

6.0

28.3

10 .4 8+ 4.67
-3.23

43.6

3.5

13.66

.:

7 . 26

143

26 . 01

!.

7 .4 1
4.84

Table 1 Scallop
and flow rate

measurements
calculations,
Glomdalsvatn unde rgr ound out l et.

This form is very similar to the Manning-Stickler

equation,
which
is
widely
us ed
in
applied
hydraulics (Engelund and Bo Pedersen 1978, BBgli
1978) :
Q = M.A.R~/3 . [4h/41] 1/ 2

(6 )

Here, M is the so-called Manning Number, A= the

cross-sectional area of the conduit, Rh = D/2, the
hydraulic radius of the conduit.
~he
Manning
Number
is
also
given
by
the
empirical
relationship:
M = 25.4/k

l/ 6

(7)

where k = the height in metres of the protrusions

inside the pipe (roughness). The D'Arcy-Weissbach
"f" has some advantages in being dimensionless
number, and Atkinson (1977) and Gale (1984) both
used this form in their studies of conduit
hyrdaulics. However, the Manning equation is also
widely used by engineers; values of M are already
worked out for most practical situations, and are
tabulated in engineering handbooks. In this work,
we shall consider both.
The Manning Number varies between 90 -13 0 3 / m/s
for smooth tubes, to 30-40 3/m/ s in crudely blasted
rock tunnels. Bogli (1978) sugested that passages
with abundant breakdown may have M = 15 - 20 3 / m/ s.
The latter two cases would be the most relevant to
compare with actual caves, but
except for
Atkinson's study (1977) - we lack information from
in situ determinations of friction factors in
active phreatic conduits.
Equations (4) and (6) may be linearized:
log Q = 1/2 10g[4h/41] + log K

1.0

(8)

bearing in mind that K may also represent the

constants in Manning's equation (6).
Therefore,
by plotting log [4 h / 4 1] against log Q we should
obtain a straight line with slope 1/2 and a y
intercept = 10gK. Then, the D'Arcy-Weissbach "f"
may be calculated from equation (5), and the
Manning Number from equation (6).
To do this we
need simultaneous readings of water stages at each
end of a phreatic loop, and we also need to know
the horizontal distance between them.
This has
been done for the Jordtulla-Mellomgrotta l oop.
Friction factors for the phreatic loop
The
Jordtulla-Mellomgrotta
loop
is
the
section of conduit which is closest to the
bathyphreatic case of Ford and Ewers (1978) .
It
has uniform dimensions, is un-branched and has no
free
surface
between
the
two
points
of
measurement.
The horizontal distance between the
two recording sites is 155 m.
The two scales were correlated at a very l ow
winter stage when discharge was almost nil and Ah
was close to O.
4 h/ A 1 was then calculated by
subtracting
the
corrected
water
stages
and
dividing with the horizontal distance. Due to the
large diameter of the conduit, 4 h is always very
small.
It is difficult t o read the water stage
with a better accuracy than +0.5 cm.
This error
will propgate into the 4 h, which itself is a small
number resulting from the difference between the
larger numbers .
Consequently, we must accept a
considerable scatter in the data.
The discharge/water stage relationship at the
sinkhole stage recording station was determined
as:
0 .03 37.h
Q = 0.7478 . e
(9)
when Q = m3 / s and h is water stage in centimetres.
This was calibrated by flugel and salt dilution
gauging, covering the discharge range of 1.00
8.8 m3 / s
(r 2 = 0.96).
In Fig. 8 log Q vis . log
[ A.h / Al) is shown.
Linear regression yielded the
line,
log Q = 0 . 77 log [ Ah/41 ] + 3.56 ; r 2= 0 .6 9 (10)
'I'he sl ope of 0.77, equation (10), is higher than
for the D' Arcy-Weissbach and Manning equations,
but the deviation is within the inherent error of
the data.
144

0,5

0.0

- 4.5

-4.0

- 3.5

-3.0

Figure 8. Plot of log .Q vic. log [6 hi 61 J . Er ror bars are

shown for extreme and mean posit i ons in the data . Different
regression lines are shown. I: line based on all data, slope
= 0.77 (eqn. 10). II: lin e based on data for Q greater th ~ n
10 m3 Is . slope = 0 . 6 (eqn . 11); the data approach the
D'Arcy-Weissbach (and Manning) ratio of 0.5 with increasing
discharge. III: eqn . (12) substituted into the
D'Arcy-Weissbach equation. IV: smoothed transition from
laminar flow (slo pe=l . O) to turbulent flow (slope=O.5).

