New passages are mapped regularly, and some of those new passages contain archaeological evidence that adds to the existing record of prehistoric cave use.

The Cave Research Foundation’s ongoing exploration program, which has pushed the known length of the cave to more than 426 miles, occasionally discovers passages where no modern person has been since the ancient miners — passages where torch fragments and mining marks and possibly other artifacts are preserved in their original positions.

The management challenge of protecting the archaeological record while expanding scientific understanding and providing public access is one that the park’s cultural resource managers address continuously.

Every new passage opened to tourism is a passage where preservation has to be weighed against access.