Notre Dame recovering

Detail of the vault of the collapsed transept crossing, with charred pieces of the spire frame, April 26, 2019 • INRAP/SERVICE DE PRESSE

It has been more than a year since a fire destroyed part of Notre-Dame de Paris on April 15, 2019. As of July 30, an exceptional law entrusted Inrap (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) interventions prior to the restoration site.

All of the collapsed materials (beams, stones, metal elements) were excavated. Remains have been collected and will be studied and analyzed in CNRS laboratories. On the south-eastern exterior of the cathedral, before the installation of an 80m crane intended to remove the scaffolding still erected around the hole of the collapsed spire, archaeologists explored a little-known area, putting back to the a thick wall glimpsed in 1918.

Each vestige provides information on the materials used from the 13 ^e century, such as the charred pieces of framework dating from that period. These will, for example, make it possible to identify the tree species used.

Going to the scanner

The restoration is accompanied by a scientific project involving more than 50 teams of researchers. One of these projects is digital, coordinated by the CNRS and the Ministry of Culture. Rope access technicians went above the vaults, equipped with a laser scanner to obtain a 3D image of the place.

They placed the machine in the middle of the volume to be scanned, the scan generating hundreds of points per second with a resolution of a few millimeters, which made it possible to make a digital backup. Cameras installed on cables have completed the data, which will be compiled on a platform retracing the history of the cathedral, the aim being to constitute a huge database and a working tool.

In addition, in another area, six museums of the city of Paris present on the web a selection of 127 works dedicated to Notre-Dame:prints from the 17th ^th century, drawings such as that of the old spire destroyed in 1792, models, paintings by Claude Vignon or Michel Corneille, photographs by Charles Marville in 1856 or by Robert Doisneau on August 22, 1944… Up to an Ina archive showing an extract from the first mass filmed live at Notre-Dame and broadcast on television on December 24, 1948, with altar boys and readings in Latin!

An exciting journey through time, to be done on parismuseescollections.paris.fr.