12th September 1940: Prehistoric cave paintings discovered at Lascaux, in the Dordogne region of southwestern France

Scott Allsop (0:00)

On the 12th September 1940, four teenagers discovered the prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. Welcome to HistoryPod.

In early September, 18-year-old Marcel Ravidat noticed an opening in the hillside near the village of Montignac whilst exploring the area with his dog. This appeared to lead to an underground passage which Ravidat initially attempted to investigate. However, he chose to postpone his exploration until the 12th September, when he returned with three friends. A narrow vertical shaft led to a passage approximately 30 metres long. As the passage narrowed, they saw the first paintings in what is now known as the Axial Gallery. The walls contained numerous representations of animals, including horses, bulls, bison and deer that were painted approximately 15,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic period. The following day they returned with a rope and explored a deeper shaft where Ravidat discovered the painting of a human figure apparently confronting a bison.

The boys told their teacher, Léon Laval, about the discovery. Laval entered the cave on the 18th of September and a French archaeologist was informed shortly afterwards. He made his first examination of the cave on the 21st of September and began documenting its paintings. The site was formally classified as a historic monument in December 1940

Lascaux quickly became an important archaeological site and attracted visitors after it was open to the public in 1948 However, the resulting changes in humidity, carbon dioxide levels and the introduction of artificial light contributed to the growth of algae and other damage. The original cave was therefore closed to the public in 1963, but visitors can continue to see reproductions in nearby replica caves.