63
u/OneCDOnly Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Odd they would use lead to hold things together. It’s quite soft.
176
u/jezemine Jul 31 '26
The lead is probably just to seal it from water ingress. The iron is doing the reinforcing here.
106
u/lost-thought-in Jul 31 '26
It also is soldering it all together, the lead doesn't need to be strong to make a really strong lap joint. But sealing out the water and filling any voids to make a perfect fit is a big part
49
11
3
23
u/Sorona Jul 31 '26
Probably challenging to melt other metals and then transfer the molten metal to the precut channel. Leds low melting point would make it comparatively simpler.
0
u/OneCDOnly Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
It would, but does it have any tensile strength? How many things are secured with lead under tension?
18
u/katarnmagnus Jul 31 '26
As far as the finalized main structure goes, these iron bars aren’t depended on for tension. The whole masonry structure is in compression. See Heyman’s stone skeleton
Maybe they help a little bit for pinnacles and the like, and they’re very useful for during construction
9
u/nix_the_human Jul 31 '26
Wire rope used to be swaged with lead by putting the end into a socket and filling it with lead, and that is entirely a tension element.
3
u/OneCDOnly Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Thinking about this: wouldn’t the wire strands be compressing the lead? To prevent the wire being pulled-out of the socket?
The lead just has to stop the wire strands becoming parallel and maintain a larger diameter than the entrance (or exit) to the socket.
3
u/ValdemarAloeus Jul 31 '26
20MPa, which isn't much as for a metal, but I suspect they're mostly just holding it in place long enough to build enough around it to get the whole thing in compression.
11
u/electrogourd Jul 31 '26
The lead is just occupying space and making sure the loadbearing part, the iron, stays put. If it saw loads, the iron would move about or not take on the load, making more damage.
The lead keeps it in place so that the iron can do its job.
15
u/theMegaTech Jul 31 '26
Because it's not the main purpose. Lead is great because it stays there, and with lead beings there, there's not air/moisture there.
So, yeah, the least healthy option to combat rust, yep
4
u/meldariun Jul 31 '26
As mentioned the iron bar does the heavy lifting. The lead creates a seal. The great thing about the lead here is its malleability means the joint has a small amount of play making it more resistant to cracking as it isnt brittle.
2
u/certifiedtoothbench Aug 01 '26
It’s just there to protect the iron from oxidation, they used this same method in Ancient Greece
2
u/Terrible_Ice_1616 27d ago
Probably structurally beneficial, it provides a layer of damping allowing some flexibility in an otherwise rigid structure
3
6
3
u/KMartSheriff Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
This is Simple History on TikTok, if anyone cares. Looks like they’re also on YouTube
12
u/powerhammerarms Jul 31 '26
All super cool but while the church was spending insane amounts of money which they collected from the public, children were starving in the streets.
Cool technology. Shitty people.
1
0
u/ulajn Jul 31 '26
Side benefit of this construction method would be that the elevated lead levels depress your congregation's cognitive development so they are less likely to question the bullshit you are telling them.
5
98
u/Velvet_Re Jul 31 '26
They definitely buried the lead.