Solving for log K = 3.56 yields a Manning

roughness constant of 125.0, +386 / - 93 3 1 mIs,
which cover the ranges of a perfectly smooth (i.e.
glass)
tube down to a crudely blasted
rock
tunnel!
Obviously, only the lowest part of that
range is compatible with the known roughness of
cave passages.
However, realizing that the error
in [Ah/ Al] increases dramatically with decreasing
Q, it might be justified to reject the lowest part
of the data set.
Using only data for discharges
greater
than
10
m 3 Is,
leaves
only
four
observations. These points yield the line:
log Q = 0.63 log [4h/41] + 3.31 ; r2= 0.96

(11)

giving M = 44.0, and D'Arcy

weissbach Of"
0.0144.
Moreover, the observed scallops protrude
approximately 2 cm on average from the walls.
Equation (7) then yields a Manning constant of
48.8 3{m/s.
The conduit seem to approach the
D'Arcy-Weissbach
and
Manning
equations
with
increasing discharge.
This effect may be further investigated by
calculating the apparent D'Arcy- weissbach Of" for
each data point in Fig. 8.
This yields apparent
friction factors which show a dramatic decrease
with discharge, until they attain a constant value
of 0.116.
This behaviour may be modeled by an
exponential
decay
function
which
attains
a
constant value:
f = 5.9853 e-0.4143 Q + 0.116

( 12)

which is the enveloping curve in Fig.9.

The transitional regime between laminar and a
fully turbulent flow in pipes occurs at Reynolds
Numbers between 5.0E2 to approximately 1.0E5
(Smith et al 1976). The apparent D'Arcy-Weissbach
friction factor is dependent on discharge at
Reynolds Numbers lower than about 1-5 E5.
This
effect is also apparent in Atkinson 's (1981)
Mendip data.
In our case,
the
apparent
"f"
becomes
constant when the discharge exceeds about 14 m 3 / s,

..'

2.5

(exponent appr oaching 1.0), gra dually c hanging

into the D' Arcy -weissbach exponent, is suggested
by line IV in Fig.8 .
In Table 2, the results are c onverted t o the
D'Arcy-Weissbach friction factor, and compared
wi th the
previous
determination
of Atkinson
(1977), Atkinson et al (1983) and Gale (1984) .
Atkinson's (1977) appr o ach was the same as ours,
but
the
cave
systems
studied
(Mendip Hills
underground drainage) are much more complex and of
unknown geometry.
High- resi stance collapses and
bends are likely to occur, making his values of
"f" higher by several orders of magnitude than
those derived from simple tubes of known geometry
(Gale, 1984; this work).
Atk inson et al (19 83)
used the measured draught through 10 km of
passages in Castleguard Cave to calculate apparenc
"f'''s for the whole cave. They are about 20 times
higher than our app arent "f" at high discharges.
Gale's (1984) study was restricted t o fossil
scalloped
conduits,
using
the
established
hydrodynamic equations for scallops t o calculate
f = 8 / (u / u*) 2 , where u is given by equation (1) or
(2), and u* = Re*(v / L 32 ) .
Substituting this into
(1), we get:

O'Arey W.issboeh,

opporen' "f"

It
.\

2.0

..

,,
,,
I

1. 5

+
f

1.0

= 5.9853" -0.4143Q + 0.116

,,

-I.

(13 )

..'. "
I

o.

'e

,
"

-.

", ,~

- - --- -- - _. ... . - .... . . - . - -

...

-.

20

Figure 9 . Appar en t D'Arcy-We i ss b ac h f ri c ti o n factors as a

functi o n of dis c harge .
Th e strong decr e as e of~fwith
dischar ge indicate s th a t th e friction is not fully developed
wh e n Q exc eeds 14 m3 Is , whi c h c o rr es pond s t o a Reynolds
Numbe r o f ab o ut 2'E6. The co nst an t"f; inde pendent of
d i s charg e i s 0.116.

which corresponds to a Reyno lds Number 2E6. This

high value may reflect the large dimensions of the
conduit, where roughness is fully developed only
at very high discharges.
This effect also brings
up an interesting questi o n whether turbulence in
itself may be a threshold for scallop development.
The constancy of the apparent Of" and the scallop
fl ow rates coincide well (Figs. 7 and 9) .
We may therefore conclude that the hydraulic
behaviour of the cave conduit approaches the
D'Arcy - Weissbach
and
Manning
equations
with
increasing discharge. In Fig.8, we have suggested
two different approaches to model the behaviour of
the conduit at lower discharges.
Assuming that
the D'Arcy-Weissbach equati on may apply to flow at
Reynolds Numbers down to about 5'E4, equation (12)
may be substituted into equation (3) t o yield the
line III in Fig.8. However, a behaviour, g overned
b y equations for lami n ar flow at l ower discharges

for a c i rcular conduit.

