Famous Cave Research Articles

Ringing Tone and Drumming Sages in the Crevice Cave of Pirunkirkko, Koli, Finland

Abstract Pirunkirkko (“Devil’s Church”) is one of the famous caves in Finland. Tradition says that this crevice leading into the mountain was a meeting place for sages, who typically used sound to contact the spirit world. Today, the place is visited by practitioners of shamanism, who organise drumming sessions at the back of the cave. This article examines Pirunkirkko and the related traditions from the perspective of acoustics, hypothesising that the acoustic characteristics of the crevice might have played a role in the ritualisation of the place and the power of its rituals. Methods employed include impulse response recording, spectrum analysis, archival research, and interview of a shamanic practitioner. The results indicate that the back of the cave houses a distinct resonance phenomenon. A standing wave between the parallel walls generates a ringing tone at 219–232 Hz that stays audible after sharp impulses or vocalisations at the same frequency. The local folklore or the interviewed practitioner does not mention this phenomenon at all. Instead, they speak about the “spirit of the cave,” “special energy,” or “new horizons” opened up by drumming. This leads to reflection on cultural frameworks of thought that guide sensory perceptions leading to differing experiences and interpretations.

An intriguing new diapsid reptile with evidence of mandibulo-dental pathology from the early Permian of Oklahoma revealed by neutron tomography.

The initial stages of diapsid evolution, the clade that includes extant reptiles and the majority of extinct reptilian taxa, is surprisingly poorly known. Notwithstanding the hypothesis that varanopids are diapsids rather than synapsids, there are only four araeoscelidians and one neodiapsid present in the late Carboniferous and early Permian. Here we describe the fragmentary remains of a very unusual new amniote from the famous cave deposits near Richards Spur, Oklahoma, that we recognize as a diapsid reptile, readily distinguishable from all other early amniotes by the unique dentition and lower jaw anatomy. The teeth have an unusual reeding pattern on the crown (long parallel ridges with rounded surfaces), with some teeth posteriorly tilted and strongly recurved, while a ventral protuberance forms the anterior terminus of the dentary. Overall, the lower jaw is unusually slender with a flattened ventral surface formed by the dentary and splenial anteriorly and the angular in the mid-region. The presence of a very slender triradiate jugal revealed through computed tomography confirms the existence of a large lower temporal fenestra, while the medial edge of the maxilla and the anatomy of the palatine confirm the presence of a large suborbital fenestra. Computed tomography of this new taxon reveals maxillary innervation that is characteristically reptile, not synapsid. Although no other definitively identifiable skull roof elements exist, the suborbital fenestra borders preserved on the palatine and maxilla supports the hypothesis that this is a diapsid reptile. Interestingly, the right dentary shows evidence of pathology, a rarely reported occurrence in Paleozoic amniotes, with several empty tooth sockets filled by bone. This small predator with delicate subthecodont implanted dentition provides strong evidence that diapsid reptiles were already diversifying rapidly in the early Permian, but likely were relatively rare members of terrestrial vertebrate assemblages.

The Cult of the Magdalene in medieval Scotland (Mary Magdalene, Pittenweem and St Fillan’s Cave)

The fishing town of Pittenweem (Fife) got its name (Gaelic Pett na h-Uaimhe, ‘estate of the cave’) from an impressive geological feature close to the East Shore known as St Fillan’s Cave. Although the existence of a historical Fillan has been carefully examined, no firm evidence has been found to link him to the famous Cave. In fact, the earliest recorded references to the Cave call it fons Sancte Marie Magdalene (‘spring of St Mary Magdalene’), leaving us with a new question related to Pittenweem’s pre-Reformation association with the Magdalene. This article attempts to understand when and how this came about. It begins by casting the net wide, setting the cult of Mary Magdalene within the broader context of the western Church, before offering a gazetteer of Magdalene sites in medieval Scotland and an exploration of when and how her cult came to Pittenweem. It concludes with brief remarks about the Cave’s later association with St Fillan.

