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is situated near Montignak ( Dordogne, 40 kms from Perigueux), at the end of a
plateau on the left bank of the Vezer river. An old legend says, there was an
underground passage from the Montignak castle under the Vezer and the Lascaux
estate with hidden treasures. Four teen-agers were looking for these treasures when
on the 12th of September 1940 they had found a small entrance into a cave which
concealed real riches - magnificent rock paintings dated by the late Palaeolithic.
These are depictions of different animals (horses, bisons, deer, bulls and others) and
unlike figures in other caves which, at first sight, look static and almost lifeless, those
in Lascaux are full of motion and harmony. Abbot Glory had been working in the
cave from 1952 up to 1963 and found more than 2000 depictions on its walls.
In one of the scenes on the wall of a deep (6ms) well a figure of a man is
present. The scene has many interpretations, one of them is symbolically called
"corrida".
Lascaux was always of great interest not only for the scientists but for
numerous tourists as well. Often visits of large tourist groups changed the
microclimate of the cave and had a destructive influence on the paintings. According
to the decision of the Minister of Culture of France Andre Malraux, the Lascaux
cave was repurchased by the state and closed for visitors for 14 years. Thanks to the
long and intricate work of a whole group of archaeologists , biologists, speleologists
and geomorphologers the paintings and graphics of the cave were saved from
destruction. But up till now the Lascauz cave is still closed for tourists. Only a
specialist can visit the cave by a special order, made almost a year in
advance. Not more than 6 persons can enter the cave per day. Two days a week the
cave is completely closed. In connection with conservation and restoration of the
Lascaux paintings the public interest had greatly increased. Montignak is near busy
roads, going to the south of France, the traditional place of rest. There came the idea
to construct an artificial copy of the cave. But to put the idea into practice one
needed a completely new technology. Such a technology was tried on the paintings
from "Rotunda".
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