Recalling that BI.. is a
constant, we see that Of" is a square funct~ on of
In (R h/L32 ), the la t ter is the ratio between the
radius o f the tube and the length o f the scallops.
This equation i s solved for all L 32 's and R's in
Fig .10.
The minor deviation of our and Gale's
scallop data from the line (eqn.12) is due to that
neither study considered a perfectly circular
conduit, i.e. the constants were different from
those of equation (13).
Moreover, Gale used the
arithmetic mean of the scallops, whilst our study
uses the "Sauter - mean".
Fig.lO is not corrected
for this , assuming that L 32 approximates to L mean
It is evident from Fig.lO, that our and
Gale ' s data are consistent with equation (13), but
that the two studies considered two slightly
different Rh/L 32 ranges.
In other words, an "f"
derived from scallops and passage dimensions is
just a logaritmic transformation of the Rh/L32
ratio .
The hydrodynamic approach is then an
independent determination of "f", taking account
of
the
total
cave
geometry,
like
bends,
constric t ions
and
floor
debris.
The
Jordtulla-Mellomgrotta loop po ssesses two bends of
120 0 and two of 90 0 , as well as some tree trunks
and boulders al ong the floor. More over, we cannot
tot a lly exclude any damming effect fr om the
passages downstream affecting the water stage in
Mellomgrotta.
In conclusion, our apparent friction factor
of 0 . 116 is fully consistent with the other
studies, being about twice as high as the scallop
roughness, and 20 times lower than the Castleguard
conduits, which are much more constricted and
i rregul ar than ours.
It is possible that more
accurate r e sults might be gained with a more
sophisticated stage recording device (i.e. a gas
pressure sensor).
Future studies should also
concentrate on conduits of smaller dimensions,
which would then give a better res o lution in the
6h variations with discharge.

Method of investigation

appa r ent "f "

Ta b le 2

Active cond u its, Mend i p

24

D'Arcy - Weiss ba c h
frictio n f actors
f r o m diffe r ent st udi es .

Ai r d ra ug h t, Castle gu a rd Ca ve

0 . 8 7- 2 . 31

3 1
14 m s )

0.33 -

0.90

145

( 1977)

Atkins o n (1 983)
Ga le

( 1 98 4 )

This study

0 .11 6
0 . 039 C. 0 . 086

Jo r d tu1 la , sc a llops

Referenc e

At k inson

340

0.077 C. 0 . 037

Fos s i l, sca lloped co nduit s , More carnbe k ar st

Jo r d t u ll a , di sc ha r ge/ s t a g e( Q

t r ue "f"

0.2 - r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The cave diving was

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c:

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,

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Ll

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Abbott,

Arnesen,

Crossl ey ,

Grepperud, lve and Johnsen.

Financial support was provided
by the Fridtjof Nansen's and affiliated Funds
for
th e
Ad v anc e ment of Science and the Humanities: by Brown and Root
(Norway) and by the Norwegian Hydroelectrical Board, Section
of Hydrology.
The latter also provided the stage recorders
for the hydrographs.
Kjell Dalviken computer processed the
original hydrographs to get daily means for the flow duration
curve.
The McMaster University Cave Plotting Program, CVPT,
was used in processing the survey data.
We are also indebted
to Dr T.C. Atkinson, who gave useful comments considering the
hydraulic section.
Photographic documentation was done by a
British film team, consisting of Russell England, Michael
Pitts, Michael James and Leslie James.
Film material was
kindly provided by the Norwegian Broadcasting Board and by
BBC Manchester.
Valter Glomdal provided accommodation and
also
innumerable private
resources during his
technical
assistance in the water-stage recording work.
Members of the
Basmoen Caving Club assisted in transporting the voluminous
equipment.
This is contribution No 12 of the Karst Research
Project in Norway.

ii0

,
,
,

performed by

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REFERENCES

,'. ,

,,

Atkinson, T.C. 1977.

Diffuse and conduit flow in limestone
terrain in the Medip hills, Somerset (Great Britain).

J. Hydrol. 35, 93-110.

Atkinson, T.C.; Smart, P.L.; and Wigley, T.M.L. 1983.

