The ambitious five-year reconstruction goal set by the French government following the fire in Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral has left restoration experts scrambling.

Two key problems hinder the Notre Dame reconstruction efforts: resources and skillset. Authentic sources of much of the stone and wood used to complete Notre Dame are simply nonexistent: the 800-year-old Beachwood beams were from trees of a size no longer found in France; and the Lutetian limestone that made up the bulk of the cathedral’s structure and décor came from quarries now largely buried under the Paris cityscape.

Moreover, the artisans needed to accomplish specialized tasks like stonemasonry and woodworking on the scale of Notre Dame are in short supply. One expert estimated that this shortage of specialized labor could significantly set the entire project back. All this leaves me wondering: are we thinking in 14th century terms about […]

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