ORIGINAL ARTICLE
His o ical unde g ound qua ying: A mul idisciplina y
esea ch in he Caumon qua y (c. 13 h–19 h
cen u ies), F ance
Daniel Balles e os
1,2
| Ca ole Nehme
1
| Bas ien Roussel
1
|
F ançois Delisle
3
| Edwige Pons-B anchu
4
| Damase Mou alis
1
1
UMR 6266 IDEES, Uni e si é o Rouen-
No mandie/CNRS, Mon Sain -Aignan,
F ance
2
Depa amen o de Geodin
amica, Uni e sidad
de G anada, G anada, Spain
3
Labo a oi e du GRHIS EA 3831, UFR des
Le es e Sciences Humaines, Uni e si é de
Rouen-No mandie, Mon -Sain -Aignan,
F ance
4
Labo a oi e des Sciences du Clima e de
l’En i onnemen , LSCE/IPSL, CEA-
CNRS-UVSQ, Uni e si é de Pa is-Saclay,
Gi -su -Y e e, F ance
Co espondence
Daniel Balles e os, UMR 6266 IDEES,
Uni e si é o Rouen-No mandie/CNRS, Mon
Sain -Aignan CEDEX, F ance.
Email: [email p o ec ed] i.es
Abs ac
Qua ies ep esen ‘landscapes a chi es’as hey sup-
plied he s one equi ed o his o ical buildings. Among
hem, he Caumon ancien qua y s ands ou in no h-
e n F ance, wi h i s huge dimensions and i s his o ical
ole, p o iding building s ones a a egional scale since
a leas he Middle Ages. The p esen s udy aims o
app oach he qua ying me hods used o e ime in
Caumon by means o an op imized me hodological
app oach. The designed me hodology combines (1) he
3D modelling o he qua y, (2) a chaeological
p ospec ion, (3) s a ig aphical and mic oscopical s udy
o he qua ied bed ock, and (4) he geoch onological
app oach in s alagmi es p ecipi a ed inside he qua y.
The s udied qua y o Caumon was exca a ed as an
open-cas qua y beginning wi h he esca pmen s along
he Ri e Seine and ans o med la e o an unde -
g ound qua y suppo ed by con ou ed bed ock pilla s.
The unde g ound qua y wi h i s 12 km o galle ies
shows a chambe s-and-pilla s pa e n s yle exca a ed
using wo me hods, p oducing an in e ed olume o
273,529 m
3
o building s one. The U–Th da ing o wo
s alagmi es sugges s ha qua ying ac i i y had begun
since a leas he ea ly medie al pe iod and ag ees wi h
he exca a ion echniques and his o ical documen s.
KEYWORDS
3D modelling, his o ical qua ying, mul idisciplina y esea ch,
unde g ound qua y
Recei ed: 19 Feb ua y 2021 Accep ed: 25 Janua y 2022
DOI: 10.1111/a cm.12758
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial License, which pe mi s use,
dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed and is no used o comme cial pu poses.
© 2022 The Au ho s. A chaeome y published by John Wiley & Sons L d on behal o Uni e si y o Ox o d.
A chaeome y. 2022;64:849–865. wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/a cm 849
INTRODUCTION
Since An iqui y, qua ies ha e played an impo an ole p o iding s ones o building because
o he ela i e high comp essi e s eng h, du abili y and na u al abundance o ocks (Klemm &
Wiggins, 2016). Qua ying ac i i y e lec s he ans o ma ions o ancien socie ies, om
spo adic wo ks supplying local demands, o he de elopmen o an o ganized indus y linked o
echnological p og ess (Dju i
c, 2019; Pi ko, 2018; S o emy & Heldal, 2017). Indeed, qua ying
ep esen s a powe ul economic ac i i y, equen ly s a egic and associa ed wi h many ou -
s anding ci iliza ions (Be an & Bloxam, 2016; Fo e al., 2019; Zaid e al., 2015). The di usion
o building s ones, whose p o enance could be aced back o he qua ies, is a powe ul ool o
es ablish ancien ade ou es and he s uc u a ion o e i o ies (F ecce o, 2015; Sheko eh
e al., 2020; Wilson & Bowman, 2018). Consequen ly, building s ones ep esen aluable
a chaeoma e ials and hei ela ed qua ies can be conside ed as ‘a chi es o pas landscapes’
(Be an & Bloxam, 2016).