Ringing tone and drumming sages in the Crevice Cave of Pirunkirkko, Koli, Finland

Pirunkirkko (“Devil’s Church”) is one of the famous caves in Finland. Tradition says that this Crevice Cave leading inside the Koli mountain was a meeting place for sages, who typically used sound to contact the spirit world. Today, the place is visited by practitioners of shamanism, who organise drumming sessions at the back of the cave. This paper examines Pirunkirkko and the related traditions from the perspective of acoustics, hypothesising that the acoustic characteristics of the narrow crevice might have played a role in the ritualization of the place and the power of its sonic rituals. Methods employed include impulse response recording, spectrum analysis, archival research, and an interview of a shamanic practitioner analysed with discursive psychology. The results indicate that the corridor-like back of the cave houses a distinct resonance phenomenon. A standing wave between the smooth parallel walls generates a ringing tone at 230 Hz that stays audible after sharp impulses or tones vocalised at the same frequency. Surprisingly, the local folklore or the interviewed practitioner do not mention this ringing tone at all. Instead, they speak about the “spirit of the cave,” “special energy,” or “new horizons” opened up by drumming. This leads to reflection on cultural frameworks of thought that guide sensory perceptions leading to differing experiences and interpretations.

Сохранение геологического материала и история открытий карстовых образований Печоро-Североуральского спелеологического района и прилегающих территорий

The paper describes the history of discovery and study of karst formations of the European North of Russia. More than 100 karst formations have been identified. The main periods in the history of exploration of caves and grottoes of the Pechora Urals are reflected. The first caves descriptions which were made by travellers and scientists in the 18th19th centuries are given. During that period the most famous caves were Uninskaya and Kaninskaya caves. The main karst formations were discovered and described at the beginning of the 20th century. Geologist V.N. Mamontov discovered 4 caves on the Pervokamennaya River. Systematic geological studies by V.A. Varsanofyeva in the Northern Urals allowed her to discover small karst formations in the upper reaches of the Pechora on the Ilych and Unya rivers. In 1960, B.I. Guslitzer discovered the largest cave in the Northern Urals — the Medvezhya Cave. Promising and little-studied areas of karst are the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra, the Polar and Nether-Polar Urals, Pai-Hoi and Timan. Only a few small caves and grottoes are known on these territories. Most of the karst is located in specially protected areas. The caves are unique paleontological monuments of nature. The funds of the A.A. Chernov Geological Museum of the Institute of Geology contain 12 monographic collections of paleofaunistic material with a volume of more than 30 thousand storage units. The remains of vertebrate caves consist of bones of mammoth fauna and small mammals.

Geological Features for Geotourism in the Zanjan and Hamadan Area, Northern Iran

Iran is a land of complex geological past which reflects in its many natural wonders. There are more than 850 known caves in Iran with a total length not exceeding 1000 km, many of them not being properly explored. Two of the biggest and most famous caves are Ali-Sadr and Katale-Khor. The Katale-Khor cave has a simple maze anastomotic pattern. Ghar Ali-Sadr is an anastomotic type of cave located 75 km northwest of Hamedan in a village by the same name and circa 60 km south of Katale-Khor cave. Ali-Sadr cave is considered to be one of the most unique and scenic caves in the world. One of the features that makes Ali-Sadr cave special is a fact that it is the longest and the biggest water cave in the world (from the point of the boating course inside the cave). This natural wonders in Northern Iran are great base for developing a geotourism, as a form of tourism that specifically focuses on geology and landscape. Its purpose is to promote an understanding of earth sciences through appreciation and conservation of geodiversity. The best way to achieve this is through visits to geological features and locations.

