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11 Most Bizarre Places In The Word You’re Not Allowed To Visit

lascaux caves
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2) Lascaux Caves, France

The Lascaux Caves are one of the world’s best surviving examples of Paleolithic cave paintings. Located near Dordogne in south western France, the Lascaux Caves complex features artwork that has been dated as 17,300 years old. The artworks mostly depict large animals that, thanks to the recovery of fossils in the surrounding area, are thought to have lived at the time. Discovered in 1940 by a group of local teenagers, the cave was opened to the public in 1948. In subsequent years over a thousand visitors visited the caves per day to admire the historic paintings. The Lascaux Caves became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979 but due to the contaminants brought into the caves by the high volume of visitors, the bright lights introduced to better show the paintings and an unsuitable air conditioning system, the caves have been beset by damaging fungus. In 2008 the caves closed to the public completely in an attempt to preserve the original artwork for as long as possible.

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