It was during this excavation that the 1st century Pillar of the Boatmen was discovered. [11] In December 2019, Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, the rector of the cathedral, said there was still a 50% chance that Notre-Dame cannot be saved due to the risk of the remaining scaffolding falling onto the three damaged vaults. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris (Michel Aupetit). Even before the competition rules were announced, architects around the world offered suggestions: the proposals included a 100-meter spire made of carbon fibre, covered with gold leaf; a roof built of stained glass; a greenhouse; a garden with trees, open to the sky; and a column of light pointed upwards. Popular interest in the cathedral blossomed soon after the 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). [48] A decade-long renovation programme began in 1991 and replaced much of the exterior, with care given to retain the authentic architectural elements of the cathedral, including rigorous inspection of new limestone blocks. [7] The same year as Hugo's novel was published, however, anti-Legitimists plundered Notre-Dame's sacristy. It was found lightly damaged in the rubble after the 2019 fire. He rotated the window by fifteen degrees to give it a clear vertical and horizontal axis, and replaced the destroyed pieces of glass with new glass in the same style. During the 19th century restoration, four new bells were made for the north tower. Finally, I would willingly learn where [there are] two such circles, situated opposite each other in a straight line, which on account of their appearance are given the name of the fourth vowel [O]; among which smaller orbs and circles, with wondrous artifice, so that some arranged circularly, others angularly, surround windows ruddy with precious colors and beautiful with the most subtle figures of the pictures. It was roughly half the size of the later Notre-Dame, 70 metres (230 ft) long—and separated into nave and four aisles by marble columns, then decorated with mosaics. To add to the effect, all of the sculpture on the façades was originally painted and gilded. In 1711, a small crypt measuring about six meters by six meters was dug out in the middle of the choir which was used as a burial vault for the archbishops, if they had not requested to be buried elsewhere. Uncertainty over time needed to rebuild Notre-Dame", "France announces contest to redesign Notre Dame spire", "In Notre Dame, we find a heritage that invites us to breathe and reflect: A spire competition is the wrong approach". … A lay chamberlain was responsible to keep the clocks filled with water and to notify a churchwarden when it was time to strike the bells for the hour. [122] According to tradition, the bishop of Paris held a ceremony in which he blessed and baptized the bells, and a godparent formally bestowed a name on the bell. [38] The cathedral's great bells escaped being melted down. [15], The chronicler Jean de Saint-Victor [fr] recorded in the Memorial Historiarum that the construction of Notre-Dame began between 24 March and 25 April 1163 with the laying of the cornerstone in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III. These were used to tell the hours, which were marked by striking bells. Furthermore, let them tell me in what church I may see such a large cross, of which one arm separates the choir from the nave. Thirteen of the grands mays remain in Nôtre Dame: These paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation. Additional scenes in the corners around the rose window include Jesus' Descent into Hell, Adam and Eve, the Resurrection of Christ.