In February 2022, the reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was ready to begin. After the April 2019 fire, it had taken nearly three years to remove the debris and to shore up the damaged stone walls and ceiling vaults. If Notre Dame was to reopen in 2024, as French President Emmanuel Macron had decreed, it was urgent to begin rebuilding what had been lost—starting with the emblematic wooden spire that rises above the center of the church.

But first, archaeologists had to be called in. Under French law, any construction project that will disturb soil where ancient artifacts or remains might be found requires an intervention by government archaeologists. At Notre Dame it was their job to make sure nothing valuable would be crushed by the 770-ton scaffolding that was needed to rebuild the spire.