I thought the treadmill crane was fictional. 

The round of applause at the end didn't feel justified...!

"We use modern safety equipment, because we're not here to see how many people died making a midieval castle" is such a hilarious way to put it.

Imagine being described as a "low ranking, local, fairly modest nobleman."

I actually quite literally added my stone to that building, by doing a "builder internship". Spent a week there helping in various places of the construction, and the last day I helped the masons who were, at the time, working on the gate towers. People couldn't go in the castle by the bridge, because the double treadmill crane was sat there, and a friend and I operated it for a day. Really cool experience (and ultimately working in such a place for a living would be my dream)

This is one of the coolest reconstructive archaeology projects I've seen.

This castle is going to confuse archeologists a thousand years from now.

I feel like Tom has fallen into a "weird stuff in France" and "historical reenactment" rabbit hole lately and I love every second of it (so does he, apparently)

in response to Tom mentioning how he got dizzy looking straight ahead, being the "hamster" in the hamster wheel was something blind people were used for since it was something they could do and be productive at and as an added bonus you didn't have to worry about them being scared of heights

Ive known about this project for a while but its annoyingly difficult to find anything more up to date than like 2013. I didnt know they had to add an extra ten years! And I love they reused the line 'Were not here to find out about the number of deaths from building a castle' I hear it nearly every time I watch something about Guédelon Castle

I wondered who was paying for building this magnificent castle, assuming that it would be the government. No - it is being financed by a private company, and the admission paid by the 300,000 visitors the castle attracts is paying for all the marvellous reconstruction we see here. It is very gratifying to know that so many people are still so enthusiastic about history that their admission fees are enough to pay for building such an immense castle. Well done, citizens of France!

I knew it was real because Treadmill Crane is a tech you can research in Age of Empires II and the manual that came with the game had historical sources explaining everything.

I love how toms coping mechanism is always “I’m gonna just talk a lot and I don’t care if I’m not saying logical things, narration will save me”

As a tech enthusiast it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know even the Romans had such an awesome technology as cranes at their disposal! I just added this castle to my places to visit, I can't believe there's such an awesome project like this that I wouldn't have ever heard of if it weren't for Tom Scott.

Love the hardhats at 2:10 - looks like they colored them to not stick out so while not period authentic it maintains the medieval vibe while still being safe.

That's really great that someone out there is building something in such an historic way.

I saw another documentary on this castle and they mentioned that, although they have a historical ropemaking workshop on site, they use modern ropes for hoisting all the stones. Historical plant fiber ropes would be cool, but modern ropes have a known breaking point and you really don't want any unknown risks with hundreds of pounds suspended in the air. Such a cool project.

imagine being an archeologist in like 3000 years and finding a mid 13th century castle only to test the rocks or smth and finding out it was actually from the 2000s

I like how Tom needs a hard hat to lift 1 rock but the workers at 3:25 don’t need them as the crane whips a platform of rocks above their heads 😂

This is SOOOOOO cool. Building a genuine castle from scratch would be my childhood (now that I think about it, adult too) dream!

“…so obviously we’re not trying to discover how many people were killed in the 13th century.” - Sarah Preston “There will be a portcullis, there will be murder holes…” -Also Sarah Preston 😂

in Breisach in Germany we still have an original, it stands in the wheel tower named after it and was intended to fetch water from the 41 m deepen well. A funny story is that Napoleon's soldiers, who occupied the city, used to voluntarily run in the wheel to impress the women fetching water.

I'm very chuffed to see folks wearing historical clothing! It changes so much about how you move and how your body feels and interacts with space. This project is so cool

The fact that they're using historical methods like this is honestly incredible. Thank you for making a video about this project and it's methods, I wouldn't have known about either if you didn't.

Finding out that the closest cathedral to me still has a medieval crane in it is not what I expected to learn today

guedelon castle is one of those projects that maybe more people should be aware of especially when they wonder why arts and history are important

I adore the efforts to be as historically accurate as possible *even in the building process,* which likely aids the accuracy *considerably,* yet utilize the advancements in ethical and responsible engineering since then. Perfect, best of both worlds, imagine how many things can benefit from this....

02:17 "So obviously we're not trying to discover how many people were killed or injured in the 13th century.". The Lady has got some advanced level of humour right there.

This one of the many topics that really makes me wish Tom would do in-depth, detailed videos and not just 5 minute teasers with little time to actually explain much.

I remember going on a school trip to Guédelon, back then the "house" had maybe 2 rooms and mostly stairs, the walls were still being built and the gate was mostly a big hole. It's awesome to see the progress over the years and the dedication of these people. I was a bored kid back then but with the years I only have amazement for this and I'm very happy to see so much international attention to this project. Thanks Tom !

