As it was
a dry and sunny day we decided to visit Dunald Mill Hole. Its waters were
likely to be low but it is flood prone (spot the flood debris in the 20ft
roof of the cave fairly close to the entrance). As you travel towards the
sump, foam lines all the passage at every level so do beware in wet weather.
Large amounts of foam are found at the sump and you actually crawl
through foam to see the newly placed divers line from Simon Cornhill et
al - a bit like caving in a washing machine!
Following
the stream to the sump from the main entrance is a slow affair to
walk/crawl as it is paved with very slippery grit stones/rocks. The slime
persists right to the sump well away from the entrance sunlight. Is this
pollution? I wonder what it is? Probably cow related but banish the thought as
we crawl flat out and ahead. On the way out, I did the usual of taking a wrong
turn and went flat out crawling up a stream until I could hardly breath and
had great relief when Terry backed out and gave the call that he had found
the way on.
Aside -
For the insect phobic, beware red ants inside your neoprene suit while
changing. At the entrance, there are numerous large spiders, with beautiful
large webs. The occasional bat will dive bomb you as the evening draws nigh.
For those who love their home comforts, a shower is available on exit
courtesy of the forceful stream that enters the hole.
Our main
reason for visiting is to carry on Jim's good work in the left hand series with
a little help from an assembly of hoses stretching deep into the cave and this
will soon be taking a diverted flow from the entering stream. We had
a look at the end dig and it is well worth exploring. It's a very separate cave
and is well away from the passages containing new archaeology.
A photo
of the entrance taken by Terry is attached and a picture of Terry
"frothing" in the sump (A
"selfie" by Terry ie: camera on timer)
Dunald Mill Hole
And finally,
to add a bit of culture please enjoy the poem about Dunald Mill Hole by the
late Letitia Elizabeth Landon.
http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/4199/dunald-mill-hole.html
Boot in sump
Terry "foaming" in sump
Some
facts about the hole;
"Radiocarbon analysis of the small skull
recovered from Dunald Mill Hole, Nether Kellet .............gave a
fraction modern value of 0.7889 ± 0.0044 which calibrates to between 6 and
225AD (95.4% probability). This places the sample age at the very end of the
Iron Age / start of the Roman Period"
Lionel Rice