URL originale : https://books.openedition.org/editionsmsh/57441

Opening address
p. 41-43
Texte intégral
1Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, I am very happy to open this symposium entitled “Lascaux and Preservation Issues in Subterranean Environments”. Over the next two days researchers, experts and scientists from all over the world will be comparing and contrasting their viewpoints, knowledge and progress made through experiments in decorated caves around the world. We are all aware of the scientific challenges raised by these treasures of World Heritage, including the new and eminently complex problems raised by their preservation: how to conserve fragile paintings in a living environment? We are also aware of what is at stake. Lascaux in France, Altamira in Spain and the Takamatsuzuka tumulus in Japan are all chapters in the history of humankind open for us to read. They are unique, inestimable messages reaching out to us from 15,000 or even 18,000 years ago.
2I was fortunate enough to visit Lascaux Cave last July. I was truly struck and moved by the artistic power of the drawings, by their colors. I can imagine the emotion that Georges Agniel and Simon Coëncas—who are present here today—and their two friends felt when, by chance, they discovered this treasure in 1940…
3I can also imagine how difficult it must have been for André Malraux to make the decision to close the site in 1963. He, who was so attached to sharing the treasures of humanity with the general public. We know that this was an essential measure: since 1948, the cave had been subjected to very high numbers of visitors, up to 1,800 a day! It was also this closure that instigated the Lascaux II project, so great was the desire to pass on the experience of the original cave. And, on this subject, I wish to pay tribute to the initiative taken by the Dordogne General Council.
4The messages from Lascaux have traversed time. It is now up to us to do what is neeeded to ensure that they reach future generations intact. This is our responsibility. This subject incites great passion, as we have seen recently in France, where the current state of Lascaux Cave is causing profound emotion and great concern among the public. The Ministry of Culture and Communication is doing everything it can to aid in the progress of research. For me, Lascaux is a priority and I insist that our research and our actions should be carried out in complete transparency. As you know, in 2002 the Ministry created the Lascaux Cave Scientific Committee to cope with the first crisis: a biological contamination manifest by the appearance of white molds on the floors and black spots on the ceilings. The treatments applied proved to be successful after a few years, in 2004. The second great difficulty appeared during the summer of 2007 with the appearance of new black spots on the ceilings of the Passageway, Apse and Nave. Since then, treatments have been applied to test areas and the results are being observed and analyzed. We are still today in this observation phase, which is essential and forcibly long. It must allow us to better understand the complex interactions at work in the living environment of the cave, while ensuring that we do not act too hastily and that we avoid the errors of the past.
5Since its creation, the Scientific Committee has had to confront complex and totally unprecedented crises. I would like to pay tribute to its actions. It has drawn up an overall conservation program, associating research from several disciplines. New tools have been developed: inventory condition report, a 3D model and simulator, and a “laboratory cave” project that was recently launched. The idea is to conduct curative tests on a cave whose geomorphological characteristics are similar to those of Lascaux. This program is being conducted under the auspices of the Regional Department of Cultural Affairs (DRAC). Today, the cave is still ailing and we must continue to act with great determination; this is my firm intention. Last July, I signed the application agreement for the 2007-2013 State-Region projects contract relative to the preservation and valorization of the cultural, natural and landscape heritage of the Vezere Valley, which will allow us to “sanctuarize” the hill on which Lascaux is located. I would like to emphasize that the consensus that has been reached on this point is proof that heritage protection and local development can–and must–go hand in hand. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the presence here this morning of Mr. Cazeau, President of the Dordogne General Council, whose commitment to this case is well known.
6I now wish to advance further toward the autonomy of scientific research. I will personally appoint a new Scientific Committee in mid- May, which will remain in office for four years. I hope that on this occasion its membership will be significantly renewed and that a new working protocol will be defined:
– by clearly dissociating its administrative function; the committee will be composed of scientists alone, giving it greater autonomy in the areas of analysis, expert assessment and proposals;
– through a greater integration of representatives of the hard sciences, such as biology, climatology and chemistry;
– by inviting experts from other countries.
7I am certain that this symposium will show the interest of comparing different approaches and viewpoints; the heritage of humanity deserves the attention and assistance of the greatest experts of the world! I would also like to go further to ensure the transparency of the preservation actions undertaken at Lascaux. At the meeting in Quebec in July 2008, UNESCO asked France to realize a complete inventory of Lascaux Cave. France is well aware of its responsibility in the area of conservation with respect to the international community; this report was submitted at the end of January 2009, as I had promised it would be. I ensured that minutes were taken of all the meetings of the Scientific Committee. Moreover, summaries of all the actions undertaken can be consulted on-line, on the website of the Ministry. This symposium is yet another contribution to this effort to achieve transparency, enabling us to present the state of the work being carried out at Lascaux to the international scientific community and the general public. It will also allow us to progress, through comparisons of analyses and experiments, towards a better understanding of the phenomena that have affected the cave and the means of remedying them.
8I hope that we will experience a very real freedom of speech during this symposium, that you will find answers to all of your questions concerning Lascaux and that light will be shed on the condition of this treasure of humanity.
9It is my wish to entrust the chairmanship of this symposium to Jean Clottes, Honorary Conservateur-Général du Patrimoine and President of the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO). His spirited and inexhaustible knowledge of prehistory, which I have observed first-hand, his tireless energy and curiosity, leading him travel across continents to discover sites he does not know or to revisit those he has studied, and his numerous publications that have earned him international renown—all make him the ideal chairman to preside over your work, and I sincerely thank him for accepting my invitation. I am happy that this symposium is bringing together all the actors concerned. Beyond parietal art itself, all the approaches related to the issue of conservation in a subterranean environment are represented: climatology, hydrogeology, microbiology, heritage valorization, etc. This is why I wanted plenty of time to be left for debates and discussions.
10To all of you—the session chairpersons, experts from all over the world and from prestigious institutions, such as the Tokyo Center for Conservation Sciences and Restoration Techniques, the Czech Institute of Soil Biology, the Smithsonian Foundation and the Institut Pasteur–I express my gratitude for your presence here over these two days. I hope that your discussions will lead to collaborative approaches and new research orientations. I also hope that new international partnerships will be fostered and that existing ties will be extended.
11Christine Albanel,
Minister of Culture and Communication
Christine Albanel, Minister of Culture and Communication, delivers her opening address.

© D. Plowy.
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Lascaux et la conservation en milieu souterrain
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