Bats and SARS in China

In 2002-2003 an outbreak of SARS killed almost 800 people around the world. The virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a pneumonia-like illness and was first noticed in Guangdong province, southeastern China.

Scientists found genetically similar viruses in masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) sold in Guangdong’s animal markets. It was later found that similar viruses were in horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) in China. It was thought the deadly strain probably originated in the bats, and later passed through civets before reaching humans.

This led to sampling horseshoe bats around China. In a cave in Yunnan, scientists found a strain of the virus similar to the human version. They then spent five years monitoring the bats that lived there, collecting fresh guano and taking anal swabs.

After a lot of research virologists have shown that this single population of horseshoe bats harbours virus strains with all the genetic building blocks of the one that jumped to humans in 2002. They published the news in Nov 2017.

This leads to questions. How can a virus from bats in Yunnan travel to animals and humans around 1,000 kilometres away in Guangdong, without causing any suspected cases in Yunnan itself. Also can
the human SARS strain jump from bats to another animal, such as a civet.

The scientists have to continue their search for other bat populations that carry the same strain of virus.

In the meantime there is the worry that the deadly outbreak could reappear. The cave with the affected bats is only 1 km from a village.

The Chinese authorities have closed many markets selling animals in China since the outbreaks of SARS and other infectious diseases. I really wonder if this is effective, or enforced.

See my blogs on bushmeat in Laos :
Laos markets
Laos bushmeat,
Luang Prabang market 

These photos were all taken in northern Laos in 2007 and 2008, relatively close to the Chinese border and Yunnan!

See the main article on bats and SARS in Nature 1 Dec 2017, "Bat cave solves mystery of deadly SARS virus — and suggests new outbreak could occur".

Huge cave found on the moon

A huge underground cave has been found on the moon, opening up the possibility for astronauts to take shelter there in future missions. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) made the ground breaking discovery and announced it overnight. This was reported in ninecom.au news on 19 Oct 2017. The report also has pictures of the cave.

The entrance to the cave as seen from above the surface of the moon. (JAXA)

The cave is about 100 m wide and stretches 50 km across the moon's surface according to data collected by JAXA’s moon probe called the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE).

A 50m wide opening to the cave was first discovered by SELENE in 2009, and was analysed over the following years.

Data confirmed the cavern was likely created by a lava tube formed during volcanic activity and there is a chance ice or water exists in rocks inside it.

Scientists hope future moon explorers could use the cave for protection from the sun's radiation and cosmic rays. It could even act as base for the explorers and if there is water or ice to found inside, it could be used as fuel.

Scientists widely believe the moon experienced a series of large-scale volcanic activity up until about one billion years ago.

The cave, believed to be a lava tube created about 3.5 billion years ago
See more on Japan Times 18 Oct 2017.

Rock art in Cuba

News of a new cave painting site in Cuba was announced in August 2017. I went to Cuba in 2015 and wasn't aware of any rock art.

The news item "Speleologists Discover New Cave Painting Site in Cuba" can be seen here. It says that 'Cuban speleologists have discovered a new cave painting site in a cave located at the Sierra Maestra mountain range, in southern Granma province'.

The mountains have a long history of guerrilla warfare, such as the Cuban Revolution and Cuban Wars of Independence, including the time when Fidel Castro hid in the area with his supporters. Map from Wikipedia -

I was in Santiago de Cuba province and saw the mountains, they are volcanic -

The rock art consists of a group of pre-Columbian petroglyphs (carvings or incisions made in the rock). These engravings are the first ones reported in that area of Cuba. Photo taken from Prensa Latina -

The discovery is particularly important because the seven cave painting sites previously identified in that province are located in the western extremity, near Cabo Cruz. Wikipedia map -

Great Orme bronze age mine, Llandudno

I used to visit the Great Orme on holidays in the 1960s. At that time I didn't realise it was limestone. I revisited the Great Orme in 2017. I was also able to visit the copper mines, which were only discovered in 1987.

The ancient copper mines on the Great Orme are located in Carboniferous Limestone formed around 330 million years ago. Their discovery in recent years meant the history of the metal age for Britain had to be rewritten, as it was found that mining of the copper ores began in the early Bronze age around 4000 years ago and continued until around 600 BC. This is earlier than first thought.