A his o ical e iew o unde g ound qua ying is included in Supplemen a y Da a 1. This
ac i i y was sca ce h oughou his o y compa ed o open-cas exploi a ions. Locally, he
inc eased demand o sui able s one o cons uc ion and he sca ci y o such ma e ial in na u al
ou c ops p omo ed he de elopmen o unde g ound qua ies o con inue exploi ing la e ally
speci ic ocky olumes (A anasio e al., 2015; Mileusni
c e al., 2019; S o emy & Heldal, 2017).
Unde g ound wo ks implied addi ional enginee ing challenges ela ed o g oundwa e and he
s abili y o he galle ies (Gao e al., 2019; Pe o i e al., 2019). E en hough echnical simila i-
ies exis be ween open-cas and unde g ound qua ies, pa icula echniques we e applied o
sea ch o s able and cos -e ec i e ma e ial (Mileusni
c e al., 2019; Pi ko, 2018;Rožicˇ
e al., 2018). Unde g ound qua ies usually exploi ed ca bona e ocks since i s ela i e high
cemen a ion a ou s he s abili y o exca a ion olumes, allowing he na u al p ese a ion o
la ge, exca a ed galle ies wi hou any suppo s uc u e (Gao e al., 2019; Sco o di San olo
e al., 2015).
Resea ch conduc ed in ancien unde g ound qua ies ocused mainly on he a chaeological
aspec s o such ancien s uc u es (Pi ko, 2017; S o emy & Heldal, 2017; Tziligkaki &
S ama akis, 2016). These s udies combined a a ie y o me hods such as he collec ion o his o -
ical documen s (e.g., ancien pic u es, maps) and he analysis o ool ma ks and insc ip ions o
de ine he exca a ion echnique and geome y o he qua ies. A chaeological s udies we e
usually complemen ed by he geological cha ac e iza ion o he exploi ed s one ia op ical
mic oscopy and geochemical analysis in o de o ace he o igins o dimensional s ones used in
landma k buildings (A anasio e al., 2015; B illi e al., 2018; Ko kanç, 2018). All his da a we e
compiled in a egional o a na ional da abase (Hyslop e al., 2010; Russell, 2017; Shawa by
e al., 2009), some imes using geog aphical in o ma ion sys ems (O bons, 2018; Tu mel
e al., 2016). In addi ion, qua ies we e in es iga ed o assess he quali y o he p oduced s one
(De Kock e al., 2015; Ko kanç, 2018) o he s abili y o he s uc u e h oughou geophysical
in es iga ions (Al Heib e al., 2015; Gao e al., 2019; Pe o i e al., 2019).
The echnological knowledge o unde g ound qua ying ac i i y speci ically o he medie-
al and mode n pe iods is poo ly in es iga ed. Use ul da a such as a es o s one p oduc ion
and quan i ied olume o exca a ed s ones emain di icul o econs uc . Ou s udy in es i-
ga es a la ge ancien unde g ound qua y wi h 12 km o galle ies exca a ed since he medie al
pe iod. The qua y named Caumon and loca ed in No mandy, no he n F ance, had a
egional ele ance in he p oduc ion o he No mandy chalks one, a building s one designa ed
as Global He i age S one Resou ce o i s ele an his o ical ole (Balles e os e al., 2021). Ou
wo k aims o de ine he echnological knowledge de eloped in Caumon qua y by
econs uc ing he exca a ion echniques and in e ing p oduc ion and exca a ion a es. Fo
ha , a mul idisciplina y app oach was conduc ed combining geoma ics, a chaeological, geolog-
ical and geoch onological echniques.
