THAT'S DAME FINE CARPENTRY WORK

800-year-old techniques used to rebuild Paris landmark's roof

-  JEFFREY SCHAEFFER

IF time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would be amazed to see how woodworking techniques they pioneered in building Notre Dame Cathedral more than 800 years ago are being used again today.

After a devastating fire in 2019, work is currently underway to rebuild the world-famous monument's roof.

Modern-day carpenters have been using medieval-era skills. They have been working with hand axes to fashion hundreds of tonnes of oak beams for the framework of Notre Dame's new roof which has, for them, been like rewinding time.

It's given them a new appreciation of their predecessors' handiwork that pushed the architectural envelope back in the 13th century.

Peter Henrikson, one of the carpenters working on the fireravaged roof, said: "It's a little mind-bending sometimes."

He claimed there are times when he's whacking mallet on chisel that he finds himself thinking about medieval counterparts who were cutting "basically the same joint 900 years ago".