Gedelon is a medieval castle in France, which is being built now

An unusual archaeological and historical experiment is taking place in the middle of the French forests. A team of stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths, quarrymen, tile manufacturers and workers of other professions step by step builds a medieval castle from scratch, using only tools, materials and technologies that existed in the Middle Ages.

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The stones mined in the nearest quarry are transported by horse carts and lifted onto the walls by builders who use a wooden tread wheel for this purpose. Ropes are made of hemp, and instead of modern cement — a solution of lime and sand. There is no electricity, no construction cranes. Everything in the Gedelon Castle from terracotta tiles to nails — as in the XIII century, the estimated time of construction of such buildings.

The project is the brainchild of the owner of the local chateau Michel Guyot, who began to think about the possibility of creating a Chateau de Guedelon when he repaired his own castle, located at a distance of 13 kilometers. He teamed up with entrepreneur Marilyn Martin and began negotiating with archaeologists, architects and art historians to realize his dream. Finally, in 1997, construction began.

A non—existent character was invented - Gilbert, a feudal landowner of the lowest level, to whom his master gave permission to build a castle. Its modest status in the feudal hierarchy and limited financial resources mean that the castle will be modest, in fact — a fortified manor house, not at all like royal castles.

The castle consists of four towers connected by high fortress walls, and has an inner courtyard and living quarters. The year of construction was 1228.

The castle is already more than half completed. The roof of the main hall, the lobby and its mural, the kitchen and pantry, guard rooms with fan-shaped Gothic vaults and a passage along the fortress wall with loopholes are already ready.

In the coming years, workers will continue to build fortress walls and towers, and carpenters will cover the towers with tiles. It is expected that the construction of the Gedelon Castle will be completed no later than in ten years.

Practical experience allowed scientists to rediscover forgotten construction technologies and try models, hypotheses and theories.

Many unresolved questions about how castles were built in the XIII century were answered during this experiment.

About 70 permanent workers work in Gedelon, but every year about 600 people actively participate in the project and learn more about the construction technologies that are used here. In addition, more than 300 thousand tourists come here every year.