ASAF HÂLET ÇELEBİ’NİN PLATONİST ŞİİR EVRENİ

: The synthesis of modern and traditional in Asaf Hâlet Çelebi's poems is based on the poet's Platonic philosophy. His universe of poetry consists of poems collected in poetry books like He (1942), Lamelif (1945), Om Mani Padme Hum (1953) and poems that did not enter books during his lifetime. The archaic expressions, he uses in his choice of words, are eternal like Plato's ideas. Based on the ‘sun’ indicator and ‘good idea’ in the famous cave allegory, Asaf Hâlet Çelebi's lines are composed of examples of Plato's ‘visible world’ and ‘the thoughtful world’. Elements such as the paths of his poetry and his word choice indicates that he is referring to Western philosophy. This study analyzes the poems of Asaf Hâlet Çelebi and apart from the Eastern philosophy that has been dealt with only one-sided until now, it emphasizes the main influence of Western philosophy.Keywords: Asaf Hâlet Çelebi, Plato, Idealism, Idea, Cave Allegory, Platonism, Platonist, Poetry, Philosophy.

Quality assessment of road network to Seplawan Cave in Donorejo Village, Central Java

Infrastructure plays an important role in the tourism sector as a provider of facilities to provide facilities to tourist sites. The study area is in the Donorejo village, Central Java. Donorejo village has one of the most famous caves in Central Java, namely Goa Seplawan. The study was conducted with in-depth interviews with local residents and tourist visitors, as well as measurements and direct examination of the paths that are on site. Quality assessment of road conditions is carried out qualitatively. The assessment is based on the experience and standardization of each respondent which is then re-matched with the results of the study at the location and the Road Condition Index Matrix (RCI). There are three main paths to Seplawan Cave, namely through Hamlet Rejosari, Denansri, and Katerban. The main road passes through Hamlet Rejosari in good condition, but very steep. On the other hand, Denansri and Katerban hamlets have poor conditions. Road improvements have increasing the number of visitors to Goa Seplawan. In 2018 there were 9, 889 and in 2019 became 13, 882. This number shows that road construction has an impact on increasing the number of visitors at tourism sites in the Donorejo village.

Turning Fifty at the Oracle of Death

Turning Fifty at the Oracle of Death Christopher Bakken (bio) Cape Taenaron, Mani A few wrong turns brought me here to the end,so far south the land ran out of itself,open sea devouring all but this slabof dusty headland inscribed by high wind.I obeyed the ancient instructions, left my rented car behind and went by footto find the cave—the drawing place of ghosts.Ventilation shaft of the underworld.Here the living came to sip death's breath.Would I even know which questions to ask? Half a century old and I was stilla ruin-addict, clomping haunted sitesin my flip-flops, hoping to rouse the mindwith a whiff of information and mythin between long swims and cold seaside beers. I'd never liked to predict my next moveYet for this cheerful destination,I'd read a book, even opened a map.In fact, prediction was what drew me here,since looking out for death, or listening, at least, for its mute, insistent murmur,was what I had been doing every daysince, as a boy, I learned I had to die.When you come to the Oracle of Death,push your head through, find a road going down [End Page 246] that no one travels. I'd already foundthat road: it led into a labyrinthof storm drains I explored when I was tenbeneath the streets of Madison, Wisconsin.Those crumbling tunnels were ankle-deep with rain water and rills of fallen leaves.I lost myself down there, and yetemerged from a manhole five blocks from home.I'd followed where the unlit current led.Fifty, now: why not get lost again? I trudged the sweltering peninsula,but found only old walls, a broken church.The famous cave, I learned, was further out;you had to go by boat and then dive in.So many years spent tunneling back into passages I wouldn't remember:every hour sacred but rigged for collapse.Burial rites we rehearse each birthday.Which is to say there's really no way back,and this far south, left and right are the same. Anyway, the afternoon was dying.The map of the Mani I'd unfoldedwas still there in my car to be ignored.The end of one continent at my feet:nothing to do now but turn north and walk. [End Page 247] Christopher Bakken CHRISTOPHER BAKKEN is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Eternity & Oranges (Pitt Poetry Series, 2016). He is Director of Writing Workshops in Greece: Thessaloniki & Thasos. Copyright © 2019 Christopher Bakken

