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Carpenters Wow Public with Medieval Techniques at Notre Dame

Associated Press

   PARIS - With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used
   medieval techniques to raise up -- by hand -- a 3-ton oak truss
   Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden
   structures that were consumed in the landmark's devastating April 2019
   fire that also toppled its spire.

   The demonstration to mark European Heritage Days gave the hundreds of
   people a firsthand look at the rustic methods used 800 years ago to
   build the triangular frames in the nave of Notre Dame de Paris.

   It also showed that the decision to replicate the cathedral in its
   original form was the right one, said Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who
   heads the cathedral's reconstruction.

   "It shows '¦ firstly that we made the right choice in choosing to
   rebuild the carpentry identically, in oak from France," Georgelin said
   in an interview. "Secondly, it shows us the ... method by which we will
   rebuild the framework, truss after truss."

   A debate over whether the new spire should have a futuristic design or
   whether the trusses should be made of fireproof cement like in the
   Cathedral of Nantes, which was destroyed in a 1972 fire, ended with the
   decision in July to respect Notre Dame's original design and materials.

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