The Notre-Dame de Paris is the first Gothic-style cathedral that is known to have been initially built with a significant amount of iron used to fasten stones together. The 2019 fire that significantly damaged the cathedral enabled analyses leading to this discovery, by Maxime L’Héritier of Université Paris 8, France, and colleagues, who present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 15, 2023.
At a height of 32 meters when it was built in the middle of the 12th century, Notre-Dame was the highest structure ever constructed. This record may have been made feasible by integrating a number of architectural advances, according to earlier studies.
The part iron may have played in Notre-original Dame’s construction has not been known, despite the fact that iron reinforcements have been used extensively in more contemporary cathedrals and in efforts to restore historic buildings.
Now, the 2019 fire and subsequent restoration have allowed L’Héritier and colleagues to access previously concealed parts of Notre-Dame that hold clues to the possible use of iron in its construction.
Radiocarbon dating reveals that Notre-Dame de Paris is indisputably the first Gothic cathedral where iron was thought of as a real building material to create a new form of architecture. The medieval builders used several thousand of iron staples throughout its construction.
Maxime L’Héritier
The researchers collected material samples from 12 iron staples that were employed in the tribunes, nave aisles, and upper walls of the structure to hold stones together. To learn more about the staples, they used microscopic, chemical, and architectural investigations along with radiocarbon dating.
These studies indicate that the construction of Notre-Dame began in the 1160s and that iron staples were certainly utilized throughout the building process, making it the first edifice of its kind to do so.
The investigations also offer details that may increase understanding of the iron trade, circulation, and forging in 12th and 13th century Paris when combined with other archaeological and historical facts from that time period.
As an illustration, many of the staples appear to have been created by joining pieces of iron that were gathered from various supply sources.
To validate and build on their ground-breaking discoveries on the medieval Parisian iron market, the researchers point out that additional analyses of Notre-Dame materials and a thorough database of historical iron producers in the area are required.
The authors add: “Radiocarbon dating reveals that Notre-Dame de Paris is indisputably the first Gothic cathedral where iron was thought of as a real building material to create a new form of architecture. The medieval builders used several thousand of iron staples throughout its construction.”
