The Chauvet Cave 2: an almost perfect replica – Road Trip in France #13

When we learned that we were in the Ardèche gorges, C., JB’s great cousin and tour guide, strongly advised us to visit the Chauvet 2 cave. Without her encouragement, we probably wouldn’t have taken the plunge because we had planned to visit Lascaux IV and had planned to visit only one cave. Finally, we did well to visit the two caves which are very different.

Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 and #12

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, the Chauvet Cave was discovered recently, precisely in 1994. On Sunday, December 18, 1994, Jean-Marie Chauvet headed with his two friends Éliette Brunel and Christian Hillaire to the cliffs of the Cirque d’Estre. He had perceived a slight draught, emanating from a small hole at the bottom of a small cave and wanted to find out for sure. They dug and cleared a passage through which they slipped before overhanging an obscure void. It is via the ceiling that they entered the cave decorated with the Pont d’Arc, known as the Chauvet cave. It is by seeing the drawings on the walls that they realize the importance of their discovery.

The real entrance to the cave was already blocked a few thousand years ago by rocks and will remain blocked forever. The cave will only be accessible to researchers and, unlike Lascaux, has never been open to the public. The replica: Chauvet 2, is the only way to discover this cave.

This is a major project, initiated in 2007. Work will begin in 2012 and be completed in 2015. Cost: 55 million euros. Although the original cave isn’t very far from the Pont d’Arc, the replica is in the heights of Vallon Pont d’Arc. The architects opted for a building as discreet as possible.

How is the visit with Covid-19 going?

Between June 2020 and August 2020 (date of our visit), the visits are made independently. By buying the ticket (online or on the spot), we are assigned one hour of visit to limit the number of visitors. We all have to download the Chauvet 2 application, enter a password to access the explanations of the 10 points of interest in the cave using our own headphones. You can download the application before coming or use the Wifi available at the entrance of the cave

The application is very well done, since visitors who are hard of hearing or who have forgotten their headphones can also read the text on the application. We can enter in groups of 20, to respect the distance. Every 15 minutes a new group arrives. So if we do well to go ahead, or hang around to stay behind our group, we can be (almost) alone. We can stay as long as we want in the cave, it’s one of the only advantages of the Covid (vs. the guided tours before the Covid where there was less freedom)

From September 2020, the guided tours will resume and it will be necessary to follow his group. You will have a guide and as you go along, the guide will turn on the lights of the parts to be visited.

Note: all photos in this article come from the official Chauvet 2 website, or from their Facebook account. We aren’t allowed to take pictures inside the cave, even if it is a replica. We are encouraged to upload the photos to their site as a souvenir.

What is really extraordinary is that they made a replica that is almost identical to the original. 3500m² on the ground (on the 8000m² of the real cave), but also the walls, the ceiling, the floor… (that is to say a total of 8200m²), one has the impression to be in a real cave. It is the largest decorated cave replica ever made. Everything has been reproduced with millimetre precision, scanned by laser, reproduced by the best craftsmen, each drawing studied and redrawn by artists… it’s impressive! Being able to redo an identical cave, with natural pigments, is already a feat in itself. To avoid damaging the ground, walkways are installed everywhere. This is one of the notable differences with Lascaux IV (where you walk on the ground instead of on footbridges).

The first drawings we see when we enter the cave are these: made with the palm of the hand. The pigment is obtained with the help of iron oxide. The drawings of Chauvet 2 are much older than those of Lascaux, but they are still very pretty (well prettier than my own ahahah drawings).

There are also many bear bones. They came to spend the winter in the cave. There are traces of bear claws and cubs all over the cave.
However, some of the bones were placed intentionally, suggesting that the bears may have been worshipped? That the cave was used as a place of worship, not a shelter.

The techniques also change according to the nature of the walls: rocky or covered with clay. One can go from red dots made with the palm to engravings made with the finger, to drawings and blurring using natural pigments. This engraving of an owl particularly impresses me because it is clear that the owl is represented from the back (cf. its wings), but its head is turned at 180°C. They already knew at that time that the owl was able to turn its head at 180°C and it must have impressed him to be represented in the cave in this way.

What I also like very much is this natural “drapery” effect obtained thanks to the deposits and the movement of the water… and just above, a nice drawing. I don’t know how they do to get such an effect, it really looks like we are in a real cave!

The last scene is the most impressive, we don’t know where to look because there are too many things, too many elements. That’s why it is better to be on an autonomous visit (well, you can’t choose unfortunately). We spent long minutes here because the dimension of the work is such that it takes a long time to observe everything.

The series of horns we see in the drawing below suggests not a herd but a movement, like when you make a cartoon.

The fading is very successful, the movements are realistic. We see here two rhinos fighting

Here, the rhinoceros drawing follows perfectly the curvature of the wall, giving a nice 3D effect.

After the visit, we have stars in our eyes. We visit the Gallery of the Aurignacian, which reproduces in real size the animals of the time. There is a small film that explains the life of the Aurignacians, how they fed, housed and protected themselves.

Later in the day, as we are about to swim in the Ardèche, JB exclaims: “look, I found Chauvet 3!”, look what he found ahaha

Our next article, it’s this way

Part 2: Practical Tips

Useful links

• Virtual visit of the real Chauvet cave here: https: //archeologie.culture.fr/chauvet/fr
• 4 weeks Road Trip in France by car: program & detailed plans here
• These points of interest are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access free Google Maps of the 800 places in question, click here
• More info about our car rental at Leclerc here

Budget

• Visit of the Chauvet 2 cave : 17€
  • The price includes the visit of the replica cave, the access to the Aurignacian Gallery and to the activities that take place during the school vacations
  • Attention there is a bundled offer: Aven d’Orgnac / Pont du Gard / Chauvet Cave 2 Ardèche. If you have a ticket for one of the three sites, you also benefit from a reduced rate on the 2 remaining sites. Offer valid 7 days from the visit and not available on online ticketing.
• Guest room (20mn from Chauvet 2): 92 euros/night, breakfast included (link Booking). Be careful, there is no wifi, you can only catch the 4G