Barrenc de Merial

The cavity begins with a fine 3 m diameter entrance that opens onto a 14 m pit, inclined over the first 7, then vertical, down to a ledge cluttered with dead wood and leaves from which two logical continuations start.

To the north, the pit continues as a steep slope of humus with many branches that ends in a chamber full of enormous boulders. Downwards, a narrow gallery ends in a small chamber, the low point of this part at -29. By climbing the boulders, one reaches the upper part of the chamber, 12 m long and 8 at its greatest width. On the right wall starts a joint accessible at several levels. After a narrow section, it opens into a gallery of fine dimensions (4 m by 3 m) that first descends, then rises by a steep slope of fine earth, until floor and ceiling meet (elevation -18).

To the south, the entrance pit is followed by an inclined slide 15 m long, on average 2.5 m wide and 6 to 7 m high. On the right side, a 5 m long crawl makes a loop and rejoins the gallery. Then, a small 2 m step is avoided on the left. A few metres further on, level with a small rise in the floor, on the right, starts a rising gallery that, after 6 m, turns into a joint cluttered with large boulders. Between these, sometimes very unstable, descending passages join one another down to an impenetrable pinch.

The main gallery continues for a few metres more, to a narrowing that precedes the start of the terminal pit, 11 m deep and of large dimensions (7 m x 3 m). At its base, made of boulders, a sloping corridor ends at an impenetrable fissure (5 cm wide) that constitutes the low point of the cavity, at -46.

During our last visit, a strong descending draught was noticeable at the top of the P 11, but very attenuated at the entrance of the terminal fissure at -46 into which it rushed, most of the draught being lost in the pit itself.

To the north, after the ledge, one progresses by a steep slope of humus; downwards, a narrow gallery leads to the small chamber at -29, and by climbing the boulders one reaches the upper part of the chamber. To the south, the entrance pit is followed by an inclined slide; a small 2 m step is avoided on the left. The main gallery leads to the narrowing preceding the terminal 11 m pit, whose base made of boulders gives onto a sloping corridor ending at an impenetrable fissure.

The floor is covered with wood debris, with numerous animal bones. In the terminal pit, in the wall opposite the one along which one descends, a ledge can be seen, perhaps the start of a narrow gallery that could be the continuation of the cavity. This ledge seems very difficult to reach, but one should try to verify it, although no obvious start is visible.