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SETTINGS
The Seine alley has been ex ensi ely qua ied wi h dozens o unde g ound exca a ed galle ies
o supply building s one o Pa is and su oundings a eas o no he n F ance since Roman imes
(F on eau e al., 2010). His o ical qua ying in he Caumon a ea is loca ed be ween La Bouille
and Mauny, on he sou h bank o he Ri e Seine, 25 km sou hwes o Rouen (Figu e 1). A
huge olume o chalks one was expo ed om his a ea o he buildings o he Seine Valley du -
ing he Middle Ages (Balles e os e al., 2021) and ollowing cen u ies, compe ing wi h o he
cons uc ion wo kshops in Caen, Ve non and Pa is, among o he s (Duja din, 2004,2006). The
qua ied bed ock in Caumon co esponds o dedolomi ized chalk, a singula coccoli hic lime-
s one o he Uppe C e aceous in age (Balles e os e al., 2020,2021). This qua ying a ea
includes mo e han 10 exploi a ions (e.g., Caumon , Maquisa ds, Pylone, Jacqueline); he majo
one is speci ically named Caumon qua y (Sibou , 2011; Toma , 2009), he openings o which
a e loca ed a 200 m om he Ri e Seine (Figu e 1b).
His o ical wo ks e ealed ha he Caumon qua ying a ea was ac i e om he Middle
Ages o 1906 CE, supplying s one o buildings loca ed along he lowe Seine alley
(Duja din, 2004,2006; La din, 1998,2016). Recen ly, geoa chaeological s udies sugges ed ha
Caumon p o ided s ones du ing he 10 h–14 h cen u ies, o buildings loca ed 40 km away
om he qua y si e (Balles e os e al., 2022). This p o ision a ea, la ge han wha is known
FIGURE 1 (a) Loca ion o Caumon qua y in Wes e n-Cen al Eu ope. (b) Geological map o he su oundings
o Caumon qua y, showing geological o ma ions (Fms) as de ined in Lasseu e al. (2009). Geological da a a e a e
he Bu eau de Reche ches Géologiques e Miniè es (Quesnel e al., 2008; Van Lin e al., 2003). (c) Caumon qua y and
o he nea by unde g ound exploi a ions [Colo igu e can be iewed a wileyonlinelib a y.com]
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o medie al qua ies, was acili a ed by he lu ial mean o anspo along he Seine. Coe ally
o he lou ishing indus ial ac i i y o Caumon , he Duchy o No mandy was ounded and
expanded du ing he High and La e Middle Ages (Webbe , 2005). The cons uc ion o ema k-
able buildings in No mandy as well as in England equi ed supplying s one ma e ial p o ided
by qua ies such as Caumon .
METHODOLOGY
The mul idisciplina y me hodology combines geoma ics and a chaeological, geological and
geoch onological echniques (see Supplemen a y Da a 2—Figu e S2.1).
Geoma ics
A 2D opog aphical su ey and wo 3D models o Caumon qua y we e comple ed o c ea e a
base map o he qua y and o conduc a spa ial analysis o he qua y geome y and exca a ion
echniques. Open-cas and unde g ound galle ies we e su eyed a a 1:200 scale based on
30 ixed s a ions loca ed a he qua y en ances. Galle ies we e su eyed using he polyline
me hod, ca ying ou 1629 s a ions and 1801 su ey sho s be ween s a ions. Each sho was mea-
su ed by a calib a ed Dis o X2 de ice T immis (2018), p ocessing 12,607 i ems o da a in Com-
pass so wa e (Fish, 2001). Finally, he qua y mas was designed in A cGIS, showing a global
e o es ima ed a 1.8 1.5% conside ing he closing e o and leng h o 109 closed su ey
polylines.
