Archaeology in the Ashes of Notre Dame
12th August 2021
Two years ago, a fire devastated Paris’ iconic Catholic cathedral. An archaeologist outlines the unprecedented research scientists are now undertaking to make the most of the disaster.
12th August 2021
Two years ago, a fire devastated Paris’ iconic Catholic cathedral. An archaeologist outlines the unprecedented research scientists are now undertaking to make the most of the disaster.
August 13th, 2021 at 03:32
So much angst over the lead released by the fire! I keep seeing that over and over. No one stops to consider that the city used leaded gasoline for 100 years, releasing many, many times the amount of lead that this fire released.
I got to see Notre Dame in 1973 when my high school French class travelled there. It was a truly remarkable experience. The wood carvings alone were worth the visit. I did have one small problem during the visit. My high school was referred to as the Red Devils. It was cold and I was wearing a high school jacket with a smiling devil over the breast pocket. Apparently, European schools and sports teams don’t do those kind of things. Some 4 foot tall, old lady in a black coat thought that I was a devil worshipper. She began beating me with her umbrella and calling me names I couldn’t understand. I tried communicating, but she wasn’t in a listening mood. She was pretty slow, so I just moved ahead a bit and kept on touring the church. Every so often, while I was staring at some of the artwork, she would catch up to me and start bashing me in the head. Later some “Jesus freak” guy in the street confronted me about the jacket, referring to the picture as “Old Nick”. We had a nice conversation (no umbrella beating) in broken French and broken English, and he gave me some religious pamphlets.
Years later, Hillary Clinton visited my old high school while she was campaigning for the Oval Office. In an oversight that no doubt got some of her staff fired (or worse), her picture was taken with the red devil logo on the wall behind her and it made it to the Drudge Report and then to other outlets. A real devil and a fake one in the same photo. Now THAT would have been a good time for the little French woman to show up with her umbrella.