Why was Lascaux closed to the public in 1963?

Visitors were damaging the paintings

A full replica cave opened in 2016

Lascaux Quiz: Paleolithic Cave Paintings in France

This Lascaux quiz enters the painted cave in southwest France that changed how people saw Ice Age artists. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Vezere valley, the teenagers and dog who found it in 1940, the Hall of the Bulls, mineral paints, the 1963 closure and the Lascaux IV replica.

Start Lascaux Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Country
In which country is Lascaux?
Found
In which year was the cave discovered?
Finder
What led the teenagers to the cave entrance?
Age
Roughly how old are the paintings?
Hall
What is the cave's most famous chamber called?
Animals
Which animals appear most often in the art?
Paint
What did the artists use for color?
Closed
Why was Lascaux closed to the public in 1963?
Replica
What is Lascaux IV?
Valley
Which river valley holds Lascaux?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which country is Lascaux?
Answer: France
It lies in the Dordogne region.
Q2: In which year was the cave discovered?
Answer: 1940
Four teenagers explored it.
Q3: What led the teenagers to the cave entrance?
Answer: Their dog
Marcel Ravidat's dog Robot.
Q4: Roughly how old are the paintings?
Answer: About 17,000 years
They date to the Upper Paleolithic.
Q5: What is the cave's most famous chamber called?
Answer: Hall of the Bulls
Huge aurochs cover its walls.
Q6: Which animals appear most often in the art?
Answer: Horses
Aurochs, deer and bison also appear.
Q7: What did the artists use for color?
Answer: Mineral pigments like ochre
Red, yellow and black dominate.
Q8: Why was Lascaux closed to the public in 1963?
Answer: Visitors were damaging the paintings
Breath and lights encouraged growth.
Q9: What is Lascaux IV?
Answer: A full replica cave opened in 2016
Visitors see copies made with care.
Q10: Which river valley holds Lascaux?
Answer: The Vezere
It is a UNESCO site.

Lascaux Quiz – Paleolithic Cave Paintings in France

Lascaux lies in the Vezere valley in the Dordogne region of France. In September 1940 four teenagers, led by Marcel Ravidat and his dog Robot, found the opening and entered a cave covered in paintings.

The art is about 17,000 years old. Horses, aurochs, deer and bison fill walls like the Hall of the Bulls, painted with ochre, manganese and other mineral pigments.

Crowds caused damage, so the cave closed in 1963. Lascaux II opened in 1983 and Lascaux IV in 2016, letting visitors see accurate copies while scientists protect the original cave from further harm.

What This Quiz Teaches

Archaeology fans will enjoy these questions.

Where Lascaux is
How it was found
What the paintings show
Why it closed
How replicas help

Did You Know?

The cave became a UNESCO site in 1979.
Some figures are more than five meters long.
Artists likely used lamps burning animal fat.
Engraved lines also mark the walls.
Only a few experts may enter the real cave.