It's actually more than one cave, and each one has samples of artwork done by people living in the Paleolithic era, so between 12,000 years ago and 50,000 years ago. The art on the walls is of animals and, most experts say, is quite accurate in its depictions.

Nearly 2,000 figures are painted on the walls of the cave complex. More than 900 have been identified as animals. About one-third of these are horses. Nearly 100 images of stags dot the various walls, as do bison and cattle, cats and bulls. Single figures of a bear, a bird, and a rhinoceros are also present.

A group of youngsters discovered the cave network in 1940, and word spread quickly–too quickly, in fact. Visitors in the thousands traipsed through the caves every day, beholding the wonders of a bygone age. Their mere presence, breathing out carbon dioxide as they did and raising the ambient temperature just by being alive, caused the very wall art that they had come to marvel at start to deteriorate. The French government closed the caves in 1963; demand remained, and so in 1983 came the first of a series of replicas, in the Dordogne village of Montignac, not far from the location of the real things.

Now, the National Archaelogy Museum has revealed a three-dimensional version of the real thing that is available online. And it's not just an opportunity to look in detail, although that will be very appealing to many people. The online exhibit also includes a map of the cave paintings, so viewers can virtually approximate standing in the caves. Even more, the website offers information on the archaeologists who have studied the wall art and the people who likely drew it and also includes lists and discussions of the materials and methods used.