A Medieval Castle in France could be Notre Dame's salvation
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In a forest clearing in central France, history is being made. Or more precisely, remade.
This is the Guédelon medieval construction site, a back-to-the-future project that involves recreating a 13th century castle from scratch.
How hard can that be in an age of electricity, power tools and hydraulics? Extremely, if you decide to do it using the methods and materials in use in the Middle Ages, as workers at Guédelon have been doing for the last 20 years.
Now the traditional skills being rediscovered here are in demand for the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in April.
The inferno reduced the cathedral’s roof, partly made with oak from the 12th century, to dust. Flames also consumed the 19th century spire, which collapsed and crashed through the Gothic stone vaulting. At the heart of the blaze, firefighters estimated, the temperature rose to up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
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This is the Guédelon medieval construction site, a back-to-the-future project that involves recreating a 13th century castle from scratch.
How hard can that be in an age of electricity, power tools and hydraulics? Extremely, if you decide to do it using the methods and materials in use in the Middle Ages, as workers at Guédelon have been doing for the last 20 years.
Now the traditional skills being rediscovered here are in demand for the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in April.
The inferno reduced the cathedral’s roof, partly made with oak from the 12th century, to dust. Flames also consumed the 19th century spire, which collapsed and crashed through the Gothic stone vaulting. At the heart of the blaze, firefighters estimated, the temperature rose to up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Read more »