This blog has, in the past, included a number of items sent in by Volunteers who have enjoyed, and written about, places of historical interest visited on days out, or from further afield.
This one is from Research Volunteer Dr Megan Fyfe.
How to build a medieval castle from scratch: experimental archaeology in rural France.
Deep in the woods of northern Burgundy, Guedelon Castle is a large-scale long-term project in experimental archaeology which only uses techniques, tools and materials available in the 13th century – with the complication of modern health and safety rules and a particularly hard local ironstone rock.
The chosen site was beside a disused quarry in the Guedelon Forest, providing ready access to stone for the walls, sand to make mortar, clay for the roof and floors, oak, birch and hornbeam for timbers, battens, and wood for the fires and kilns. Local plants also provided colours for the dyes. As in the 13th century, a Master Mason is in daily charge of the site and its workforce, using plans drawn up by an architect. Professional workers and labourers have been recruited, covering all the skills need in castle-building – blacksmiths, stone-masons, mortar-makers, mason-layers, carpenters, quarrymen, woodcutters, tilers, potters, dyers, painters, basket-weavers, and rope-makers, to name a few. Medieval tool kits for the various trades had to be constructed, and then people had to learn to use them correctly. The lack of detailed instructions from the time meant mistakes were inevitable, and had to be undone, then redone. All workers on site wear medieval dress – and modern eye protection, where required.
All this trial-and-error experimental archaeology has, and is, open to the public. On what is, essentially, a medieval building site, visitors have been encouraged. The fact that techniques can be observed, and questions answered – if, in my case, in very halting French, with lots of gestures – makes it a fascinating place to visit; though be aware, it IS a building site and on a damp day in March I emerged covered in thick orange mud to the kneecaps!
For people wanting more information there are lots of You Tube videos, and I can recommend the following book written by the project’s co-founder and master mason: Martin, Maryline and Renucci, Florian, 2023 edition. ‘Guedelon: a castle in the making.’ Editions Ouest-France, Rennes.
Thank you Megan!
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