The qua y’s olume was modelled a low and high esolu ion. The low- esolu ion 3D
model includes he en i e exca a ed galle ies, p o iding a global ision and geome ical pa ame-
e s de ined in Supplemen a y Da a 2—Table S2.1. This model esul ed om he 2D su ey
and was cons uc ed by join ing 1801 cuboids de ined be ween su ey s a ions in Compass
(Fish, 2001). The high- esolu ion 3D model comp ises only a pa o he Caumon qua y sys-
em (Les Maquisa ds) and was comple ed o iden i y mo e speci ic echniques such as changing
pa e ns in he exploi a ion sys em. Les Maquisa ds 3D model, o ming 24% o he Caumon
qua y sys em, was de i ed om 198 scanning s a ions acqui ed by means o he e es ial lase
scanne (TSL) FARO Focus M 70. Acqui ed poin clouds we e il e ed, e ined and assembled
in o a single cloud using he T imble Realwo k, and he subsequen closed iangula ed model
was elabo a ed a 10 mm p ecision using 3D Reshape so wa e.
A chaeological p ospec ion
A chaeological e idence o he exploi a ion sys em in Caumon qua y comp ises all he ypes
o uses in an unde g ound qua y, such as exca a ion s uc u es and side ec angula galle ies,
oolma ks and un inished wo ks. All his e idence was ep esen ed in he qua y map and in e-
g a ed in A cGIS.
Geology
Geological analysis was conduc ed o cha ac e ize he qua ied s one sou ce o iden i y he
ancien qua ying me hod. These analyses include geological mapping a a 1:1000 scale, elabo-
a ion o he s a ig aphical sec ion o exploi ed benches, mic oscopical analyses, (11 samples)
and analyses o ock massi discon inui ies (92 ac u es and join s).
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Geoch onology
Two speleo hems p ecipi a ed inside he unde g ound galle ies we e da ed by he
230
Th/
234
U
me hod o es ablish a maximum age o he qua y opening, as bo h speleo hems we e p ecipi-
a ed a e he beginning o he exca a ions. Se en samples (70–270 mg) we e aken espec i ely
along he g ow h axis (di e en dep hs) o Maq speleo hem ( ou samples) and CAU
speleo hem ( h ee samples) using a mic o d ill and ollowing he chemical p epa a ion desc ibed
in Pons-B anchu e al. (2014). U and Th we e analysed on he Nep une Plus Plasma mul i-
collec o induc i ely coupled plasma mass spec ome e ins alled a he LSCE/IPSL (Gi su
Y e e, F ance). Fo age co ec ion (o
230
Th om he de i al con amina ion), wo app oaches
we e used: he i s one is based on a ixed
230
Th/
232
Th a io o he de i al ac ion, and he
second one is based on he ‘s a ig aphical cons ain ’app oach (Hells om, 2006). He e, he
STRUTage ou ine (Roy-Ba man & Pons-B anchu, 2016) was used o his co ec ion.
Qua ying me hods
The qua ying me hods we e econs uc ed o cha ac e ize he unde g ound qua ying de el-
oped in Caumon since he medie al pe iod. The combina ion be ween he geological da a, ol-
ume o galle ies, exca a ion geome y and ool ma ks allowed us o ex apola e he a e and
olume o s one p oduc ion. The exca a ion o he lin y laye s and o he beds, as well as o he
wo ks, gene a ed was e deposi s pa ially used o o he applica ions, such as ubbles one
employed o walls and ounda ions o o lime p oduc ion (Balles e os e al., 2021). The ol-
ume and p oduc ion a e o he was e deposi s can be also es ima ed conside ing he olume o
he unde g ound qua y, he s one p oduc ion a e and a swell (o bulking) ac o . The alue o
he swell ac o would be 50% wi hou compac ing a e was e accumula ion in chalk bed ocks
(En wisle e al., 2015). Qua ying concep s and pa ame e s a e de ined in Supplemen a y Da a
2—Tables S2.1 and S2.2.
