The agreement between the two organisations was officially signed by Catherine Lagneau, Chair and CEO of BRGM, and Dominique Garcia, President of Inrap, on Tuesday 9 September 2025.
© Inrap - Hervé Lequeux
For archaeologists, it is essential to understand the wider context around an archaeological site. What were the climate and environmental conditions in the past on the site concerned by the excavations? Earth sciences can help answer such questions.
For geologists, archaeological excavations provide an opportunity to acquire data and knowledge, particularly concerning near-surface formations (regolith) in urban areas, which are particularly affected by human activity.
Complementary data and several areas in which to develop collaboration
The great potential for mutually-beneficial collaboration led BRGM, the French geological survey, and Inrap, the public body in charge of preventive archaeological operations carried out within the framework of local development work, to sign an initial agreement on 9 September 2025 in order to develop durable partnership programmes.
This agreement will notably enable BRGM and Inrap to share the data they collect, pool their different areas of expertise and resources, launch joint research programmes and jointly supervise theses, post-doctorates and internships.
Priority areas
The agreement aims to develop the following areas of collaboration in particular:
- Geological knowledge of the different regions of France: knowledge of the regolith (near subsurface), palaeoenvironments, palaeoclimates, geological library, data on underground structures, etc.
- Risk prevention: data on earthquakes and tsunamis (before the existence of text-based archives, in order to extend knowledge further into the past), stability studies, data on urban soil pollution, etc.
- Water management: the impact of the climate on groundwater resources;
- Acquisition and imaging tools: pooling of geophysical instrument stocks, co-development of new geophysical imaging resources.
- Analytical capabilities: origin of materials, new analytical developments.
- Digital tools: software choices, artificial intelligence, etc.
- Regional partnerships in mainland France and the French Overseas Territories.
An initial project aimed at gaining a better understanding of near-surface geology
An initial joint study, launched at the signing of the agreement, will enable BRGM and Inrap to pool their knowledge and expertise in certain "test" areas along major road, rail and other infrastructure routes: the Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque, the Seine-Nord Europe Canal and the Major Rail Project for South-West France.
This study will consolidate and supplement the subsurface database managed by BRGM (which, as a State regulatory requirement, is updated with data concerning any works that affect the subsurface beyond a depth of 10m) with information about the near-surface geology acquired through archaeological surveys (i.e. excavations that go down to a maximum depth of a few metres).
The study aims to demonstrate the value of data collected as part of preventive archaeology operations in helping to understand issues such as climate change, the loss of biodiversity and interactions between humans and the environment.
