Note 243 — Chapter IX · CASTLES OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY: THE FORTIFICATION OF THE CURTAIN

The mining operations, so successful at Château-Gaillard, were not without their own danger to the miners. In the siege of Coucy by the count of Saint-Pol in 1411, the traditional method was used to undermine one of the towers of the base-court. A party of the besiegers descended to admire the preparations. The wooden stays, however, were not strong enough to support the weight of the tower, which fell unexpectedly, and buried the men in the mine. Their remains have never come to light.