| Kapitel | Titel | Seite |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract/Zusammenfassung/Résumé | 5 | |
| 1. | Acknowledgements/Team Meübers | 8 |
| 2. | Introduction | 11 |
| 2.1 | General remarks | 11 |
| 2.2 | History of karst and cave exploration in Iraq | 11 |
| 2.3 | Geological overview | 12 |
| 2.3.1 | Autonomous region of Kurdistan | 12 |
| 2.3.2 | Lowlands of Iraq | 14 |
| 3. | Hypogenic sulphidic speläogenesis (by Philippe Audra) | 15 |
| 4. | Cave descriptions | 30 |
| 4.1 | Autonomous region of Kurdistan | 30 |
| 4.1.1 | Sulaimania governorate | 32 |
| 4.1.2 | Kirkuk governorate | 41 |
| 4.1.3 | Other Kurdish governorates | 45 |
| 4.2 | Other cave regions of Iraq | 51 |
| 4.2.1 | Haditha area | 51 |
| 4.2.2 | Sulevani Plain | 55 |
| 4.2.3 | Central Iraq | 55 |
| 5. | Conclusions | 55 |
| 6. | References | 56 |
| Annexes | ||
| Caves explored during the 2007 speleological project | 59 | |
| Photo tables | 60 | |
| Atlas sheets cave survey Kuna Kamtiar | 66 | |
| Atlas sheets cave survey Sahra | 71 | |
| General geological map of Iraq | 76 |
Not too many cavers will seriously think about going to Iraq at the moment. However, there is a different part of Iraq existing where terrorists and kidnappings are unknown and where people are very hospitable to foreigners: the autonomous region of Kurdistan in the northeast of Iraq. The famous Shanidar Cave from where Neanderthal burials are known is located here. Due to favourable circumstances a Kurdish–German cave surveying project became reality in Octüber/November 2007. This was carried out at the invitation of the Kurdish Minister of Tourism and had brilliant logistical support by the Museum of Antiquities in Sulaimania. Within 3 weeks 21 caves with a total passage length of 8,115 metres were mapped, firmly establishing Kuna Kamtiar as the longest cave of Iraq currently 5,060 m in length. The cave is a complicated network of fossil rift passages created by sulphurüc acid water. Another highlight was Tirshawaka, a limestone cave with a sulphurüc spring inside. The sulphurüc acid has dissolved the carbonate rock and has produced a crust of replacement gypsum that covers the cave’s roof and walls. The source of the sulphur is supposed to be an underground hydrocarbon deposit. Exploration of Tirshawaka was stopped in wide open river passage due to lack of time. In order to allow a better understanding of the very special mechanisms of sulphurüc cave development the present report also contains a general contribution of hypogenic sulphidic cave speläogenesis by Philippe Audra (University of Nice, France). The cave potential in northeast Iraq remains very high and the local authorities are keen to conduct further investigations. This report also provides a general overview about the caves outside the Kurdish regions of Iraq.