I've been to see this castle under construction and it is well worth a visit and it is worth mentioning that I read that Conwy Castle in North Wales, which was built around the same period, had 15,000 men working on it. It took just 5 years to construct. So it isn't just that they are having to put down tools, there is a tiny number of workers in comparison on site. I honestly wish they would repair one of the great castles in the UK as a tourist attraction like this. People would love to see it and imagine having a perfect medieval castle to see in Wales or wherever instead of the ruins we have.

This castle is one my list of things to see in France. So cool!

This is probably one of the coolest historical experiments I've seen. I'd love to see somebody like tod's workshop or shad visit.

Something Tom failed to explain... The crane is such an effort-saving device because, when using the crane, you are only lifting the weight of the stones (plus some rope). whereas when walking up steps with a stone in your hands, you're lifting your own body weight, plus the weight of the stone. Therefore, to build a castle, you probably reduce the number of calories needed by 60% by using cranes.

The Englishman who walked up a hill, but came down a castle.

We've been to Guedelon 4 or 5 times over the last 20 years or so. It's been great seeing it develop over the years

I'm glad Sara Preston mentioned that the Romans had this "hamster wheel" technology. I remember reading about them setting up a similar system for pumps in a gold mine that is now in Spain. That one looked much darker and less fun.

I knew of this. Ruth Goodman did a TV series a while back called 'Secrets of the Castle' with a couple of other archaeologists. It's fascinating to see that they're still building it, and how seemingly simple the crane is in its operation.

I wonder how common ratchets were to prevent accidental rollback. As Sarah mentions, this machinery dates back to the Romans, if not further, and Roman siege engines definitely had ratchets for preparing for firing

I saw the multi-episode Guedelon documentary series (Secrets of the Castle) a few months back and I LOVED it! I would love to visit Guedelon in the future.

There was a mini series a few years ago about the castle and the surrounding grounds, I am glad to see they are still working on it, I am excited to see it finished.

Sarah Preston was a pleasure to listen to. Its always great to hear someone so knowledgeable and passionate about their craft. The enthusiasm is contagious.

This is just so insane to watch - just sitting back and seeing them work, you genuinely forget you're in the present day and it's not all some multi-million-dollar movie set. Just imagine what it would've been like when there were a hundred of people working all at once

Archaeologists in 2000 years will have a rough time.

"This week on Tom Scott - the internet's most athletic nerd!" Nice one! I'd never heard of this but it makes so much sense now that I've been shown it! And it really speaks to the kid who still lives inside me and spent all the time after school flipping through his copy of 'How Stuff Works' Thank you Tom! And thank you for the captions! I respect your commitment to walking the walk on that one, always!

Sarah is so eloquent in her explanation. Very well spoken and precise with her words. Huge props!

Love the idea that it's taking much longer to build the castle today, partly because of tourism, and partly because in the 21st century there are things like just so many hours of work per day/week, weekends, etc.

I visited Guédelon in 2008, it looked so different back then Happy to see how the building is going

Treadmill crane remains have been found in salisbury cathedral as well as several other locations and have been known about for over a hundred years.

This is actually just a modern home build now, with the cost of materials the way they are...

I love that these guys are still getting covered. Years and years ago I was watching videos on how they did their masonry because I legitimately wanted to dig a quarry and start building my own fortress in the desert. Very glad to see them still at it because these guys are an inspiration.

Even in the 13th century, there were 4 overseers/managers standing around watching one guy work.

One of the highlights of our trip to France in 2019.

There was a famous crane on top of Cologne cathedral. After a while, construction stalled, so it stayed up there about 400 years until they finished the cathedral, and the crane taken down. You can find pictures of it online!

I cannot express how excited I am seeing this video. Guédelon is literaly half an hour away from where I live, I go there often with my family to see how things are advancing there.

It's an open secret that all of the old European cathedrals used human treadmills to raise heavy blocks. Strasbourg, Frankfurt all now offer this as standard practice in their historical vids on-site.

The documentary about this castle that's on RU-vid is really very interesting. Great visit Tom!

The shot at 5:14 is the same way they filmed the jogging round the room shot in 2001: A Space Odyssey. They built an enormous enclosed wheel and fix the camera to the frame. The jogger runs in place as the wheel spins, and from the camera's perspective, it looks like he's running around the room

Large trebuchets (such as those that inspired the reconstruction at Warwick Castle) were based on crane tech - Warwick's uses two drums and teams of four walkers, who initially walk one way to wind down the arm, then the other way to unwind the rope. Courtesy of the commentary (there are numerous YT videos), in the day, sickness and injuries were occupational hazards of walkers...

I love Guedelon, I have visited 3 times over the years and the progress is just awesome. I think I need to fit another trip to France in some time soon.

