In search of hidden waters: the role of memory in an underground irrigation network in Burgundy (France)
Abstract
This article presents insights from the exploratory study of an underground hydraulic network in Burgundy. Combining ethnology, geography, and geophysics, the analysis of these hidden waterways, visible only through small openings or traps into which gardeners drop their watering cans, raises several questions. How does one know the network’s path? Could this network have been a type of commons? How does the ownership of private land and shared community resources intersect? How can we explain that some of the traps are now isolated? What role does collective memory play in the endurance of the irrigation network through time? Can geophysics help to trace its path, and will this make it possible to preserve this exceptional hydraulic heritage? The analysis seeks to answer such questions and invite further historical studies.
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BibTeX
@misc{perkinsmartin2026search,
title = {{In search of hidden waters: the role of memory in an underground irrigation network in Burgundy (France)}},
author = {Jacques Perkins-Martin and Olivia Aubriot and Albane Saintenoy and Juliette Bély and Emmanuel Leger},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05728597v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - In search of hidden waters: the role of memory in an underground irrigation network in Burgundy (France)
AU - Jacques Perkins-Martin
AU - Olivia Aubriot
AU - Albane Saintenoy
AU - Juliette Bély
AU - Emmanuel Leger
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - HAL
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05728597v1
AB - This article presents insights from the exploratory study of an underground hydraulic network in Burgundy. Combining ethnology, geography, and geophysics, the analysis of these hidden waterways, visible only through small openings or traps into which gardeners drop their watering cans, raises several questions. How does one know the network’s path? Could this network have been a type of commons? How does the ownership of private land and shared community resources intersect? How can we explain that some of the traps are now isolated? What role does collective memory play in the endurance of the irrigation network through time? Can geophysics help to trace its path, and will this make it possible to preserve this exceptional hydraulic heritage? The analysis seeks to answer such questions and invite further historical studies.
ER -