You can enjoy the video above, and it features the main story I will be telling you about here.  On this date in 1940, the Lascaux Cave was discovered.  Now what is the importance of this event?  Let me tell you some of the story.

Marcel Ravidat, and 18-year-old French student discovered the entrance, and he brought his friends back to examine it.  What they saw in the cave were paintings of animals on the cave walls, and they were estimated to have been 15,000-17,000 years old.  There were some 600 various pictures and 1500 engravings on the walls, and these were studied in great detail by archaeologists.

The cave was originally opened to the public in 1948, but the artificial light faded the vibrancy of the colors and caused algae to grow on some of them.  The cave was closed in 1963, but in 1983, a replica was opened.  Thousands of visitors flock to this replica cave every year.

For more information:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/31/obituaries/marcel-ravidat-is-dead-at-72-found-lascaux-cave-paintings.html

http://lascaux.fieldmuseum.org/

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/lascaux-cave-paintings.htm

Spread the love

Tweet