on a journey to one of the most important prehistoric sites ever discovered it's hidden deep within these Limestone Cliffs until recently the last people to set foot in this place were our Paleolithic ancestors before a rockfall cut it off from the outside world sealed shut for tens of thousands of years this place was Ed by cavers in 1994 and then closed off to the public immediately very few people have ever been allowed in but it's absolutely spectacular on top of its natural beauty the chave Cave's most breathtaking feature is its art hundreds of images Adorn the walls most of them animals they're surprisingly sophisticated but these were painted 35,000 years ago by early humans it's some of the oldest Arts ever found but opening it up to the public could destroy it we risk contamination the climate would be Mal Disturbed so much that we could have uh alteration of the paintings we don't want to take this risk now the French authorities have found a way to both preserve and promote the Chau cave they've built another one this Stadium sized replica cost 555 million it reproduces some of the Cave's most important features to scale it's hugely impressive this collaboration between scientists Architects and Engineers but the walls here aren't made from Rock they're made from concrete and resin 3D scans were used to create a digital map of the cave then sculptures and artists brought the natural features to life photos of the ancient Arts were projected onto canvases of fake rock they took months to create it's important for the public to to see the art in in the environment you have the darkness you have also the the fresh air and so on humidity and these elements are also an important part of the feelings of the emotion that you can have in front of The Originals back in the original cave and it's full of the echo of history but with so few privileged enough to experience this the hope is that the replica will bring a glimpse of the past to the wider World Rebecca Morel BBC News the Chau cave