THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190338
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PARIS LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Archaeologists inching through a cave last month suddenly found themselves amid a stunning art show - 300 glacial-era wall paintings of animals, a 20,000-year-old display that experts say eclipses the cave art of Lascaux.
The paintings, discovered Dec. 24 in caves of the Ardeche River canyon in southern France, depict horses, lions, bison, bears, panthers, mammoths, owls, wild oxen, wild goats and woolly rhinoceroses.
``We have there a selection of animals infinitely more varied than the other sites and with exceptional features,'' said Genevieve Martin, a specialist for the Archaeological Service of the Rhone-Alpes region.
The paintings show standing or galloping groups of animals about 15 inches high. Some rhinoceroses were shown fighting.
The Culture Ministry, announcing the find Wednesday, called it ``the only totally intact and ornate network of caves from the Paleolithic era.''
The caves near Combe d'Arc are about 1,500 feet deep in the Ardeche, known for its grottos and subterranean rivers. It is 260 miles south of Paris.
The discovery was not announced until Wednesday so the site could be protected. The caves, yet to be named, were quickly secured by a heavy door and TV surveillance.
They ``will not be opened to the public so that the extremely fragile and precious relics can be studied,'' Culture Minister Jacques Toubon said. ``Preservation is our priority at the moment.''
The ministry said it plans to show the paintings to the public using video, CD-ROM or other multimedia techniques.
The actual caves of Lascaux in France's southwest Dordogne region are open only to a handful of experts each day; a re-creation in a similar cave is open to the public.
``What was done at Lascaux is superb,'' said Nick Ashton, a researcher at the British Museum's Department of Prehistoric and Romano-British Antiquities. ``You're reducing the risk of damage to the paintings from the humidity brought in by human breath.''
Jean-Marie Chauvet, guardian of about 15 caves in the same area that have prehistoric artifacts, stumbled upon the art with two assistants during an inspection tour, the Culture Ministry said.
Searching a narrow gallery near the cliffs of the Cirque d'Estre, the team found a shaft that led to a network of large galleries where the paintings were found, the ministry said.
The caves also contained the bones of about 100 bears still in their hibernation nests, as well as hearths, flints and torches. Archaeologists found bits of clay, iron oxide and manganese that were excavated to make paint.
Theories vary on why the paintings were made. For wall paintings in general, ``some of the ideas work on the notion it was some sort of help for their hunting, so there's some mystical association,'' Ashton said. ILLUSTRATION: Associated Press photo
Wooly rhinos, at right, are among the animals depicted in this
prehistoric wall painting, one of 300 found Dec. 24 in a cave deep
in France's Ardeche River canyon in the Rhone-Alpes region of
central south France. The paintings are well-preserved remnants of
the glacial era. by CNB