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The construction of the granite pedestal
and the scaffolding with a stone base for the installation
of the column
From Montferrand's book
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Plan and side view of the sled. The cables
that were wrapped around the column prior to the lifting operation
From Montferrand's book
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The raising of the column
From Montferrand's book
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The main scaffolding, 32 metres tall, consisted of 30
uprights set on a stone base, the ten tallest of which were load-bearing.
They were linked at the top by five trusses from which the lifting
gear - blocks and tackle - was hung. The scaffolding was fixed by
28 lateral supports and had a gap 6.4 metres wide in the middle. Reverse
rotation blocks were attached to the ledgers of twelve uprights. The
scaffolding was set up in the centre of a square platform with an
area of 16,235 square metres on which sixty steel capstans were arranged
in two circles. The operation was carried out on 30 August 1832. The
cables from the capstans enmeshed the monolith like a spider's web
and extended upwards to the blocks. The manpower was provided by 2,000
soldiers and 400 workers. With the aid of the 60 capstans, a host
of blocks and cables the column was set upon its pedestal in 100 minutes.
At the moment the operation was completed, the imperial standard was
raised at the very top of the scaffolding. |
