“1,035 fragments found recount the Passion of Christ in images”

Fragments scanned in 3D

We have found 1,035 fragments of this set, which recounts in images the Passion of Christ. Currently, and for another year, a group of restorers are working to stabilize their polychromy: in fact, the bright colors of the sculptures have resisted time, protected by their burial. But on contact with air, they fade very quickly!

In the meantime, the fragments have been 3D scanned. In this way, we will be able to offer a digital reassembly of the structure. This information will also feed the digital cathedral of Livio de Luca. And I have assembled a large interdisciplinary group of researchers who are already studying these images. They work on the iconography, the nature of the materials, the insertion of the rood screen in the history of Notre-Dame, the evolution of its decoration, the way in which it was demolished and buried, the comparison with those of other cathedrals. … On all these subjects, we will know more in a few months.

The other interventions carried out in the basement of the cathedral and on its southern approaches by several Inrap teams made it possible to collect an exceptional quantity of information which will also require months of analysis. The continuation of a building dated between the 6th and 10th centuries, which had been seen during ancient excavations, was discovered. It is undoubtedly a cathedral preceding Notre-Dame. Another vast building, more than 20 m long, dating from the Carolingian period (9th-10th centuries) was also spotted. Perhaps it is an old episcopal palace?

Archeology has also uncovered the foundations of the Gothic building (second half of the 12th century), which had never been observed: traces of cutting and tools will contribute to our understanding of the succession of construction phases. And under the towers, we discovered an imposing foundation slab about which we knew nothing. The history of the cathedral will be enriched by all these discoveries. »