Unfortunately,the paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature changes,which easily wear the images away.because the lascaux caves have many entrances,air movement gas also damaged the images inside. Althouh they are not out in the open air,where natural light would have destroyed them ling ago,many of the images have deteriorated and are barely recognizable.To prevent further damage,the sits was closed to tourists in 1963,23 years after it was discovered