Lascaux Cave Paintings at Risk
Thursday May 18, 2006
Fungus Invades Prehistoric Location
by Stan Parchin
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Despite state-of-the-art climate controls that protect one of mankind's earliest artistic accomplishments, the caves in Lascaux, southwestern France have contracted Fusarium solani, a virulent white fungus often resistent to drug treatment. Lascaux is the site of 17,000-year-old Paleolithic wall paintings.
Six years ago, engineers replaced the caves' antiquated air conditioning system from the 1960s. They reportedly didn't sterilize their boots in a prescribed formaldehyde solution and introduced harmful fungi into the caves during the new system's installation. The caves' expanded entrance to make way for the new machinery may have contributed to the contamination. Heavy rains may have washed soil, possibly containing fusarium spores, into the cavernous location. Jean-Michel Geneste, director of France's National Center for Prehistory, has downplayed the situation's gravity in the press. He's insisted that only the caves' floor was covered rapidly in the fungus that resembles snow. Scientists are currently removing all traces of the parasite at the site by hand.
More than 1500 beautiful, carved and painted representations of bison, horses, ibexes, other assorted animals and the mysterious "bird-man" adorn the Lascaux caves' interior limestone walls. The images and their placement are the subject of various interpretations. Some art historians think that they portray a prehistoric ritual that guaranteed a successful hunt. Other scholars hypothesize that while early man developed his sense of consciousness and identity, his depiction of animals allowed him to feel a sense of power and control over them.
The stabilization of the caves' environment has been seriously compromised. And the delicate biological balance within the caverns has been disturbed. La Recherche, the French scientific magazine, reported last month that fungi and bacteria have existed in the caves since 2001. Additionally, some 150 of the wall paintings have developed mold on them. Scientists have been able to control the pests' growth with a regimen of antibiotics and fungicides, but not eradicate them. Administrative red tape amongst four French bureaucracies and two scientific teams has complicated the management of the problem and its solution. A visit to Lascaux by members of the world-famous Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California might help the French solve their dilemma in a timely fashion while expertly preserving a piece of our artistic heritage.
by Stan Parchin
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Despite state-of-the-art climate controls that protect one of mankind's earliest artistic accomplishments, the caves in Lascaux, southwestern France have contracted Fusarium solani, a virulent white fungus often resistent to drug treatment. Lascaux is the site of 17,000-year-old Paleolithic wall paintings.
Six years ago, engineers replaced the caves' antiquated air conditioning system from the 1960s. They reportedly didn't sterilize their boots in a prescribed formaldehyde solution and introduced harmful fungi into the caves during the new system's installation. The caves' expanded entrance to make way for the new machinery may have contributed to the contamination. Heavy rains may have washed soil, possibly containing fusarium spores, into the cavernous location. Jean-Michel Geneste, director of France's National Center for Prehistory, has downplayed the situation's gravity in the press. He's insisted that only the caves' floor was covered rapidly in the fungus that resembles snow. Scientists are currently removing all traces of the parasite at the site by hand.
More than 1500 beautiful, carved and painted representations of bison, horses, ibexes, other assorted animals and the mysterious "bird-man" adorn the Lascaux caves' interior limestone walls. The images and their placement are the subject of various interpretations. Some art historians think that they portray a prehistoric ritual that guaranteed a successful hunt. Other scholars hypothesize that while early man developed his sense of consciousness and identity, his depiction of animals allowed him to feel a sense of power and control over them.
The stabilization of the caves' environment has been seriously compromised. And the delicate biological balance within the caverns has been disturbed. La Recherche, the French scientific magazine, reported last month that fungi and bacteria have existed in the caves since 2001. Additionally, some 150 of the wall paintings have developed mold on them. Scientists have been able to control the pests' growth with a regimen of antibiotics and fungicides, but not eradicate them. Administrative red tape amongst four French bureaucracies and two scientific teams has complicated the management of the problem and its solution. A visit to Lascaux by members of the world-famous Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California might help the French solve their dilemma in a timely fashion while expertly preserving a piece of our artistic heritage.
Comments
It would be ironic if after 17,000 years, modern man’s “expertise” lead to the distruction of the historic site.
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