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Kamakumba Cave, Wara-Wara Bafodia Chiefdom, Sierra Leone (West Africa) 1968
Image by gbaku
(Rough sketch map of the interior of the cave below) Photo taken February 6, 1968. The cave is approximately one mile north of the village of Kamakumba. The entrance (to the left on the map) runs just off a north-south line. The entrance is about 15 metres long and about one metre wide; the main part of the cave is perpendicular to the entrance and about 8 metres wide. The width of the main part of the main room in the cave is about 2.1 metres. The cave roof was covered with bats, which prevented me from getting an accurate measurement of the roof heights (estimates are in feet). (I had learnt from an earlier experience not to disturb a cave full of bats.) A porcupine was living in a lower section of the cave ("A" on the map) which discouraged us from getting more accurate measurements of that part. The cave fill seems very rich (probably from bat dung); the front wall and the front part of the roof are damp while the back part is quite dry --- even powdery. The dividing line between the two is at the centre of the roof on an approximate east-west line. There were small insects --- probably beetles of some sort --- crawling over the floor of the cave and digging into it. A small test excavation was made at point "B" on the map to a depth of approximately 50 cm. There is a good layering of what appears to be organic material of various shades and consistencies which would suggest that this might be an excellent site for paleobotanical and paleoecological studies. Organic materials are not usually preserved in this part of west Africa, but they are well-preserved here. Porcupine quills and a piece of wood were found in the test excavation at point "B" and organic materials were also found at a small test excavation at "C" on the map. Rock pieces were found in both tests, but none unambiguously artefactual. More extensive excavation of this site might yield cultural materials since caves in West Africa were often used for ritual activity, the storage of ritual paraphernalia, and also as hiding places during times of war.