I really appreciate any functional structure named something as blatant and straightforward as a "murder hole"

My word, I love that they're recreating this at a 1:1 timescale when it comes to technological advancement etc. (Albeit not building at full speed)

Looks like Tom is having a wheel of a time!

Seen a documentary on this site and am glad to see tons of people still taking interest in it

Never thought I would see this again. I took a trip to Europe four years ago and binged a show that featured this castle build after I got back. This brings back so many good memories, and I’m glad you made a video on it.

If you can visit Guedelon you should it’s worth it. It’s not just a stone castle there’s a village like area around it and its well explained in multiple languages.

Good old Age of Empires, historically accurate as always.

I happened to learn about this castle recently from Age of Empires IV. Very cool to see Tom there too.

Experimental archaeology is awesome. I have watched the Timeline documentary episodes about Guédelon probably 10 times. People often think of our ancestors as less technological. Well, they were. They didn't have computers or even electricity, of course, but they weren't stupid. That's why it's so offensive when conspiracy theorists try to say they must have had help from aliens or something. No, they were smart enough to figure out how to do this on their own. I hope I get to visit Guédelon some day.

I remember hearing about this castle as a child, so stunning to see how far it's come!

Guédelon is SO AWESOME I've been following them for quite some time now and it's amazing to see their progress

Been following this project for a while now. Always a joy to see how much progress has been made.

I've been following this construction, since before the Secrets of the Castle series.

"Secrets of the Castle with Ruth, Peter and Tom" (not Scott) was one of the most enjoyable series in BBC history. Highly recommended to anyone interested Guédelon, or medieval history in general.

I’m just glad that the Guédelon project is still going even during trying times like those we living.

I was aware of these already, but that double pivoting one is cool as heck.

Thanks Scott for risking slight disorientation for the rest of us to make this video and actually learn a little.

Both the crane and the castle build are lovely things to learn about.

for someone reason the medieval construction industry was never a thought that occurred to me but this makes so much sense

“Congratulations, Scott, you suck.” 😬😆😆

'Secrets of the Castle' is a great documentary on this castle from years ago. Highly recommended!

Really appreciate that they take the time to stop and explain to people what they're doing, it's always fascinating learning about stuff like this

The biggest safety feature of the site is they aren't under time pressure to complete on any kind of the schedule. The slow pace itself is part of the educational feature.

From drawings I have seen of these devices, they usually had a cam lock safety system to keep the load from going backwards not a break.

I knew about these because maps of medieval cities included them all the time, the ports of Hamburg were even famous for them. But I had no idea they went back to Roman times!

At this point, I can confirm that I've learned more from Tom than from my school teachers, especially since he makes this stuff 50 times more interesting.

I can't wait for Tom to travel to Mars just to explain why it's named Mars.

what they are doing is fascinating. i bet tourists love it. i had no idea something like this was being done. bizarre, but awesome. serious respect to those workers.

The round of applause was completely justified Tom! After all, you did so 'wheel'!

i remember watching a documentary where historians spent a year there taking part in a few of the building techiniques and looking at what it was like to live at a castle construction site. Awesome video!

I've known about this project for years. It's great to see how far they've come.

This would a good idea to modernize. Let people help in local construction projects using a crane and also get exercise as a side benefit. The building company gets free labor and the public gets a free "gym membership."

I've just come back from a trip with my University, visiting medieval church buildings. It touches my heart that Tom out there fulfills dreams by what he does. I for example would've loved to see a sneak peak at the building sites of back then. My trip was mostly focused on the reciprocity of people, money, art and religion. I would've loved to learn more about the actual building craft. Seeing an actual medieval building site, in addition with such detailed thoughts as in which year it all takes place... amazing. Like time travelling a little bit. I'm glad they have modern security standards though. Thank you Tom. This one really hit close to my very own interests and unfulfilled daydreams

I love how fascinating and novel all your videos are. Thanks Tom!

This concept could be combined with: historical tourism, museum AND sport.

I remember seeing Ruth Goodman visiting and helping build on this site years ago with a film crew, Secrets of the Castle I think it's called... probably still available on RU-vid for those who want to see more of the technology and techniques used.

Castellologist (1:15) might be my new favourite word!

the way theyre going about this is cool as hell

I saw a video on this project quite a few years ago. Nice to see the progress that they have made. And yet again; Tom Scott answering questions we didn't know we had!

Ah!! It's been a few years since I've seen this place show up on TV-- look at all of the progress! Thank you for visiting and sharing this one in particular, Tom Scott Team.

I’ve always loved these kinds of things, because preservation of that knowledge helps us move forward in ways one might not expect, since they had to solve the same kinds of problems we have to today, and having access to their different ways of solving it is just overall a good idea.