Notre Dame Redefines Surprise Gothic Architecture

It became famous for the construction of Notre Dame de Paris thanks to a fire a few years ago, making it the tallest cathedral of its time. Ordinary iron braces turned out to help with this, Science Alert reports.

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In April 2019, a fire at Notre Dame Cathedral destroyed the spire and roof of the cathedral and severely damaged the interior. The oak tower destroyed in the fire replaced the original tower.

Despite the damage done to the cathedral by the 2019 fire, it helped archaeologists discover hidden parts of the building. As a result of the research, it was learned that iron staples helped complete the construction successfully: archaeologists found them in different parts of the cathedral and dated them to the early 1160s.

Thanks to these finds, it became clear that the use of iron in masonry was not as modern as previously thought: medieval builders used this architectural technique long before the restoration of the cathedral in the 19th century.

Archaeologists working in Paris say, “Notre Dame is now without a doubt the first Gothic cathedral known to have made extensive use of iron to bind stones as a true building material.”

The team believes Notre Dame’s iron fasteners were made twenty years before Soissons Cathedral was built and forty years before Bourges Cathedral. Prior to this, these two buildings were considered the first examples of systemic iron masonry. Now it seems that Notre Dame Cathedral was the first.

The architect of the cathedral made heavy use of metal to hold the stones together: the lecterns of the cathedral and the curves of the arches were fixed with iron brackets.

“While other buildings use wooden ties stretched between arches… Notre Dame de Paris’ first master builder made a bold choice of system, using a stronger material that could be more easily concealed,” the archaeologists say.

According to the researchers, such metal elements should be seen as an innovative reinforcement of the cathedral structure, which was used until the 13th century, when the building was improved and completed with new elements.

Hundreds of staples were also found in the nave of the cathedral. They haven’t been definitively dated, but they certainly look different from the staples on the ground. Experts believe these are the work of another architect hired between the 1170s and 1190s.

Most likely, the second architect adopted the technique of the first and passed it on to his successor: the brackets in the upper part of the side walls date from the beginning of the 13th century, that is, they were erected after the frame of the building was made. put it.

Similar staples were used in the 19th century, so experts have previously assumed that these were used to fix the stones of the cathedral before these works. For this reason, the researchers say, the fire “sheds new light on the beginnings of Gothic construction and provides a better understanding of the thoughts of master masons.”

Interestingly, chemical analysis of the staples revealed that the metal came from different sources, meaning that there was likely a market for new and recycled iron in the Middle Ages.

Previously Focus He mentioned a pagan altar located under an English cathedral.