![Sample our Tourism, Hospitality and Events journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5950/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Tourism-Hospitality-Events.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Tourism is a growing concern for the conservation of heritage sites. In the Dordogne, the Cap Blanc shelter attracts many visitors and their presence may affect its parietal frieze by altering the thermal environment. To assess this impact, a study is carried out using numerical simulation, a non-intrusive conservation tool that can model the thermal behaviour of the cavity during tourist visits. We validate the numerical model with the temperature measurements taken inside the shelter during three tourist visits. We show that the heat emitted by the tourists is mostly absorbed by the walls, resulting in a small increase in air temperature (between 1°C and 2°C) and a large temperature gradient near the walls during the visits, which favours condensation and possible conservation problems.
Acknowledgements
We thank the CMN (Centre des Monuments Nationaux) and the DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine for providing funding and for their investment in the experimental instrumentation of the Cap Blanc shelter.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Fabien Salmon
Fabien Salmon is a non-tenured teaching and research associate at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering of Bordeaux. His work concerns the numerical simulation of fluid mechanics and heat and mass transfer for various applications. One research topic is the study of underground sites such as the Cap-Blanc shelter.
Louis Hartz
Louis Hartz has just completed his Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the ENSEIRB-MATMECA school in Bordeaux and achieved his M1 internship on the impact of tourists on the Cap-Blanc shelter. He is about to embark on his career as a Thermal/CFD engineer, aiming to work for the development of new technologies for the energy transition.
Marc Martinez
Marc Martinez is an archaeologist and a prehistorian, attached to the French Ministry of Culture, Centre des monuments nationaux. He is the curator of the prehistoric sites of the Vézère Valley (Grottes de Font de Gaume, Combarelles, Abris du Cap-Blanc et du Poisson, gisements du Moustier, de La Micoque, Laugerie-Haute), of the Neanderthal site of La Ferrassie and of the Grotte de Pair-non-Pair (Gironde), all inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Jean-Christophe Portais
Jean-Christophe Portais, heritage engineer is assistant to the head of the Corrèze departmental architecture and heritage unit (Ministry of Culture, DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine). He has an extensive knowledge of caves, acquired during his long-term work as an engineer at Lascaux, and as a supervisor of the decorated caves in the Vézère valley, including Cap-Blanc.
Philippe Malaurent
Philippe Malaurent, hydrogeologist, was previously engineer in the Institute of Mechanical Engineering of Bordeaux, and is now retired. He was in charge of hydro-climatic monitoring of many painted caves in France and abroad (Lascaux, Font de Gaume, Combarelles, Cap blanc, Le poisson, ...) for over 40 years.
Delphine Lacanette
Delphine Lacanette is Professor at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering of Bordeaux. Her research interests are the heat and mass transfer in underground environments. She is in charge of the climate monitoring of the Lascaux cave and the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave, and a member of the National Heritage and Architecture Commission in the 6th section, dedicated to the Protection of caves decorated as historical monuments and works.