Lascaux+Cave

In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley. By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors a day had damaged the paintings. The cave was shut down to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art. Since the visitors couldn't go anymore the paintings began to return to their original states. The paintings are now supervised on a daily basis. The cave was discovered on September 12, in 1940. The interesting part is that four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, discovered the cave. They did this with the help of Marcel's trusty dog, Robot. Quite of the few illustrations can be identified as animals, and 605 of these have been precisely identified. There are also many geometric figures. Of the animals, horses predominate, with 364 images. Since 1998 the cave has been growing fungus. Mostly blamed on a new air conditioning system that was installed in the caves, the use of high-powered lights, and too many visitors. By 2008, the cave contained black mold which scientists were and still are trying to keep away from the paintings. In January 2008 authorities closed the cave for three months to everyone, including scientists. One person was allowed to enter the cave for 20 minutes once a week to monitor climatic conditions. Now only a few scientists are allowed to work inside the cave, and only a few days a month. However removing this fungi has taken it's toll and left dark patched where it happened ruining the pigmentation.

That's about it! There are many intriguing paintings in the cave, you will find some of them on the following page!