- Another look at the definitions
“An old shape but a more and more precise representation”
We can speak of the old shape because the shape of the Orne estuary was already being drawn on maps from the 17th century, even if the entire landscape would later be disrupted by the building of the canal. However, these are not the same details that appear since they are subject to the author’s objective and the map’s finished result. Thus:
- An ancient topographical map = knowledge of the territory and the places of worship, a sort of religious mapping of the territory.
- Maritime chart = navigating safely, getting from A to B.
The representation is more and more precise as the survey techniques on the ground improve. The work of Cassini, who used a triangulation technique, is particularly well known. Under Napoleon 1, new surveys were carried out between 1827 and 1866. Notably, because of the scale of the representation, it is difficult to quantify a margin of error.
Extract from the Bayeux Diocese map – Outhier-Jaillot 1736 (Sources: BNF)
Extract from Cassini’s map – 1756 to 1789 (Sources: Géoportail)
Ouistreham – Napoleonic cadastral survey 1807 (Sources: ©Archives of Calvados)
Extract from the Etat-major map – 1827 (Sources: Géoportail)
Extract from Beautemps-Beaupré map – 1836 edition (Sources BNF)
Extract from the local services map – 1880-1940 (Sources: Pierre Touzard Collection, distributed by SOGEFI)
- The estuary
On the old maps, we can distinguish two types of terrain on both sides of the Orne estuary river mouth:
- Siège Point, although composed of sand dunes, seems to belong to the strictly land domain,
- Merville Point, seems to belong to the domain linked to the tides.
You will see what perhaps was the beginning of the appearance of the land part of Melville Point.
A beginning of the point – Extract from the Outhier-Jaillot map, 1736
Although Melville Point on the Outhier-Jaillot map in 1736 is represented by a large intertidal zone, we can see that later in the 19th century on the Beautemps-Beaupré map (1839) and the Etat-major map (1837) that the point is part of a dune cordon. The presence of the Redoute de Merville built at the end of the 18th century confirms that this part of the coast no longer emerged at each tide.
In addition, if we look closer at the Beautemps-Beaupré map or the Etat-major map, we can see that the first dikes were built higher upstream on the Orne, fixing there and then the coast line in that area, and, above all, allowing the first reclaiming of land.
The Beautemps-Beaupré map (Sources : Bibliothèque nationale de France)
- Ground occupancy
By examining the old maps we can also identify the old marsh areas. We can see on the ground that these are often the first areas affected by flooding.
The Etat-major map, 1837 (Sources : Géoportail)
