How Much Did a Medieval Castle ACTUALLY Cost? (Real Math) 🏰💰

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]Here's how much it costs to build a castle in today's money.

[00:00:03]1283, Edward I, Caernarfon, Wales. 3,000 workers, 6 years to build, total $54 million.

[00:00:13]And it wasn't actually a castle. Watch the bill come together.

[00:00:16]Stone, quarried across England, 15 million. 3,000 workers on payroll, 22 million. Timber, entire forests felled, 6 million more.

[00:00:27]Transport, 50,000 tons by oxcart and barge, 5 million. Master James of St. George, imported from Savoy, 4 million.

[00:00:34]Iron and lead for the roofs, 2 million more.

[00:00:37]Total, $54 million. But here's the part nobody tells you. It wasn't a castle. It was a palace, a garrison, a market, a chapel, and a fortified town all behind one set of walls. Medieval castles weren't buildings, they were cities.