The above poster says "Mining on the Great Orme began around 4000 years ago. The earliest mining was open-cast, where the green copper ore malachite was exposed on the surface. Hundreds of tonnes of ore were extracted from these surface workings before the miners eventually had to follow the ore below ground. Bronze Age miners had a variety of tools available to them. Specially chosen stones from the beach would have been used as hammers, and animal bones would have been used as chisels and scrapers. Over 2,500 stone hammers and 35,000 bones have been found at the mine."

Mining recommenced in the late 17th century and continued into the 19th century. The main mining area was near the halfway tram station, where shafts and spoil tips can still be seen. Since their discovery in 1987, mining engineers, cavers and archaeologists have mapped the tunnels of the ancient workings as well large areas of the surface landscape, revealing remnants of bell pits aligned with geological faults.

Today the Great Orme Bronze Age Mine is a tourist attraction. It is located close to the halfway station of the tram. It is a self guided tour, starting with a short film. Then you can explore some of the workings, and find out more about life of the Bronze Age miners.

The miners worked underground for more than 1000 years, reaching depths of 70 m (220 ft) below ground. The tunnels were mostly very narrow, many of them were only big enough for children to work in. For lighting they used animal fat lamps or candles.

Entrance to the underground section that is open to tourists.

Looking at a very small passage that would only have been accessible to children

The basic tools of prehistoric miners, found when the ancient mines were rediscovered in the late 20th century, were stone hammers, animal bones and antler picks. Mining was such hard work that the ore-bearing rock was roughly sorted underground and only the ore was taken to the surface. The waste rock was stored in abandoned passages.

When the rock was not too hard, fires were lit to weaken it. The charcoal remains from these fires have been carbon dated, confirming that the mining took place between 3000 and 4000 years ago.

This is thought to be the largest chamber to exist in an ancient mine

One shaft open to the surface is 145 m deep! It goes down to sea level.

You can see an explanation on how the ore was smelted in kilns reaching 1100 degrees C.

It is amazing to think that the site lay entirely hidden for decades, being covered with spoil. The photo on the left shows the site in 1987.

Currently over 5 miles of tunnels have been found, making this the largest known Bronze Age copper mine in the world.

See and read more on the mine www, greatormemines . There are some good photos, a video and lots of info.

Great Orme, Llandudno, North Wales

As a child I had several holidays in north Wales and each time we would visit the Great Orme at Llandudno. However in those days I had no interest in caves and knew nothing about the geology. The Great Orme is in fact limestone. It is a large outcrop of Carboniferous limestone, approx 365-325 million years old.

Across Llandudno bay is the Little Orme which is also limestone.

Google Earth image of the bay with the Great Orme on the left and Little Orme on the right -

The Great Orme is 3 km long and 2 km wide, and rises to 207 m at the summit. It is protected as an SSSI and a nature reserve. It has important habitats for fauna and flora. It has farmland, also a growing herd of feral Kashmeri goats.

There is a road around the Great Orme. Or you can walk up. Otherwise you can take the cable car or the tram to the summit. I did both. They are run by different companies so you have to pay separately for each, so I did the return journey on the cable car, then did the return journey on the tram. With the tram you have to change trams at the halfway station so that gives an opportunity to go to the Bronze Age mine as it is nearby.

Geological features include the limestone pavement. There are also caves but as far as I can tell, none are particularly 'exciting' and are not easy to get to. Some are connected with the copper mines on the headland. See more on the caves.

The limestone is locally dolomitised. Copper mineralisation and dolomitisation are closely associated with fractures and faults. Hydrothermal fluids passed through the fractures creating veins of copper and other minerals.

Dozens of pits dug by miners -

When I visited the Great Orme as a child in the 1960s, the copper mines hadn't been discovered. They were only found in 1987. So on my next visit in 2017 I was able to visit one. See my next blog on the Great Orme Bronze Age Mine.

***

Portugal

I've just had a holiday in Portugal but didn't manage to see any caves. And I only saw 1 sign to a show cave, Moeda Cave, that is outside Fatima.

Portugal doesn't have many extensive caves. Most are in the rolling hills between Coimbra and Setubal. We crossed a limestone range between Batalha and Fatima, although I wouldn't have recognised it as limestone if I hadn't been told. Photos taken from the coach window -

A show cave leaflet, Grutas de Mira de Aire , near Fatima-

There is a band of limestone in the Algarve, but I didn't go to this area.