Rhetorical prehistory and the Paleolithic

ABSTRACTI contribute to a prehistory of rhetoric by exploring early rhetorical practices in the Paleolithic era. Using new materialist methodologies (Karen Barad, Andy Clark), I theorize how humans are constitutively entangled with material environments and objects. I also emphasize a materialist historiographic method that seeks bottom-up, emergent explanations for cultural innovations. I propose two rhetorical forms in the Paleolithic: first, rhetoric as an emergent development stemming from increased sociomaterial complexity, performed via plaques, beads, pigments, and spatial arrangement; and second, rhetoric as integrated into mysterious cave rituals, which are given lasting inscription in the famous cave images. Contemporary theories argue that some of the cave imagery stems from visions achieved through altered states, but we might well understand such states as something environed—a capacity of human beings elevated to a techne and performed via the material affordances of cave properties. These cave rituals show that rhetoric recruited from other cultural developments, including magic and religion, a point that can help differently illuminate Greek rhetoric as well. My overall goal is to help forge a materialist-oriented prehistory that demonstrates rhetoric to be fundamentally entwined with the emergence of modern humans.

An Introduction to Plato's Theory of Forms

AbstractThis lecture was designed as an introduction to Plato's theory of Forms. Reference is made to key passages of Plato's dialogues, but no guidance on further reading is offered, and numerous controversies about the theory's interpretation are left in the background. An initial sketch of the theory's origins in the inquiries of Plato's teacher Socrates is followed by an explanation of the Forms’ primary characteristic, Plato's metaphysical separation of them from the sensible world. Other aspects discussed include the Forms’ metaphysical relation to sensible particulars, their ‘self-predication’, and the range of items that have Forms. Finally, the envisaged structure of the world of Forms is illustrated by a look at Plato's famous Cave simile.

岩画和壁画类文物微生物病害的研究进展

古代岩画和壁画是人类文明发展历史进程的重要记录，具有极高的历史价值、艺术价值及科学价值，但他们无时无刻不受到环境因素引起的物理、化学及生物的劣化作用。近年，有关微生物对古代岩/壁画的危害逐渐受到关注。阐述了世界一些著名的岩/壁画文物的微生物的研究进展，如法国拉斯科洞穴岩画（Lascaux Cave）、西班牙阿尔塔米拉洞穴岩画（Altamira Cave）、敦煌石窟壁画、嘉峪关魏晋墓壁画以及我国东北地区公元5世纪的墓葬壁画等。通过对以上所述岩画和壁画微生物群落的分析比较，发现主要的细菌群落是变形菌门和放线菌门，放线菌门以假诺卡氏菌为主。真菌群落主要以虫生真菌为主。进一步分析了岩画和壁画微生物病害的共性和区别，揭示了洞穴、墓室等特殊环境下的微生物群落特点，为防治古代岩/壁画微生物病害提供了以下借鉴。;Ancient cave and wall paintings are important records of human civilization, with great historical, artistic and scientific value, however they are commonly affected by physical, chemical and biological deterioration. In recent years, the issue of microbial deterioration in ancient cave and wall paintings has received more attention. This paper summarizes the research progress on the effect of microbes on famous cave and wall paintings throughout the world, such as the Lascaux cave paintings (France), the Altamira cave paintings (Spain), the Dunhuang Mogao grottoes murals (China), the Wei and Jin dynasty tomb wall paintings (Jiayuguan, China), and the 5^th century tomb murals from the northeast of China. Through a comparative study of microbial communities at these sites, we conclude that the microbes responsible for cave painting degradation are mainly Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, of which <em>Escherichia</em> and <em>Enterobacter</em> are types of human pathogenic Proteobacteria. According to the analysis in this review, the emergence of these microbial communities in cave and wall paintings is closely related to the presence of tourists. The acid metabolism produced by <em>Pseudonomas</em> and <em>Nitrobacter</em> causes serious corrosion of murals. Our results suggest that the Actinobacteria <em>Pseudonocadia</em> accounts for approximately 68% of bacteria in a clone library produced from samples taken from 5^th Century tomb murals in northeast China. <em>Pseudonocadia</em> is the dominant microflora responsible for white biofilms attached to the murals, while algae are the dominant flora responsible for the green biofilms, the abundance of which is closely related to light, carbon dioxide and humidity levels in the cave. Conversely, fungal communities on cave murals, dominated by entomogenous fungi, appear to have a close relationship with insects that live in the cave. This paper analyzed similarities and differences between microbial communities that do harm to famous ancient cave and wall paintings, in an effort to understand their characteristics under the specific conditions found in caves and tombs, and also provide useful information for ancient painting conservation. Firstly, if effective measures are to be taken to protect these world heritage sites, it is important to consider the ecological perspective. Microorganisms do not grow in isolation and the relationship between various microorganisms, between microorganisms and the environment, and between microorganisms and insects, should be considered in order to facilitate the protection process. For example, a change in cave temperature and humidity will prevent a proportion of the microflora from growing due to the newly unsuitable conditions. Secondly, adopting a cross-disciplinary approach incorporating physics, chemistry, biology and engineering science, will help to control the emergence of these damaging microfloral communities. Furthermore, employing the methodology of phage inhibition and competitive advantage to inhibit the growth of unwanted microbial communities has proven to be an important research direction in recent years. Thirdly, both the conservation and tourist requirements of these cave sites must be balanced in the long-term, for example by reducing the number of visitors that enter the caves and tombs, and by employing the use of disposable sterile clothing and shoe covers to reduce the transmission of exogenous microbes into the caves. The long-term monitoring and regular analysis of cave and tomb paintings and the balancing of the local ecosystem are both important directions for the protection of these cultural heritage sites.

