<P> On September 12 , 1940 , the entrance to the Lascaux Cave was discovered by 18 year old Marcel Ravidat . Ravidat ( died in 1995 ) returned to the scene with three friends , Jacques Marsal , Georges Agnel , and Simon Coencas , and entered the cave via a long shaft . The teenagers discovered that the cave walls were covered with depictions of animals . Galleries that suggest continuity , context or simply represent a cavern were given names . Those include the Hall of the Bulls , the Passageway , the Shaft , the Nave , the Apse , and the Chamber of Felines . The cave complex was opened to the public on July 14 , 1948 . By 1955 , carbon dioxide , heat , humidity , and other contaminants produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings . As air condition deteriorated fungi and lichen increasingly infested the walls . Consequently , the cave was closed to the public in 1963 , the paintings were restored to their original state and a monitoring system on a daily basis was introduced . </P>
<P> On September 12 , 1940 , the entrance to the Lascaux Cave was discovered by 18 year old Marcel Ravidat . Ravidat ( died in 1995 ) returned to the scene with three friends , Jacques Marsal , Georges Agnel , and Simon Coencas , and entered the cave via a long shaft . The teenagers discovered that the cave walls were covered with depictions of animals . Galleries that suggest continuity , context or simply represent a cavern were given names . Those include the Hall of the Bulls , the Passageway , the Shaft , the Nave , the Apse , and the Chamber of Felines . The cave complex was opened to the public on July 14 , 1948 . By 1955 , carbon dioxide , heat , humidity , and other contaminants produced by 1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the paintings . As air condition deteriorated fungi and lichen increasingly infested the walls . Consequently , the cave was closed to the public in 1963 , the paintings were restored to their original state and a monitoring system on a daily basis was introduced . </P>
when were the lascaux caves closed to the public
when were the lascaux caves closed to the public
1963
1963