Lascaux

Lascaux, also known as Lascaux Cave, is a cave system near Montignac in the Dordogne department of southwestern France. It contains some of the most famous examples of Paleolithic cave art, with paintings and engravings dated to around 17,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic. The site has played a central role in studies of prehistoric art and hunter-gatherer culture.

In 1940, Marcel Ravidat, along with friends Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, followed by their dog Robot, discovered an entrance to the cave. The chambers include the Hall of the Bulls, the Painted Gallery, and the Axial Gallery. It opened to the public in the 1940s, becoming a major tourist attraction.

The cave contains roughly 600 paintings and 1,500 engravings, principally of aurochs, horses, deer, and other animals, with signs and abstract motifs. The Great Hall of the Bulls is notable for its large figures and dense friezes. The artworks were created with pigments of charcoal, ochre, and other minerals applied to the limestone walls.

By 1963, humidity and carbon dioxide damaged the paintings, and access was permanently closed to protect them. A replica, Lascaux II, opened nearby in 1983, reproducing the major halls. A more complete complex, Lascaux IV, opened in 2016 as an interpretive center. The original cave remains closed to visitors and is kept for research.

Lascaux is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Prehistoric Caves of the Vézère Valley, inscribed in 1979, reflecting the region's rich concentration of Paleolithic art.