Reconstructing the evolution of cave systems as a key to understanding the taphonomy of fossil accumulations: The case of Urşilor Cave (Western Carpathians, Romania)

The Urşilor Cave (NW Romania) is a famous cave bear paleontological site hosting an important Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage and subject to systematic excavation works. To better understand the origin of fossil assemblages, the sedimentary history of the cave must be reconstructed. We conducted a series of investigations on various cave deposits which included sedimentology and grain-size analyses, U-series dating of speleothems, OSL dating of sediments, and AMS radiocarbon dating of fossil remains. The results allowed for the identification of several major chronological controls for the evolution of the cave during the last 300,000 years. Five evolutionary stages or key-moments were dated, and a tentative speleogenetic scenario is presented. The combined numerical dates and sedimentological study show that the evolution of the cave was more complex than previously thought. In particular, the fossil accumulation was related to a succession of rapid flooding events at ∼47–40 ka. Alternating depositional and erosional phases have occurred since at least 210 ka complicating the sediment structures. The results suggest that the upper and lower levels of the cave may have been functioned occasionally as hydrologically separated karst systems and that the animal populations from what is now a single cave system may not necessarily be synchronous. This case study shows that reconstructing sedimentary history of a given cave is crucial for the correct understanding of its thanatocenosis.

The Geography of Spectacle in Corneille’sL’Illusion comique

In L’Illusion comique (1635) Corneille draws upon concepts of location and placing to dramatize the emergence of a new and, to modern readers, recognizable poetic style. Early in the play, the famous cave in which the magician Alcandre stages his ‘spectres’ serves to distinguish narrative from spectacle, word from image, with the ostensible purpose of giving preference to the latter. What ensues during the play, however, is a gradual blurring of the verbal and the visual. From within the apparent gap separating word and image comes a new kind of specifically verbal image, situated on stage and housed in the confining ‘place’ of the dramatic poem. The play therefore constitutes an important historical development in the early modern discussion of Aristotelian principles of vivid speech whereby the world is made both present and near.

