Pictures: Cave of Pont-d’Arc added to World Heritage list
- Published
The Cave of Pont-d'Arc is known for the incredible cave art that dates back 36,000 years. The art was only discovered in 1994. It includes drawings, paintings, child's footprints and carbon smoke stains from torches that lit the caves.
It contains the earliest known and best preserved cave paintings in the world, including lots of different types of animals.
The extraordinary paintings have a lots of movement. For example this group of horses running and two bison locking their horns in a fight over territory or mating right.
The Chauvet Pont-d’Arc cave will be added to the 981 other UNESCO world heritage sites such as the Acropolis, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon, and France’s own Mont St-Michel.
The ancient artists drew more than 425 animals including 14 species like these horses.
It is thought that the pictures in the cave were protected for so long because of a cliff collapsing and sealing the entrance for more than 20,000 years.
In order to let the public enjoy the treasures of the cave a copy of the paintings is being and will go on display in France. It has been made to protect the original cave and not risk any damage. It will be the biggest prehistoric replica site in Europe and is set to open at the end of 2014.
