Jean Vouvé

Re-establishing an underground climate appropriate for the conservation of the prehistoric paintings and engravings at Lascaux

Abstract The prehistoric paintings and engravings of the Lascaux cave almost disappeared in the 1960s, victims of their own fame. The facilities installed to allow public access to the cave disturbed and destabilized the equilibrium which had been responsible for conserving the caves art. The complexity of the parameters at play raised the question: had the age-old equilibrium, which had kept the rock art in such excellent condition, been irretrievably destroyed? Thirty years of measurements and research have made it possible to examine, in both the short term and the long term, the validity of the decisions that were taken. It was found that the climatic equilibrium of this natural cave, essential to the appropriate control of the underground environment, could be restored. Since 1996, automated data-collection tools, which remain reliable even in harsh environmental conditions, have replaced manual data-collection methods. The continuous monitoring made possible by automatic data-collection heralds a new era in the scientific management of this type of cultural heritage.

Apport de l’analyse colorimétrique à propos de la caractérisation in situ des peintures préhistoriques dans une démarche conservatoire : cas de la grotte Chauvet (Ardèche, France)

Abstract In situ colorimetric determination is a useful quantitative and non-destructive contribution for the characterisation of organic and mineral pigments. It is in accordance with regard to the administrative instructions, which privilege the maximal conservation to secure the integrity of art discovered recently in this extraordinary prehistorical sanctuary. This determination connected with technical statements of archaeologists, help us to understand that many red hand paintings drawn with the palm of the right hand of a man and of a woman or adolescent, were made from one unique paint pot and the mode of retouch of black charcoal drawings.

Microclimate analysis of deteriorated wall paintings: With restitution of original decoration through imaging

Abstract The restoration of deteriorated wall paintings in an underground environment requires at the outset a complex analytical approach designed to clarify the deterioration processes. These can be identified and prioritized using continuous microclimatic monitoring with multichannel analytical loggers, providing abundant data on climatology, airflow and hydrogeology in real or semireal time. The investigator can therefore have an almost instantaneous idea of the evolving microclimatic conditions of the monument, identifying among other variables the condensation or evaporation phases of the walls and the rising or sinking of the underground water table when the monument ‘has its feet in the water’, as in the case described here of St Emilion (France). In addition, electronic image capture in situ can be used to decode and restitute very damaged paintings that have become difficult to read, with a view to their being eventually presented to the public.