Ask the Passengers (review)

Reviewed by: Ask the Passengers Deborah Stevenson, Editor Ask the Passengers. by A. S. King. Love is a complicated thing for seventeen-year-old Astrid. On the one hand, she's silently sending it to people who merely cross her path, and she's particularly focused on floating up warm feelings to the passengers in the planes flying over her backyard. On the other hand, reciprocal, real-life relationships are much more difficult. Her small, ironically named town of Unity Valley engages in harassment and ostracism of those outside what's considered the norm, and secrets lurk behind its homogenized exterior. Astrid's best friend, Kristina, is officially the longterm girlfriend of yearbook editor Justin, but they're both gay and using double dates as a front for their real relationships. Astrid herself has fallen for her coworker, Dee, but she hasn't mentioned this to Kristina, who believes Astrid is straight. Then there's Astrid's tense life at home, where her overcontrolling mother notices only Astrid's younger sister, Ellis, while Astrid's father retreats from life behind a constant haze of pot smoke. All these façades of unity shatter, however, when Astrid and her friends get publicly busted for underage drinking—at a gay bar. This isn't simply a coming-out-among-the-homophobes tale, however. Its main topic is really finding and owning your own truth, which King authentically depicts as a painful process. Astrid's nearly buried under a multitude of expectant and judgmental voices, whether they're coming from the townsfolk, her own "brain people," or even friends who are supposed to be on her side, like Kristina and Dee. Astrid counterbalances this input by taking her questions to less invested sources: those same passengers to whom she sends her love, and an amiable, imagined Socrates (modernized into Frank Socrates), who waits patiently for Astrid to flounder her way toward truth. That process has more than a few bumps, of course. As Astrid tries to find what's true for her—is she gay, does she want to have sex with Dee—she sometimes overlooks the equally legitimate travails of those around her. Dee struggles with waiting for an uncertain girlfriend's commitment, being tacitly disowned at every turn; Kristina, who trusted Astrid with her own secret, feels betrayed that Astrid kept the truth from her in turn; Ellis, already negotiating the gender stereotypes of being on the field hockey team, suffers harassment as a consequence of her sister's new reputation. In fact, King gifts every character with validity: they all have their own hopes, fears, and ways of coping, and readers can see how they got to where they are and where they might go next. And even amid the brutality of small-town judgment, little decencies abound: the boy who Astrid dated to cover her tracks amiably shrugs off her deception; Ellis' biggest tormentor is matter-of-factly challenged on her own terms by her peers. [End Page 63] It was Astrid's Humanities class that brought her the bolstering companionship of Frank Socrates, and it's also there that she finds her central metaphor, that of Plato's famous cave. When all you know is the dark place with shadows, it's hard to emerge to a reality of light and dimensionality, so hard that you might go back into the cave. Astrid knows this well, as she repeatedly contemplates coming out of her "Unity Valley suit" to let her real self out, only to turn back at the last moment. That's understandable, since she's not wrong about the judgment she'll encounter, but she also sees glimpses of the light-filled life beyond it, where this small-town teen pettiness looks as trivial as it really is. And when eventually she takes that step to stand or fall as who she really is (and does it so loudly—"I'M GAY! Okay? I'm fucking GAY!"—that she earns a suspension from school), it's a glorious, freeing mess that really does make things better. For kids still struggling with their own truths, it can be hard to believe how much light there is once...

