research may benefit from this quantified spatial and temporal analysis: hydromorphology, hydro-ecology, socio-economic uses of the fluvial territory, river
management and river restoration.
These treated documents related to rivers of the Seine basin were put in an openaccess database (ArchiSeine) (Box 2), which complements the Geoportail openaccess digitalised historical maps established by the IGN (Institut Géographique
National).
The following section focuses on hydro-morphology, particularly for the navigated river channel. A brief overview of the history of the cartographic documents of
the Seine River and their critical analysis is provided first.
3.1 The Inventory and Critical Analysis of River Maps
Historical cartographic documents provide area-wide information that is not available in classical archives. They give representations of river-related objects such as
islands, river-land interfaces, hydrological networks, man-made infrastructures,
river uses, river regulatory status, etc., as well as the territory (relief, pathways and
villages) aside from the river network and its corridor.
In the 1700s maps had become an essential means of describing and understanding the territory and its evolution and an indispensable strategic and geopolitical
instrument [36]. In France, Colbert’s establishment in 1666 of the Royal Academy of
Sciences allowed the development of cartographic methods, particularly triangulation by Jean Picard and then by a dynasty of cartographers founded by JeanDominique Cassini who achieved the first complete coverage of France at a scale
of 1/86,400 in less than 100 years, from 1747 to 1818, but the representation of rivers
was not always accurate and insufficiently precise for further quantitative analysis.
Box 2 ArchiSeine: An Open-Access Cartographic Database on River
History
In 2013 the PIREN-Seine program launched a joint project with the French
National archives to identify, restore and digitalise historical maps, charts and
drawings related to the Seine River and its major tributaries. From 1,000
documents already identified, covering a period from the end of the eighteenth
century to the 1930s, and chartered by the state’s Pont et Chaussées corps of
engineers, one-third have already been geo-referenced and presented on the
ArchiSeine website [37, 38]. Each document is supplemented by metadata
providing its historical context (authors, institution, objectives, etc.).
These charts and drawings are mainly (1) local maps related to planned
and/or completed river works and (2) large-scale maps or drawings related to
complaints and other judiciary acts concerning river works. These documents
(continued)
38
L. Lestel et al.
management and river restoration.
These treated documents related to rivers of the Seine basin were put in an openaccess database (ArchiSeine) (Box 2), which complements the Geoportail openaccess digitalised historical maps established by the IGN (Institut Géographique
National).
The following section focuses on hydro-morphology, particularly for the navigated river channel. A brief overview of the history of the cartographic documents of
the Seine River and their critical analysis is provided first.
3.1 The Inventory and Critical Analysis of River Maps
Historical cartographic documents provide area-wide information that is not available in classical archives. They give representations of river-related objects such as
islands, river-land interfaces, hydrological networks, man-made infrastructures,
river uses, river regulatory status, etc., as well as the territory (relief, pathways and
villages) aside from the river network and its corridor.
In the 1700s maps had become an essential means of describing and understanding the territory and its evolution and an indispensable strategic and geopolitical
instrument [36]. In France, Colbert’s establishment in 1666 of the Royal Academy of
Sciences allowed the development of cartographic methods, particularly triangulation by Jean Picard and then by a dynasty of cartographers founded by JeanDominique Cassini who achieved the first complete coverage of France at a scale
of 1/86,400 in less than 100 years, from 1747 to 1818, but the representation of rivers
was not always accurate and insufficiently precise for further quantitative analysis.
Box 2 ArchiSeine: An Open-Access Cartographic Database on River
History
In 2013 the PIREN-Seine program launched a joint project with the French
National archives to identify, restore and digitalise historical maps, charts and
drawings related to the Seine River and its major tributaries. From 1,000
documents already identified, covering a period from the end of the eighteenth
century to the 1930s, and chartered by the state’s Pont et Chaussées corps of
engineers, one-third have already been geo-referenced and presented on the
ArchiSeine website [37, 38]. Each document is supplemented by metadata
providing its historical context (authors, institution, objectives, etc.).
These charts and drawings are mainly (1) local maps related to planned
and/or completed river works and (2) large-scale maps or drawings related to
complaints and other judiciary acts concerning river works. These documents
(continued)
38
L. Lestel et al.