The Cathedral That Refused to Cut Corners

In 2019, when fire tore through Notre-Dame de Paris, the world watched in horror as the spire collapsed and the roof caved in. But engineers later discovered something remarkable. The limestone walls, laid by medieval masons eight hundred years earlier, held firm. The foundation never shifted. Investigators found that the original builders had driven oak pilings deep into the Seine riverbed and set stone upon stone with such precision that even an inferno could not shake what they had anchored.…