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Preface

p. 9


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1In February 2009, the Ministry of Culture and Communication, in collaboration with the Institut National du Patrimoine, organized the international symposium entitled “Lascaux and Preservation Issues in Subterranean Environments”, held in Paris, France. This event demonstrated the commitment of the French government to protect and preserve this major cultural property. The objective was to openly present the results of work conducted at Lascaux over the last ten years and to submit the solutions that were adopted in response to an urgent crisis, as well as in the context of long-term research, to the expertise of the international community.

2Several commitments were made as a result of this meeting. The first was to rapidly publish the proceedings of the symposium following the realization of an on-line pre-proceedings version in June 2009. This publication is now in your hands. It attests to the work conducted in Lascaux Cave from 2001 to 2009 and the positive reception it received from the international community during these two days. The numerous and precise discussions were sometimes heated, but always productive. They demonstrated to the international community, and in particular to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, that France is fully capable of assuming the responsibility of preserving Lascaux Cave. They also permitted the French government to reaffirm its dedication to the conservation of the exceptional human heritage of Lascaux Cave, and all other decorated caves.

3The second commitment was realized in February 2010 with the creation of the Lascaux Cave Scientific Committee under the initiative of Frédéric Mitterand, Minister of Culture and Communication. This committee will continue the work of the preceding one, whose term had ended. This new body, whose presidency has been conferred to Yves Coppens, is more limited in its constitution (fourteen members), but at the same time more open to contributions from the hard sciences (biology and microbiology, environmental sciences, climatology, etc.) and international researchers (Spain, United States, Italy). Finally, and above all, the Lascaux Cave Scientific Committee will work as an independent body, while continuing to rely on the appropriate government agencies for support and aid in the transmission of its actions and recommendations. We are thus witnessing a new beginning and turning a new page in the history of Lascaux, which will be written through an integration of all available sources with the goal of preserving this exceptional site, a goal that constitutes one of the major priorities of the General Direction of Heritage and the Ministry of Culture and Communication.

4Philippe Bélaval,
Director-General of the Heritage Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Communication

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