LOIRE VALLEY, France – Archaeologists at Château d’Amboise have begun uncovering the buried remains of a monumental Renaissance staircase long lost to history. The excavation aims to locate and study what was once one of the castle’s most striking architectural features: a vast external staircase known as the escalier Persé.
Situated at the foot of the former royal residence Château d’Amboise, the excavation site lies beneath ground that today is part of the castle courtyard. Although little more than sketchy plans and eyewitness descriptions from the 15th century have survived, the staircase’s outlines are beginning to re-emerge, with archaeologists already identifying structural elements such as a buttress, a doorway threshold and what may be parts of a spiral.
Staircase from the age of Charles VIII
Built between 1492 and 1498 during the reign of Charles VIII of France, the escalier Persé was an architectural giant — some twenty meters tall — that once stood detached from the castle façade, an unusual configuration for the period. Its name, derived from an old French term, suggests a pierced or openwork design adorned with Gothic style ornamentation.
Although the structure was dismantled in the 18th century and later disturbed by utility works, significant archaeological evidence is believed to remain buried. The current dig is now bringing fragments of this lost monument into the light.
Could Amboise’s staircase pre-date Chambord?
Beyond simply locating the staircase, researchers are investigating a tantalising architectural question. Early findings may support the possibility that the Amboise staircase featured a double-spiral design — two separate stair flights winding around each other without intersecting. If confirmed, this would make the escalier Persé a remarkable precursor to the famed double-helix staircase at Château de Chambord, traditionally dated to 1516–1519.
A double-spiral plan at Amboise would pre-date Chambord’s by nearly twenty years and could prompt a re-evaluation of the origins of this celebrated Renaissance architectural form. Some scholars have linked Chambord’s design with Leonardo da Vinci, who lived nearby at the Clos Lucé until his death in 1519, but the Amboise discovery might show that French architects were already experimenting with complex stair structures independent of Leonardo’s influence.
A state-supervised investigation
The excavation is conducted within the framework of French heritage law, with permits and oversight provided by DRAC Centre-Val de Loire’s Service régional de l’archéologie (SRA). A multidisciplinary team from the regional archaeology service and academics from the Universities of Tours and Bordeaux are working together, combining fieldwork with historical research.
Researchers are also drawing on valuable 16th-century iconographic sources, particularly drawings by the architect Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, to help interpret the archaeological evidence and reconstruct how the staircase may have looked.
Reconstructing a lost chapter of Renaissance innovation
The escalier Persé belongs to the earliest phase of Château d’Amboise’s transformation from medieval fortress into a Renaissance palace under Charles VIII. The young king, born at Amboise in 1470, initiated an ambitious building programme after returning from the Italian Wars in the 1490s, aiming to bring Renaissance ideas to French royal architecture.
Whether or not the staircase proves to have featured a double-spiral plan, the excavation highlights how much more the heritage beneath the Loire Valley still has to reveal. With careful archaeological work and collaboration between state services, local authorities and universities, Château d’Amboise continues to illuminate the innovations and bold creativity of French Renaissance builders.
Source: culture.gouv.fr
