After eight years, the cave complex in Altamira is set to reopen

Madrid - Spain has decided that after eight years it will once again reopen the Altamira cave complex in Cantabria in the north of the country to visitors, although experts warn that the body heat of visitors may fatally damage the famous prehistoric wall paintings predominantly featuring animal motifs. This is reported by the AP agency.
    The Spanish Ministry of Culture, citing the management board of the caves, announced today that visits to this unique monument will be resumed next year, albeit only on a limited scale.
    The main cave of Altamira, with twenty-one prehistoric wall paintings, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1985.
    From 1982 to 2002, visits to the cave were allowed every day for a limited number of people due to scientists warning that the body temperature of visitors and the emissions from their breathing could fatally damage the paintings.
    The age of the paintings is estimated to be between 14,000 and 20,000 years. According to Wikipedia, they were discovered by a local hunter who alerted the landowner, Don Saura. Initially, he did not pay much attention to the discovery, but after several years began to study the site in detail. He gathered a number of remarkable archaeological finds and continued his research, during which his five-year-old daughter Maria accidentally found extensive wall paintings in a side corridor, later dated to the late Stone Age.