Hidden treasure: builders in 1000 AD
The Château of Langeais sheds light upon the Medieval period in a fascinating way through its scenography in the building itself or in the park. Specially-designed informative scaffolding has been built at the keep to explain how building sites were managed in the past.
The Château of Langeais has set itself the pedagogical task of illustrating the fascinating era of the Middle Ages. To this end, it has implemented different measures including building scaffolding against the keep to explain the building methods of days gone by. The project was a real challenge due to the lack of information available to the team, who had to base their work on sketches and drawings from the late Middle Ages.
The acacia wood scaffolding stands 6m tall and is 10m long. A log staircase provides access to the top of the platform which was made using poles and putlock holes and from where the lifting mechanisms, the crane and lewis, can be seen. The latter device is like a self-locking set of tongs that was used to raise heavy objects. These examples of tools reveal the complexity of building sites and the dangers facing builders in 1000AD. Today, they have been made completely safe and offer a stunning view of the Medieval-style gardens, Renaissance façade of the château and, beyond, the park which is home to trees that are several centuries old, including a cedar in which a treehouse was built.
The Château of Langeais has set itself the pedagogical task of illustrating the fascinating era of the Middle Ages. To this end, it has implemented different measures including building scaffolding against the keep to explain the building methods of days gone by. The project was a real challenge due to the lack of information available to the team, who had to base their work on sketches and drawings from the late Middle Ages.
The acacia wood scaffolding stands 6m tall and is 10m long. A log staircase provides access to the top of the platform which was made using poles and putlock holes and from where the lifting mechanisms, the crane and lewis, can be seen. The latter device is like a self-locking set of tongs that was used to raise heavy objects. These examples of tools reveal the complexity of building sites and the dangers facing builders in 1000AD. Today, they have been made completely safe and offer a stunning view of the Medieval-style gardens, Renaissance façade of the château and, beyond, the park which is home to trees that are several centuries old, including a cedar in which a treehouse was built.
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