Lascaux

A Magdalenian cave in the Dordogne, southwest France, with a spectacular collection of Palaeolithic paintings and engravings. Once the cave was opened to visitors, the delicate atmospheric balance was disturbed and the paintings were attacked by fungus; it was closed to the public in 1963. A small number of archaeological finds from inside the cave probably date to the early Magdalenian including lamps. A Neanderthal skeleton was found a few hundred meters away at Regoudou. There are 600 paintings of aurochs, horses, deer, and signs, accompanied by 1500 engravings dominated by horses. Some of the paintings in the rotunda, especially the bulls, approach life size, which is unusual in cave art. A number of paintings are in two contrasting colors, red iron oxide and black manganese dioxide. It was probably never inhabited, but was used from c 15,000 BC. A nearby facsimile cave, Lascaux II, is now open to the public.

The most famous of all painted caves, Lascaux, near Montignac in the Dordogne, southwest France, was discovered by four boys in 1940. A small number of archaeological finds from inside the cave probably date to the early Magdalenian and include a well-made lamp. A Neanderthal skeleton was found a few hundred metres away at Regourdou. In addition to the very large number of paintings, there are also numerous engravings, and a reasonably complete list of them has been completed. Some of the paintings in the rotunda, especially the bulls, approach life size, which is unusual in cave art. A number of paintings are in two contrasting colours, red iron oxide and black manganese dioxide. Red deer, ox and horse are the commonest animals, and coldloving species are noticeably absent. Lascaux was closed to the public in 1961 because growth of the alga Palmellococcus ("la maladie verrf) threatened to damage the paintings.