The Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave (Ardèche, France), famous for its remarkable rock art, also contains unique thermal-alterations such as rock spalling and color changes on the walls. These alterations resulted from intense fires that have not been observed in the other decorated caves thus far discovered. The functions of these unusual fires challenge archaeologists. To characterize these combustions, we used a numerical tool, previously validated with experimental data, to study the thermo-alterations in the Megaceros Gallery. This unprecedented approach in cave art research enabled us to assess the wood quantities and locations of the hearths responsible for the thermo-alterations. We report here that at least ten fires took place in the Megaceros Gallery while burning more than 170 kg of wood. Both simulation and in situ observations suggest that the branches were arranged in a tepee shape and purposefully positioned, some distance from the walls. This method therefore enables further analysis of the functions of these fires.

Chauvet-Pont d'Arc洞穴（法国阿德歇）以其非凡的岩石艺术而闻名，它还包含独特的热变化，例如岩石剥落和墙壁上的颜色变化。这些变化是由于迄今尚未发现的其他装饰洞穴中未发现的剧烈火灾造成的。这些异常大火的功能给考古学家带来了挑战。为了表征这些燃烧，我们使用了一个事先通过实验数据验证过的数值工具，以研究Megaceros画廊中的热变化。这种在洞穴艺术研究中空前的方法使我们能够评估造成热变化的木材数量和炉膛位置。我们在此报告，Megaceros画廊至少发生了十起大火，燃烧了170公斤以上的木材。模拟和原位观察结果表明，枝条呈圆锥形排列，并有意地定位在离墙壁一定距离的位置。因此，该方法可以进一步分析这些火灾的功能。