RESULTS
The geome y o he qua y
The Caumon qua y sys em comp ises open-cas exploi a ions and an o hogonal ne wo k o
12 km o galle ies loca ed 110 m below he pla eau su ace (Figu es 2and 3). Acco ding o he
3D modelling, he loo su ace o he unde g ound qua y is 212,648 m
2
(Table 1), which
80% co espond o galle ies o 12–15 m wide and up o 8 m heigh . The emaining 20% ep e-
sen s he ex ension o h ee open-cas exploi a ions (Figu e 2a). The qua y olume is
1,655,940 m
3
(Table 1). 78% o he olume co esponds o he galle ies and 22% o open-cas
cu ings. In he galle ies, he olume o he exca a ed ock pe me e ad anced by he exploi a-
ion on (speci ic olume) is 108 m
3
each.
The Caumon qua y is di ided in wo sec o s named A and B (Figu e 2; see also qua y pic-
u es in Supplemen a y Da a 2—Figu e S2.2). Sec o A co esponds o he cen al and eas e n
pa s o he qua y and includes all he en ances, ou o hem blocked by ock all deposi s.
Sec o A comp ises galle ies o 400 m long and N 110–120E di ec ion, in e connec ed by
smalle galle ies o N 10–20E di ec ion. This geome ical con igu a ion gene a ed ec angula
pilla s o 20–30 m wide and up o 285 m long. Two ypes o galle ies a e ecognized in sec o A:
main galle ies and con ou ing galle ies.
The main galle ies co espond o passages o 15 m wide and 8 m heigh . A he en ances o
he qua y, he ceilings and walls o he main galle ies a e wea he ed and some imes enla ged o
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pa ially closed by ock all p ocesses. Was e deposi s up o 7 m hickness co e he loo . The con-
ou ing galle ies (e.g., sapes de con ou nemen in F ench) (Figu e 2) p esen ec angula sec ions o
0.5 m wide and 2 m heigh and a e in wo speci ic loca ions. The i s is a he uppe co ne s o he
main galle ies and pa allel o he de elopmen o hese galle ies. Pa allel con ou ing galle ies a e
well p ese ed in he un inished exploi a ion on s as well a he op o he main galle ies. The sec-
ond loca ion is pe pendicula o he axes o he main galle ies, as shown along he ceiling.
Sec o B is loca ed a he Wes e n and deepes pa o he qua y (Figu e 2), hence his sec-
o is younge han sec o A. I comp ises well-p ese ed cuboid-like galle ies o 12 m wide and
5 m heigh , displaying exploi a ion benches a he end. This sec o o ms a ne wo k o cuboid-
like galle ies (<200 m) wi h N 100–110E di ec ion, while o he s a e longe , wi h an N10–20E
FIGURE 2 (a) Map o he Caumon qua y showing he open-cas a ea and he unde g ound sec o s A and B, as
well as he in e cep ed ka s ca es s udied by Nehme e al. (2020). The map esul ed om he 2D opog aphical su ey
o que qua y. (b) Low- esolu ion 3D model o Caumon unde g ound qua y [Colo igu e can be iewed a
wileyonlinelib a y.com]
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di ec ion (Figu e 2a). The galle ies a e in e connec ed each 20–30 m, o ming ec angula
unqua ied pilla s o 10–30 m wide. The ceilings and loo s a e espec i ely 1 and 4 m highe
han he galle ies o sec o A. Was e deposi s o <2 m hickness co e he loo o sec o B.
Exploi a ion benches, oolma ks and g oundwa e collec ion sys em
In sec o B, he exploi a ion on s loca ed a he end o cuboid-like galle ies (Figu e 2a) com-
p ise ou on al s epped benches, each o 1 m heigh (exploi a ion benches a e documen ed in
FIGURE 3 (a) Wes pa o he qua y map showing ceiling oolma ks, exca a ion p og ess and examples o
exploi a ion phases and co ne s. (b) Ceiling oolma ks shown by he high- esolu ion 3D model, indica ing he di ec ion
o he exploi a ion in Les Maquisa ds pa . (c) 3D geome y o he galle ies. The s a ing poin s o sec o B a e
indica ed (whi e do s) in he h ee sec ions, he posi ions o which a e shown in Figu e 2A [Colo igu e can be iewed a
wileyonlinelib a y.com]
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Supplemen a y Da a 2—Figu e S2.2). No e ha he s epped benches ep esen un inished
wo ks jus below he shee lin . O he ea u es such as e ical enches exploi ed la e ally we e
some imes iden i ied. The p ese ed cu s indica e ha he benches we e usually exploi ed om
he op o he bo om and om he igh o he le . Occasionally, ex ac ed s ones o 1 m wide
we e s o ed o abandoned inside he qua y and we e la e co e ed by p ecipi a ed calci e
laye s. The ka s ca es (Figu e 2; Nehme e al., 2020) disco e ed du ing he exca a ion migh
ha e hampe ed he qua ying ac i i y.
