Study of the environmental variables affecting the natural preservation of the Altamira Cave paintings located at Santillana Del Mar, Spain.

Quindos, LS; Bonet, A; Diaz-Caneja, N; Fernandez, PL; Gutierrez, I; Solana, JR; Soto, J; Villar, E

Lovelace Inhal. Toxicol. Res. Inst., P.O. Box 5890, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA

Atmospheric Environment vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 551-560, 1987 ISSN 1352-2310

A study was carried out over a period of more than two years of the seasonal variations shown by the different variables that determine the microclimatic and chromatic characteristics of the Altamira Cave, Spain, under natural conditions, i.e. in the absence of visitors to the cave. The Altamira Cave contains 16,000-year-old prehistoric paintings and as such is a priceless legacy from the distant past. Temperatures of the air, floors and roofs, air humidity, and CO sub(2) concentrations of the different chambers of the cave were measured. Flow rate and chemical composition of the waters flowing into the paintings camber were also analyzed. A chromatic characterization of the paintings, determining the psychrometric coordinates of the colour, lightness, chroma and hue, was made. This study has not only enabled presentation of the state of conservation of the famous polychrome roof of the Painting Chamber, but has also supplied a reference point for later studies. Future experiments could be made with various controlled regimes of visitors to the cave in order to establish suitable criteria for the best possible preservation of the cave paintings.