The Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave

- Introduction
- The Reproduction Area will open in 2014.
- UNESCO // Chauvet Cave – Pont d’Arc frame: humanity’s treasure.
- The Chauvet Cave is a driver for local development.

Discovered on 18 December 1994 in southern Ardèche, the ‘Grotte Chauvet – Pont d’Arc’ cave is the oldest currently known decorated cave in the world. This unique in the world cave is situated on the territory of the commune of Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in the Cirque d’Estre, a meander of the River Ardèche abandoned following the formation of the Pont d’Arc natural rock arch.

This discovery turned the world of archaeology and art history upside down, due to the originality of the bestiary (14 animal species represented among the 425 representations), the aesthetic quality, the techniques used and the age of the works: some of the paintings that embellish the walls of the cavity were made 35 to 32,000 years ago. To give an idea of the "temporal vertigo" that seizes the current visitor to the cave, you must consider that as much time has elapsed between Lascaux and us (about 17,000 years). . . as between Chauvet and Lascaux, or 15,000 years!

A scientific team has been working in the Grotte Chauvet – Pont d’Arc cave since 1998. Directed by Jean Clottes (from 1998 to 2006) then Jean-Michel Geneste, this multi-disciplinary team brings together a dozen specialists and researchers in wall art, fossil fauna, archaeological traces, geology, hydrology, palaeontology and conservation.
There are two research campaigns every year: one in the spring and one in the autumn.
Financed by the State, this research is regularly published and shared with the international scientific community.

Multimedia:
Virtual visit of the Chauvet Cave.
Pictures Gallery of the Chauvet Cave.
Sources : The Chauvet cave website and the Reproduction Area Mixed Syndicat website.

For more information:
The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc website.
The Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Facebook page ()

# The Reproduction Area will open in 2014.

A candidate for registration as a Unesco world heritage site (), the cave is the subject of exceptional attention. It has therefore been closed to the public since its discovery for obvious protection and preservation reasons. Nevertheless to allow as many people as possible to discover the marvellous treasures left by our homo-sapiens ancestors, the Ardèche county council () and the Rhône-Alpes Region have decided, with support from the State and Europe to create a Reproduction ().

So, from 2014, the public will be able to discover, two kilometres from the original site, on the heights of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc a full scale reproduction of the works left by humanity’s oldest artists. Laid on buried piles and spread like a footprint on the countryside on an 8 hectare site, the Reproduction Area () will include the reproduced 3,500 m2 cave, a discovery centre, a teaching centre, an event space, a restaurant and a shop.

The most innovative techniques will be used to respond to the formidable challenge of recreating the emotions aroused by the original cave. All five of visitors’ senses will be stimulated: the cool, the humidity, the silence, the darkness, but also the olfactory sensations will contribute to the effect of immersing the public in the cave reproduction. The relief of the walls will be reproduced to the millimetre, and all the paintings will be processed from digitised originals.

Managed by the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Reproduction Area Mixed Syndicate ( Syndicat mixte Espace de restitution de la Grotte Chauvet – Pont d'Arc), this cultural project is particularly ambitious. Forty three million euros will be invested. The future Reproduction Area () will be managed by a delegated body specialising in managing cultural and tourist sites and will have the objective of accommodating between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors annually.The permanent exhibition () proposed at Vallon-Pont-d'Arc by the European Prehistoric Research Centre and the Vallonnaise municipal council will allow thousands of visitors to discover the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave throughout the year and to wait before the opening of the Reproduction Area () in 2014.

Contacts:

La préhistoire en Ardèche ()
Tel +33 (0)4 75 37 17 68 - Email
Rates and opening hours for the permanent exhibition ().

Syndicat Mixte Espace de Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet-Pont d'Arc ()
(Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Reproduction Area Mixed Syndicate)
Tel +33 (0)4 75 66 97 38 - Email.

# UNESCO // Chauvet Cave – Pont d’Arc frame: humanity’s treasure.

With these characteristics, the Chauvet – Pont d’Arc Cave is unique and fully merits registration on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage list ( 911 classified sites worldwide).

The application file is currently being prepared and a support committee was officially launched on 14 June 2010 at Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. In summer 2013 the Chauvet – Pont d’Arc Cave could join the closed, very prized circle of world classified sites and appear alongside the Acropolis in Athens, the Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon in the United States and even Mont-Saint-Michel…

In Rhône-Alpes only the historic site of Lyons is registered as World Heritage and this very media oriented classification would provide a real spotlight with the coming to Ardèche of new visitors enthused by cultural heritage.

For more information:
Webpage about the Chauvet cave UNESCO World Heritage application support committee.

The Chauvet cave is on Facebook ().

# The Chauvet Cave is a driver for local development.

The discovery of the cave, the scientific research work, the Reproduction Area project () and the UNESCO application are closely linked and make a unique opportunity for all the actors in the ‘Grand Projet Grotte Chauvet – Pont d’Arc’ () project to create a real driver for local development.

The Ardèche department, the Rhône-Alpes region and the State have started an innovative, experimental initiative for specific planning and support. The objective is to obtain the maximum positive sustainable fallout in the local area and make southern Ardèche and the surrounding territory a national and international cultural and heritage destination, in addition to and complementary to those of nature leisure and tourism.

The ‘Grand Projet Grotte Chauvet – Pont d’Arc’ () project is the occasion to complete the tourist strategy by preparing to welcome different visitors (outside the summer season, new needs). Suitable modes of sustainable and collective transport between the sites and in the area will be experimented with and encouraged. A major training effort will be made to allow the local population to access future employment and activity (construction, operation and maintenance of the reproduction area, multi-lingualism, knowledge of the local heritage, creation of activities and employment…)

For more information:
Territorial part of the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc reproduction area mixed syndicat ().

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