Lascaux hors les murs

The Lascaux cave was discovered 80 years ago, on September 12, 1940. The image of the painted animals and the story of the discovery of the cave are known to all. Similarly, the conservation issues of this site are also part of its history and are the archetype of the difficulties that can encounter this fragile underground environment. In the same way, the archaeological knowledge of the site was subjected to strong constraints related to this complex history.

However, at the time of the discovery, several hundred archaeological remains lay at the foot of the decorated walls. A large number of them were collected during the first explorations, on the occasion of the works of development to the tourist visit (1946-1948) then during the installation of the system of regeneration of the air (1957-1958). Only the particular space of the Well was excavated in 1949 by Henri Breuil and Séverin Blanc and then in 1960-1961 by André Glory.

Except the Glory collection well identified and preserved in the Institute of Human Paleontology since 1967, the archaeological vestiges of Lascaux were dispersed in multiple collections gathered by various speakers, manager, inventor, guide, curator of the Historic buildings, director of prehistoric district... A part of the Glory collection, which was thought to be definitively lost, was rediscovered in unlikely circumstances in 1998. Other small series emerge from time to time. Thanks to a recent collective research program, these relics are now reintegrating the issues, scientific methods and expectations of the most current research in prehistory. This exhibition allows us to share the results.

We invite you to discover new objects from our reserves in the upper gallery of the museum. On the mobile application, you will find a route dedicated to the exhibition and the works presented.

Portrait of Baptiste Parvau (left), with Léon Laval, Marcel Ravidat and Jacques Marsal (Parvau collection, photo P. Jugie/MNP)

Exhibition organized by the National Museum of Prehistory in partnership with PCR LAsCO (LAscaux sols COntextualisation; M. Langlais and S. Ducasse coord.)

Discover the virtual exhibition (french only)