5000 years of foundations

Paris. Le trou de Halles. (Droits réservés)

Foundation piles dating from several thousand years B.C. have been found under a pyramid, but "art" did not gave way to "science" until the second half of the twentieth century, as the result of progress in fundamental science and machinery. People who have just reached retirement age now will have practically witnessed the birth and development of this discipline.

With the large scale displacement of the population from countryside to the town, the central areas of towns and cities has become increasingly complex. The foundations of private and public buildings, underground transport (railways, metros, roads) urban heating, telecommunications, cable, electricity and gas networks, water mains and sewerage systems take up the ground under our town and cities, which has become scarce, like the land on the surface.