Histoire(s) de(s) village(s)

Abstract

This paper about the urge to develop archaeological research within existing villages results from a conference entitled "Village archaeology and archaeology within the village" which was held in 2007 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. A historiographical overview shows a shift of research focus from "the origins" of villages to their their lay-out and shaping. The possibility to investigate not only rural landscapes in advance of development but also the existing village cores is a key issue for settlement archaeology. For the time being, archaeological investigations within existing villages are dramatically underdevelopped, for various reasons ranging from technical constraints to the lack of public interest for unconspicuous archaeological features poorly preserved on small surfaces. Moreover, the pressure exerciced by the new developments in the legal framework have made this type of project even more problematic. Some recent results show however that the investigation of existing village cores is far from being impossible, but it requires a strong political involvement from the elected representatives, the government agencies and the archaeologists belonging to different institutions (local councils, CNRS, Inrap, and universities).