Amazing oldest cave paintings ...Cave of Forgotten Dreams

[astr0144]

Cave of Forgotten Dreams


Just watched this documentary  Film about one of the oldest set of cave paintings ever found in Southern France that go back 32,000 years..

They are truely spectacular & amazing !

Today on Film4 from 12:05am to 1:55am  Film4

Werner Herzog documentary exploring the secrets behind the mysterious Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche region of southern France, and its extraordinary prehistoric paintings.


Nearby to the Chauvet Cave is the Cruas Nuclear Power Station, where heated water from the plant's cooling systems sustains an artificial tropical biome: a greenhouse populated by imported crocodiles.  some mutant albino crocodiles breed in these waters."

http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/herzogs-caves-2/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave



Photos of Prehistoric paintings found in the cave..

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chauvet-pont-d'arc+cave+ard%C3%A8che+france&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=tPB6UrftCoOjhgfeu4CYAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ

[robomont]

I wonder if that caveman realized how greatful the future humans are for his work.the man is gone but his works live on.

[astr0144]

Well one wonders what one of his paintings may have been worth had he painted it on a canvas ! Rather than on the walls.... I suspect they would be worth an utter fortune !

For me they sure beat the likes of monet and Picasso ! 

I was surprised to see that the cave was actually only discovered in 1994...and from what I can gather by sheer luck that they found it as the entrance had almost been sealed after the ice age or something similar where something was moved in front of the entrance.

I recall some other cave paintings found in Europe...going back over 30 yrs or more ago..but no where as good in my opinion...The clarity of the Chauvet cave paintings has been kept in amazing condition I think due to the fact for all those years the cave was well sealed...Since they have been discovered and man has been visiting them..there has been contamination occurring such as mold...now they restrict visits...to help preserve them.

Its amazing just how many animals that they have drawn...showing that europe once had numerous species roaming around from Lions to Rhinos...that were of African Species...

The area of the Alps around France has some amazing terrain similar to that around Chauvet  and I am sure that there must be many other  similar caves yet to be discovered... Much of the area has probably rarely been visited... or is hard to get to..

This has a sample clip

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3293930.htm

Theres a youtube version also but it asks for one to log in to view it..
Not sure why..this seems something recent that have brought in...but not all youtube videos have this message...so it seems a bit strange..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7XTERdQZf8&list=TL0XR2Vwcq6yw