Ancient and Modern

In the forground are two weathered Romanesque figures carved around 1100. They were originally displayed in niches in the outside of the western towers of York Minster but removed for safety reasons in the 1970s and placed in the crypt.
In the background is a small portion of the steel and concrete that was inserted under the Minster between 1967-72 in a huge underpinning project to prevent the collapse of the central tower. It is quite fascinating to visit the Undercroft of the Minster and see the modern engineering that keeps this ancient structure standing tall.