The replica of the cave, including the Ceiling of the Polychromes, will accommodate hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. The real cave is 270 meters deep, cool, humid, very pleasant. Temperatures naturally hover around 14 C. Dark passageways branch off toward hidden vaults, reminiscent of the dim, barred side chapels in Spanish cathedrals. Scientists divide the cave into 10 sections. In the low-ceiling room of the bison, known as the Polychrome Chamber, the colors are bright, the reds shining with dampness, as if painted yesterday.
Bison dominate the room.
Ranging from 1.5 to 3 meters across, they are sharply outlined in charcoal and painted with a mixture of ocher and water. One bison's eye seems to stare directly into yours. Some bison protrude from the ceiling, their bodies wrapped in relief around natural rock bulges. In the dim far corners scientists have found what appear to be mysterious graphic designs and drawings of humans with animallike heads. On the ceiling, the red print of a human hand is as dramatic as finding a Greco or Goya signature on a painting in some dark attic.