sciencetech-blog

comments

Prehistoric man sketched an incredible array of prehistoric beasts on the rough limestone walls of a cave in modern day France 36,000 years ago.

Now, with the help of cutting-edge technology, those works of art in the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave have been reproduced to create the biggest replica cave in the world.

The manmade cavern named the Caverne du Pont-d'Arc has been built a few miles from the original site in Vallon-Pont-D'arc in Southern France and contains 1,000 painstakingly-reproduced drawings as well as around 450 bones and other features.

Cavemen and women sketched an incredible array of prehistoric beasts on the rough limestone walls of a cave 36,000 years ago and now a replica has been created (pictured)

The original and unique 'Grotte Chauvet' was discovered around 20 years ago and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

It is the oldest known and the best preserved cave decorated by man, but is not open to the public and is only seen by a handful of experts every year, in order to keep the precious works of art safe.

Now experts have scanned the original drawings using 3D modelling techniques to capture each marking and position them correctly on the bumpy replica walls to the millimetres.

The replica cave (pictured) has been built near Vallon-Pont-D'arc in Southern France and contains 1,000 painstakingly-reproduced drawings of 425 animals as well as around 450 bones

It's the oldest cave decorated by man – and the best preserved, but is not open to the public to keep the precious works of art safe. IT bears images of woolly rhinos for example (the replica drawings are shown)

'The most remarkable paintings, engravings, palaeontological and essential geological representations are reproduced full-scale from the scanned originals,' promotional material says.

'The objective is to reproduce the emotions originally aroused by the cave and to reveal its hidden world.'

The drawings include images of 14 different species such as cave bears, woolly rhinoceros, mammoths and big cats, some of which are the only representations in Palaeolithic cave art.

Unique representations include a panther, owl and even part of the female body, making the original site an invaluable research subject for scientists around the world.

Experts scanned the original drawings using 3D modelling techniques to capture each marking and position them correctly on the bumpy replica walls to the millimetre. A replica mammoth is shown

The drawings include images of 14 different species such as cave bears, woolly rhinoceros, mammoths and big cats, some of which are the only representations in Palaeolithic cave art. The reproduction is shown

'The Decorated Cave of Pont-d'Arc is an invitation to a journey back in time, a wonderful dive into the heart of humanity and a major landmark in the history of civilisation,' said the creators of the replica

The replica cave called the Caverne du Pont-d'Arc has been built a few miles from the original site in Vallon-Pont-D'arc in Southern France (shown with a red marker)

Unique representations include a panther, owl and even part of the female body, making the original site an invaluable research subject for scientists around the world. The panther is among these big cats

While the real cave is 91,490 square feet (8,500 metres) the replica is 32,290 square feet (3,000 square metres) in area. Here, copies of drawings can be seen on the ceiling

The new cave also includes replica paw prints of bears, bones and details preserved in the original cave.

But while the real cave is 91,490 square feet (8,500 metres) the replica is 32,290 square feet (3,000 square metres) in area and visitors to the attraction, which opens on April 25, will be able to take in the artwork while standing on a raised walkway.

Promotional material for the replica says: 'Today, the bold alliance of artistic creation and the most advanced technologies, some of which were used for the first time, make of this replica a true prototype.

'…The Decorated Cave of Pont-d'Arc is an invitation to a journey back in time, a wonderful dive into the heart of humanity and a major landmark in the history of civilisation.

'Our ambition is to give visitors the opportunity to feel the same emotions, experience the same sensations and the surprise to discover a unique place in the world.'

Hervé Saulignac, President of the General Council of the Ardèche and Vice-President of the Rhône-Alpes Region, said: '36 000 years separate us from these men, highflying artists, who settled there, a few metres from a river that still defines our territory. 

'Almost everything is similar – nature - it has not aged.

'Our ambition is that it should be the same. To preserve this masterpiece for future generations, to continue to make it indestructible, untouched by the ravages of man and time…'

The attraction, which has cost €55 million (£40 million or $60 million), also includes a discovery centre, which will inform visitors about the flora, fauna and daily lives of our ancestors who lived in the region 36,000 years ago.

Promotional material for the replica says: 'Today, the bold alliance of artistic creation and the most advanced technologies, some of which were used for the first time, make of this replica a true prototype.' A reproduction of a sketch of a woolly rhino done 36,000 years ago, is shown