Climate and natural Radon levels in Castleguard Cave,
Columbia Icefields, Alberta Canada.
Artic and Alpine

,,~

--- ----..Q.->

-- ______

Research, 15, 487-502.

Blumberg, R.N. and Curl, R.L. 1974.

---------- --------

Experimental and

theoretical studies of dissolution roughness.

J. Fluid

Mech. 65; 735 -7 51.

Bogli, A. 1978. Karsthydrographics und Physische
Spelaologie. Springer. Berlin.
292 pp.
Curl, R.L. 1974. Deducing flow velocity in cave
conduits from scallops. Nat. Speleol. Soc . Bull. 36,
(2); 1-5.
Englund, F.A . and Bo Pedersen, F. 1978. Hydraulik. Den

"" 1L32
O+-~-------,_----------_r----------~--~
o 10
50
100
150

Private Ingeniorfond.

Figure 10. O'Arcy-Weissbach friction factors calculated for

Denmark.

most realistic Rh/L32ranges (dashed curve ). Scallop data

from Gale (1984) (black dots) and this work (open circles)
are plotted for comparison.
Square spot; the friction
factor determined from equation (13).

The Technical University of

ISBN 87-87245 -64- 7.

314 pp .

Ford, D.C. and Ewers, R. 1978.

The development of limestone
cave systems in the dimensions of length and depth.

Canadian J. Earth. Sci. 15; 1783-1798.

Gale, S.J. 1884. The hydraulics of conduit flow in a
carbonate aquifier. J. Hydrol .
70, 309-327.
Grodzicki , J. 1985. Genesis of the Nullarbor Plain Caves.
Zeitschr. fur. Geomorphologie 29, (1), 37-49.
Hellden. U. 1974. Karst; en studie av Artfjallets

CONCLUSIONS

karstomrade samt jamorande korrosionsanalyser fran

Cave Morphology
Cave diving has made it possible to gain
precise information about the morphology of the
underground outlet of Lake Glomdal. The cave is a
phreatic master conduit.
Along the underwater
course, it intersects the watertable only 3 times.
The phreatic loops are up to 23 m deep.
The cave
is therefore composed of two bathyphreatic loops
(state 1), separated by a shorter state 2 looping
section.
This middle section also contains the
only oxbow or bifurcation known.
The phreatic
conduit was surveyed to 580 m total length.
The
cross-sections are generally very large, most
often exceeding .20 m..
There shapes are either
tubular, sometimes with a flat, sediment-covered
floor, or occasionally of the rift type.
All
marble surfaces are scalloped.
The course of the
cave is controlled by two prominent master joint
sets which run NNE/SSW with an almost vertical dip
and by the marble/mica schist contact.
The Scallop Flow regime
Scallop
morphometry
with
corresponding
discharge calculations at 4 independent sites
along the conduits was in accordance with the
continuity equation, and supports the divers'
observations
of
a
single,
unbranched master
conduit.
The mean scallop discharge was 26.2
8.9 m3 /s, supporting the previous conclusions that
scallops represent the upper 5% of the flow regime
in this climatic zone. Scallops seem to be formed
preferentially in periods of flood.
Hydraulic behaviour, friction factors
Within the scatter and scarcity of the data,
the
re lat ionship
between
hydraulic
gradient,
discharge and the observed scallop roughness obey
the equations for turbulent pipe flow.
The
D'Arcy-Weissbach friction factors, calculated both
from scallops and from hydrodynamic measurements,
are consistent with other comparable studies .

Vastspetsbergen och Tjeckoslovakien. Meddl. Lunds Univ.

Geogr. Inst. Avhandl. LXXII.
1922 pp.
Lauritzen, 5- E., 1982.
The Paleocurrents and Morphology of
Pikhaggrottene, Svartisen, North Norway.

Norsk

geografisk Tidsskrift, 36 , 183-209.

Lauritzen, S- E., lve, A. and Wilkinson, 8. 1983.
Mean
annual runoff and the scallop flow regime in a subartic
environment.
Trans. Brit . Cave res. Assoc., 10, 37-102.

Smith, D.I., Atkinson, T.C. and Drew , D. 1976. The hydrology

of limestone terrains .
pp. 179-212 in: Ford, T.D. and
Cu11ingford, C.H . D. (eds.). The Science of Speleology.
Academic Press.
593 pp .
Revised December 1985
S E Lauritzen
Department of Chemistry
University of Oslo

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146