Mold Threatens Cave Paintings in Lascaux

The Lascaux Caverns have recently been closed to everyone, including scientists, because they are being threatened by a fungus - again. The famous Cave Paintings of Lascaux are approximately 15,000 - 17,000 years old and are some of the oldest known ancient works of art, having survived since the last ice age.

Experts believe the mold might be the result of a faulty air circulation system which had been installed seven years ago. Shortly after this installation, the beautiful prehistoric paintings were threatened by mold damage. Other causes sited were global warming and human activity in the caves (maybe they'll issue breathing apparatus to us poor humans).

In any case the French government shut down the caves and has authorized applying a fungicide to halt the spread of the mold.

The caves have been closed to the general public since 1963. This three month closure, however, closes the caves to everyone except those applying the fungicide and puts a halt to several projects, one of which is a survey that was to make a three-dimensional digital record of every painting in the caverns.

Just thought you might like to know! Here's a lovely book on Lascaux from Amazon.