Toolma ks we e iden i ied in he unde g ound galle ies and documen ed ( oolma ks a e
de ailed in Supplemen a y Da a 2—Table S2.3 and Figu e S2.3). The walls in sec o A p ese e
some ma ks caused by i on peaks, especially in he con ou ing galle ies, whe e homogeneous
ma ks due o chisels a e e y common. In sec o B, he walls and he on o he exploi a ion
benches show ma ks ela ed o he impac o a lance (i on ba s o 1 m long), as desc ibed in
Sibou (2011). The ceiling o he cuboid-like galle ies shows ho izon al ma ks due o a lance.
These oolma ks ha e an asymme ic p o ile showing a clea di ec ion o he exca a ions in sec-
o B. The on al exca a ion exploi ed, i s , galle ies owa ds he no hwes and, second,
owa ds he sou hwes e n and no heas e n pa s (Figu e 3a). As o he la e al exca a ion pa -
e n, oolma ks a e iden i ied in he 3D model and ela ed o la e al exca a ion o he longi udi-
nal galle ies, o ming addi ional small co ne s (Figu e 3b,c).
TABLE 1 Geome ical pa ame e s o he Caumon qua y de i ed om a low- esolu ion 3D model. Calcula ions
and pa ame e s a e de ailed in Supplemen a y Da a 2—Table S2.1. The hickness o was e deposi s is based on ield
su ey
Pa ame e Uni s
Comple e
qua y
Open-cas
qua y
Unde g ound qua y
En i e Sec o A Sec o B
Type o wo ks –– Open cas
wo ks
–Main
galle ies
Con ou ing
galle ies
Cuboid galle ies
wi h s ai s-
shaped benches
Qua y a ea m
2
212,648 41,510 171,138 126,818 44,320
Qua y olume m
3
1,655,940 357,650 1,298,290 1,091,069 207,221
Unde g ound galle ies
Qua y speci ic
olume
m
3
m
1
–– 108 133 54
Qua y leng h m –– 12,024 8,199 3,825
Galle y main
o ien a ions
Deg. –– N 110–120E
N10–20E
N 110–120E
N10–20E
N 100–110E
N10–20E
Galle y a e age
diame e
m–– 10.4 11.7 7.3
Galle y a e age
wid h
m–– 13.5 15.3 11.6
Galle y a e age
heigh
m–– 5.1 7.9 4.6
Galle y ceiling
al i ude
m–– 19 19 20
Galle y loo al i ude m –– 12 11 15
Galle y wall su ace m
2
–– 505,537 426,089 79,448
Was e deposi s
in e ed hickness
m–<15 –<7 <2
856 BALLESTEROS ET AL.
14754754, 2022, 4, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/a cm.12758 by Uni e sidad De G anada, Wiley Online Lib a y on [03/12/2024]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License
A chaeological emains include a wa e collec ion sys em ha de i ed he g oundwa e o
he Robo s s eam (see Supplemen a y Da a 2—Figu e S2.4). The collec ion sys em includes a
wa e channel and an aqueduc . The wa e channel is made o wood wi h small i on ba s. The
p ese ed pa o he channel is 155 m long, c ossing he qua y galle ies and ka s ca es. The
o al leng h o he s uc u e is es ima ed o be 470 m. The aqueduc is made mainly o wo s one
walls. O he non-p ese ed pa s would ha e been made o wood. The wa e sys em d ained he
wa e om he majo ca e condui named Robo s s eam.
