Lascaux

Attribution:

Sushma Sabnis

Nr Montignac

France

Key Dates

Discovered by teenagers in 1940.

By 1955, the carbon dioxide produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings. The cave was closed to the public in 1963 in order to preserve the art. The images have since been restored, and are now regularly monitored.

In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.

Lascaux is the site of a network of caves in southwestern France, famous for its Paleolithic cave art. These paintings are approximately 16,000 years old. They mainly consist of realistic images of large animals, most of which lived in the area at that time. Rooms in the cave include The Great Hall of the Bulls, the Lateral Passage, the Shaft of the Dead Man, the Chamber of Engravings, the Painted Gallery, and the Chamber of Felines.

The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures. Many of these have deteriorated or very faint, making visibility difficult. Over 900 are identified as animals such as horses, stags, cattle, bison, felines, a bird, a bear, a rhinoceros, and a human. Within The Great Hall and Nave chambers are contained some of the best examples of the skill of the Paleolithic rock painters to represent animals in motion and in perspective - an ability and understanding not demonstrated again until the 15th century.

Admission Fee

Admission Free

Related Websites

Culture-France

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