Lascaux Centre International, Prehistoric art museum in Montignac-Lascaux, France.
Lascaux Centre International is a museum on Lascaux hill housing an exact replica of Stone Age cave paintings from the original cave system. The building displays hundreds of animal figures painted using traditional pigments and techniques that echo those used millennia ago.
The original cave was discovered in 1940 and held images dating back 20,000 years that document early human life and beliefs. It was later closed to protect the delicate original paintings, which led to the creation of this museum to keep the artworks accessible to visitors.
The replica shows how people in prehistoric times saw their world by painting animals on cave walls that mattered to their survival and beliefs. Walking through these spaces helps you understand what held meaning for those ancient communities.
The museum is easily reached from the parking area, and the rooms flow in a way that makes it simple to explore all the exhibition spaces. It helps to allow plenty of time for wandering, as there is much to take in and it can get crowded during peak hours.
Artists spent two years painting the replica by hand on specially prepared surfaces, creating one of the most accurate reconstructions of ancient artwork ever made. This painstaking effort allows the museum to preserve the experience visitors would have had in the actual cave.
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