Geology
S a ig aphy o he qua ied bed ock
The lowe Coniacian chalk limes one, wi h many ha dg ounds, lin nodules and shee
lin s, was mainly exploi ed (a s a ig aphical sec ion and mic oscopical analyses o he
qua ied bed ock a e shown in Supplemen a y Da a 2—Figu es S2.5, S2.6 and S2.7). Ha d-
g ounds a e eddish o g eenish beds, cemen ed by ca bona es, oxides and/o phospha es
and, equen ly, a ec ed by bio u ba ion (Mo imo e, 2011). Two ha dg ounds ha e
egional ex ension, named Bel al and Epi en in No mandy (Hoyez, 2008), and Cli and
Hope ha dg ounds in England (Mo imo e, 2019). Flin nodules o 2–20 cm in diame e a e
concen a ed in eigh s a i ied beds o 10–20 cm hickness in e bedded in he chalk s a a.
The shee lin is a con inuous laye , usually pa allel o he bedding, o med by 2–5cmo
he Hope Gap lin (Mo imo e, 2019). Hope Gap Shee lin is loca ed in he uppe pa
o he qua y galle ies and is some imes di ided in o wo shee lin s sepa a ed by less han
1m.
Caumon chalks one is a homogeneous whi e limes one classi ied as a dedolomi ized bio-
mic i e made o 5–40% mic i e and comp ising nanoscopic agmen s o coccoli hs, 5–40% o
hombohed al moulds, 5–25% o bioclas s and less han 5% o Mn–Ti–Fe oxides. Rhombohe-
d al moulds a e oids o 10–200 μm in size de i ed om he dissolu ion o c ys als o dolomi e
o med du ing diagenesis. Some imes, he moulds a e illed wi h calci e. Bioclas s a e agmen s
o echinode ms, calcisphe es and o amini e s, he abundance o which inc eases in he uppe
and lowe pa s o he exploi ed s a a. Some bioclas s o b yozoans, bi al es and gas opods
can be iden i ied unde he op ical mic oscope.
The combina ion o his o ical documen s, ield su ey and pe ology enables a co ela ion
be ween he s a ig aphical sec ion and he exploi ed beds. S a i ied lin nodules a e sepa a ed
by 0.4–1 m and ma k he limi s o he exploi ed beds. The la e a e loca ed below he shee lin
a he op o he galle ies. This shee lin was p obably used as a guiding laye du ing s one
ex ac ion since i is loca ed on he ceiling o sec o A.
Pe ophysical and mechanical p ope ies a e summa ized in Balles e os e al. (2021). The
s one ma e ial wi h he highes mechanical quali y co esponds o he G os Lien bed as a esul
o i s ela i e high alues o ha dness, pene a ion esis ance and comp ession s eng h. Indeed,
he G os Lien bed shows abundan hombohed al moulds illed by calci e ela ed o he de el-
opmen o ha dg ounds du ing chalk diagenesis. Consequen ly, he occu ence o ha dg ounds
(de ailed in Balles e os e al., 2020) explains he quali y o he Caumon chalks one as a his o i-
cal cons uc ion ma e ial.
Massi ock discon inui ies
The bedding is he main bed ock discon inui y and dips 2–3 o he sou hwes , desc ibing a gen-
le old, he axis o which is loca ed mo e o he no heas . F ac u es and join s cons i u e wo
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Addi ional suppo ing in o ma ion may be ound in he online e sion o he a icle a he pub-
lishe ’s websi e.
How o ci e his a icle: Balles e os, D., Nehme, C., Roussel, B., Delisle, F.,
Pons-B anchu, E., & Mou alis, D. (2022). His o ical unde g ound qua ying: A
mul idisciplina y esea ch in he Caumon qua y (c. 13 h–19 h cen u ies), F ance.
A chaeome y,64(4), 849–865. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/a cm.12758
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