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Of course, the real thing that was built to survive >800 years was the institution of Oxford. Oxford University is older than the Aztec empire and considerably more durable. It is older than almost all European countries in their modern form; it is older than the UK itself.

The politics of building an institution of that durability made of fragile humans that need to be continously replaced on much shorter intervals is worthy of study on its own.

Probably not true? https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2013/oct/02/david-...

At the end of the original article:

> It is not the case that these oaks were kept for the express purpose of replacing the Hall ceiling. It is standard woodland management to grow stands of mixed broadleaf trees e.g., oaks, interplanted with hazel and ash. The hazel and ash are coppiced approximately every 20-25 years to yield poles. The oaks, however, are left to grow on and eventally, after 150 years or more, they yield large pieces for major construction work such as beams, knees etc.

The key question is, have the cut-down oaks been re-planted... or was the plantation was managed by some "modern" metrics according to which it is better to optimize for monetary return on investment in a shorter time-frame? ;-)

College Oaks (2001)