Le fonds d'archives de l'ingénieur des Ponts-et-Chaussées de Compiègne : de la constitution d'une banque de données pour l'annonce de crue à son exploitation en géohistoire

Abstract

Compiègne Public Roads Administration archival holdings contain important bundles of documen-tation including the daily logs of water levels since 1855 from several hydrometric stations built on the Oise river and its tributary streams. The goal of this database is to understand better the flow regime of waterways. It has led to the implementation of a flood warning service, still in use and thoroughly modernised. If these archival holdings, enriched with years of observations and interpretations, are a useful source for a better understanding of the spatial dynamics of the risk of flooding by the Oise river over a long period of time, the fact remains that they are heterogeneous and questionable, as a result of the evolution of the database constitution rules, measurement techniques, historical events and observation practices. This article thus shows how the archival holdings have been built and the limitations that scholars and researchers will have to take into account.

Keywords

• archival holdings
• Public Road Administration
• flood warning
• flooding risk
• Oise river