Replica Of The Chauvet Cave Prepares For Public Opening

VALLON PONT D'ARC, FRANCE - MARCH 20: A detail of the full-size reproduction of Chauvet cave, an underground environment identical to the original that contains the world's oldest known cave paintings, on March 20, 2015 in Vallon Pont d'Arc, France. The Chauvet-Pont d'Arc cave is oldest known decorated cave in the world, featuring prehistoric wall paintings, engravings and hand prints that are believed to be around 36,000 years old. UNESCO classified the Chauvet cave as a World Heritage site in June 2014. The cave, discovered on December 18, 1994, is closed to all except for scientists working at the site to protect its fragile contents and atmosphere. A reconstruction has been built, which faithfully reproduces the decorations and atmosphere of the original, as part of the part of the 50 million Euro 'Espace de Restitution de la Grotte Chauvet' (ERGC) project. The project, built on an 8 hectare site in the hills of the Vallon-Pont-d'Arc near to the original cave, will offer other visitor facilities including a discovery centre, exhibitions, an educational area, restaurant and shop. The replica, the largest in Europe, will open to the public on April 10, 2015 and expects to welcome 300,000-400,000 visitors from around the world each year. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images)