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- Discovery and Conservation
- Preserving the cave
- A High-security Cave
- The Layout
The Ministry of Culture and Communication performed exemplary work to ensure the safety, security and preservation of this exceptional cave. The primitive entrance to the cave was enlarged and closed with a heavy reinforced door. Inside the cave, two fixed ladders were installed to enable people to go down the ten metres that separate the vault from the floor.
A "primary" network of light fixed walkways, 60 cm wide by 370 metres long, was installed in the main chambers in the cave on the only strip of the floor that was sacrificed from the start. Platforms 90 cm wide were set up in front of the major painted panels. The walkways are made of stainless steel, an inert and resistant material in an aggressively humid atmosphere and their surface is non-slip. They cover the various levels of the floor with inclined sections or stairs with thin handrails. The "secondary" network consists of mobile walkways made of titanium (20 m linear) whose surface is made of a series of box section frames with retractable covers. This means that remains can be studied without coming into contact with the actual floor. The work is complete with electrical panels and interphones relayed to the outside.
The neighbouring cave of Treuil is protected and has been partly converted, making up the "technical space".