The Magdalenian in Switzerland: Re-colonization of a newly accessible landscape

During the Last Glacial Maximum, Switzerland was almost entirely covered with ice. However, in the ice-free region situated less than 50 km north of the glaciers, human occupation is confirmed as early as 23,000 cal BP. Numerous sedimentary sequences in lakes and mires have produced a wealth of proxy data indicating that environmental conditions improved rapidly after the melting of the glaciers that liberated the Swiss Plateau at least at c. 17,500 cal BP, offering severe but possible life conditions to plant, animal and human communities. Contrary to what has long been the prevailing opinion, Magdalenian re-colonization of Switzerland did not start with the onset of the warming of Greenland Interstadial 1e, but well before. According to most of the recently obtained AMS dates, the Magdalenian occupation falls within the cold, treeless, environment of the Oldest Dryas period; it is even conceivable that it did not extend into Greenland Interstadial 1e. More than 50 sites, among which famous caves and rockshelters such as Kesslerloch and Schweizersbild, as well as large open-air campsites like Monruz and Moosbühl, have produced different techno-assemblages that find good comparisons in the rest of Europe. In contrast to the exploitation of mainly local and regional flint sources, the use of “exotic” ornamental/symbolic objects – fossil mollusks, amber and jet – shows widespread, multidirectional long-distance connections with the upper Danube basin, the Mainz basin, the Paris Basin, the Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean and even the Baltic regions.

Speleogenesis in highly geodynamic contexts: The quaternary evolution of Monte Corchia multi-level karst system (Alpi Apuane, Italy)

The Mt. Corchia karst system is one of the most important and famous caves in the World. Different from many other large caves, here the geological structure has had only a minor role on the vertical, multi-level pattern of the cave. A detailed geomorphic and morphometric analysis of the cave and a preliminary study of cave sediments, along with new datings of speleothems, allow us now to depict the multistage evolution of this cave, which produced at least three major paleo-phreatic levels related to different base-level stages. The analysis of the directions of cave passages shows that the three main phases have different orientations, which can be attributed to the different surface morphology during speleogenesis in former times.Chronological constraints and geomorphic features suggest that the upper part of Mt. Corchia Cave developed during the end of Pliocene in a stage of favourable climatic conditions and with a moderate tectonic uplift-rate. The morphological features and the nature of sediments in the upper paleo-phreatic level at 1350–1450m above present sea level (apsl) imply the occurrence of a wide allogenic catchment area. This drainage pattern persisted also in the following stage, during a significant but slow lowering of the base level, which allowed the formation and the intense vadose rearrangement of the epi-phreatic network around 1100–1250m apsl. An uplift stage in the Early Pleistocene caused the capture of the basins and the loss of allogenic feeding. A third epi-phreatic level was formed at around 900m (apsl) when the catchment area was reduced to the present extent of carbonate rock, more than 1Ma ago. The recent evolution is due to rapid uplift and to the progressive incision of surrounding basins, which led to the lowering of the local base level and to a readjustment of the cave system in order to adapt to a new equilibrium with the present elevation of the springs.

PCB accumulation and tissue distribution in cave salamander (Proteus anguinus anguinus, Amphibia, Urodela) in the polluted karstic hinterland of the Krupa River, Slovenia

For over two decades, a manufacturer of electrical capacitors disposed of its waste within the karstic hinterland of the Krupa River (Slovenia) resulting in the surroundings becomming heavily polluted with PCB. Albeit the extent of the contamination has been known since 1983 and the Krupa River has become one of the most PCB polluted river in Europe, the effects on the cave fauna of the region remain unknown. The most famous cave dweller of the Krupa hinterland is the endemic cave salamander Proteus anguinus anguinus. In this study we determine the levels of PCB in the tissues of the Proteus and in river sediments. The total concentration of PCB in individual tissue samples from specimens of the Krupa spring was between 165.59μgg−1 and 1560.20μgg−1dry wt, which is at least 28-times higher than those from an unpolluted site. The kidneys contained the lowest concentration, while the highest concentration was in subcutaneous fat and tissues with high lipid contents like visceral fat and liver. Total PCB concentrations in sediment samples from the Krupa River were between 5.47 and 59.20μgg−1dry wt showing that a high burden of PCB still remains in the region. The most abundant PCB congeners in all analyzed samples were di-ortho substituted (PCB #101, #118, #138 and #158), but higher proportion of mono-ortho PCB was present in sediments. The ability of Proteus to survive a high PCB loading in its environment and especially in its tissues is remarkable. Its partial elimination of low chlorinated and mono-ortho substituted congeners is also reported.