Dunhuang Caves exhibition in London

Dunhuang is located at the western end of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province in China. It is like a small oasis surrounded by mountains and the Gobi desert. The area was established by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty in 111 BC and was a base for imperial China to manage the Western regions. It became an important trading town on the Silk Road.

The Dunhuang Caves is a cluster of sites that include the Mogao Caves, the West Thousand-Buddha Caves, the Yulin Caves, the East Thousand-Buddha Caves, and the Five-temple Caves. These caves are close to each other and follow the same artistic style, among which the Mogao Caves are the most representative. The caves are all man made.

The Mogao Caves at Dunhuang are a UNESCO World Heritage site. "Situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the 492 cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art."

"Carved into the cliffs above the Dachuan River, the Mogao Caves south-east of the Dunhuang oasis, Gansu Province, comprise the largest, most richly endowed, and longest used treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. It was first constructed in 366 AD and represents the great achievement of Buddhist art from the 4th to the 14th century. 492 caves are presently preserved, housing about 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,000 painted sculptures."

On 16 May 2017, a month long exhibition on the Sacred Art of the Silk Road: Dunhuang's Buddhist Cave Temples opened in London, at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. I went to have a look on the first day.

There were a lot of digital posters of the cave paintings, with lots of information as well as a couple of replicas of caves. It was quite a lot to take in!

734 rock cut caves were constructed at Mogao Caves from the 4th to 14th c.  Murals and painted stucco statues still exist in 492 of these caves. Replica statues of the Heavenly King of the North and the South -

There was an explanation of the different types of cave halls - one example

Cave 275 is one of the oldest, 397-439 AD and the main wall shows a large cross-legged Bodhisattva Maitreya seated on a lion throne and holding a preaching mudra.

A calsson is the square roof of the cave, shaped like an upside down 'bucket', with painted patterns such a lotuses, Baoxiang flowers, flying celestials, triple rabbits, rounded dolphins, paired phoenixes or dragon and phoenix in the central square, circled by multi-layer stripes of decorative patterns. It is usually surrounded by a splendid and intricate painting of tents, chaplets and golden bells forming a coherent image of a square canopy. Caisson with triple rabbits inside an 8 petal multi-layered lotus which is surrounded by 8 flying celestials and swirling heavenly flowers, from cave 407 -

'Buddha of the Blazing Light' surrounded by celestial and astronomical deities -

Another mural

There was a walk in replica of Cave 3, which is devoted entirely to Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara

One interesting section was about the pigments used for the murals. These pigments were extracted from natural minerals and were treated by crushing, de-ironing, grinding, rinsing and grading to produce a range of hues and shades. These pigments are pure and rich in colour and are durable as well as being light-fast and resistant to acid and corrosion. Gelantine was used as a binder. Bristle brushes were used to apply the paint.

To make the murals, first sandy mud was mixed with straw to form a paste which was plastered onto the cave wall. Then silty mud was tempered with hemp fibre to form a paste, this was applied onto the previous layer. The mud came from the Dangquan River in front of the Mogao Caves. The silty mud layer was then whitewashed with kaolin, lime or gypsum. The surface was then ready for painting.

Freehand sketches were drawn onto sections of the wall, using a brush and a light earth-red pigment. Images were then added and scaled up. Next, the stencilling - outlines of the full scale images were drawn with ink on paper and pricked with holes. A fabric pouch holding coloured powder was  pounced over the holes. The powder coming through the pouch would penetrate the holes in the paper and leave fine dotted lines on the wall. The lines were then inked up to form images using brush and ink. The next process was the colouring. The master artist would draw symbols as colour codes to indicate to the juniors which colours to use.

The deep blue colour comes from lapis lazuli, a metamorphic rock that is mined. It has always been highly regarded and in middle ages was valued the same as gold. It was used for the most precious statues and paintings.

Today the conservation of the Dunhuang Caves comes under the Dunhuang Academy

The next room had a display of calssons.

A mural -

The Thousand-Hand-and-Thousand-Eye Avalokitesvara with Fifty-One Faces at Yulin Cave 3, Western Xia period, 1036-1227.

During the month long exhibition there are short courses on many aspects of the paintings, Silk Road patterns, the alchemy of colour etc, as well as various lectures.

See more on The Prince's School of Traditional Arts and also on Artlyst.

© Liz Price