The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living , and: The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today , and: Spiritual Consolation: An Ignatian Guide for the Discernment of Spirits (review)

Reviewed by: The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living, and: The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today, and: Spiritual Consolation: An Ignatian Guide for the Discernment of Spirits E. Edward Kinerk SJ (bio) The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living. By Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005. 210 pp. $19.95. The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today. By Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2006. 190 pp. $16.95. Spiritual Consolation: An Ignatian Guide for the Discernment of Spirits. By Timothy M. Gallagher, OMV. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2007. 176 pp. $16.95. Christians have used the term “discernment of spirits” from the very time of Christ. It is mentioned twice in the New Testament (1 Cor 12:10 and 1 John 4:1), and it was used then in the same way in which it is used today: distinguishing between the actions of the good spirit and the evil spirit. The theology behind this concept is that every individual is guided personally by the action of the Holy Spirit. “Individual inspiration” is not a new revelation and adds nothing to the body of revelation held by the Church, but it recognizes that the Spirit’s action in the individual cannot be deduced solely through reason and moral teaching. Karl Rahner in his essay, “The Logic of Concrete Individual Knowledge in Ignatius Loyola,” (see The Dynamic Element in the Church, Herder and Herder, 1964) made this point theologically and specifically when he wrote about discernment in the Spiritual Exercises. The New Testament gives some generalized principles for discernment of spirits. In particular Galatians describes the fruits of the good spirit as “charity, joy, peace, etc.” while the fruits of the evil spirit are “. . . feuds, and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper. . .” (Gal. 5: 19 – 22). While discernment of spirits continued to be mentioned in Christian spiritual literature through the centuries, not until St. Ignatius Loyola articulated his Rules for Discernment of Spirits in the Spiritual Exercises did the Christian Community have a concise set of principles for the discernment process itself. Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556) was born into minor nobility in the Basque country of northern Spain. After being raised and trained in the courts he grew into a young man enchanted by the glamour of courtly life, fiercely determined in his quest for worldly honor and glory. In 1521 he was wounded in battle and taken to his family’s castle for recovery. Bedridden he requested reading materials, but only a life of Christ and a book about the saints could be found. After reading these religious works Ignatius began to reflect on the peculiar movement of his feelings—noting how he felt when he would daydream about achieving worldly glory as opposed to how he felt when he considered trying to imitate the heroism of the saints and giving up everything to follow Christ. When he realized that thinking about worldly glory consoled and excited him but left him dissipated afterwards, while thoughts about following Christ gave him a more lasting consolation and peace, Ignatius determined to turn his heart and mind to the path of Christ. This was his first discernment and led to a fantastic journey from his Basque homeland to Manresa, Jerusalem, Paris, and eventually Rome where he founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. The first stop on that journey was the now famous cave in Manresa where Ignatius spent the better part of a year in intense prayer and asceticism while begging for his meager support. He noted that God seemed to be treating him like a schoolboy, teaching him the most elementary notions of the spiritual life. As [End Page 256] the days went on, Ignatius gained enormous insight into how to read the various movements which took him from a lofty sense of God’s abiding love and presence to grinding desolation and back again. The ultimate result of his year at Manresa was the crafting of the Spiritual Exercises by which he would lead others through similar but abbreviated experiences. Situated within the Exercises were a set of convictions on how to...

The Almohad Mecca. Locating Igli and the Cave of Ibn Tūmart

Igli was the Mecca of the Almohads. In the Cave of Igli Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart proclaimed the beginning of the Almohad movement in North Africa. Despite the obvious importance of Igli, there was little knowledge about the precise location of Igli or the famous cave of Ibn Tūmart on the map. This paper details the discovery of the small village of Igli 30 kilometers East of Tarūdant. The location of this modem village corresponds with Almohad Igli. Primary sources, oral testimony and physical remains are all evidence that modem Igli was the birthplace of Ibn Tūmart.