The History of Land Surveying
Land surveying is just about the oldest professions around the world. Ever since man has decided that a section of land should be owned by a tribe, the necessity of surveying began.
Land surveying is fascinating. The ways used try to select which section of land is owned by whom, hopefully ending arguments forever.
To put it briefly, surveying is a process using mathematical methods to survey land.
The very first accounts of surveying land starts back to ancient Egypt. Experts discovered evidences which the ancient Egyptians used basic geometry to redraw the lines of boundary when the Nile River overflowed. An Egyptian land register dating back 3000 BC was found.
Following the Egyptians, the Romans – also one of the popular powerful civilizations of the ancient world – practiced land surveying. They took it a stride further and made “land surveyor” a state position throughout the Empire. They were called agrimensores, sometimes called Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum.
Despite the fact that used simple tools, they were very thorough with their jobs and would create straight lines and correct angles with the aid of these tools. As soon as the lines were measured, they would create shallow ditches to mark the lines. The fact is, much of the furrows they created remain today.
Among the recorded land surveying in the “modern” times belongs to William the Conqueror who wrote the Domesday Book in 1086. This book serves as a directory names of land owners, the number of land they owned together with other specifics about the land. Even though it was a magnificent quantity of information during this time period, the pieces of information were not 100% correct. The locations weren’t accurate and the maps were not built to scale.
Amongst history’s greatest icons have also been an enthusiastic surveyor – Napoleon Bonaparte. The interest in surveying land was really just a product of his wish to conquer the earth. Napoleon Bonaparte founded a registry named the cadastre. This includes a registry of properties of a county, ownership details, locations and as much information about the land’s value. Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte can be viewed as a land surveyor – and a very smart man.
The strategies used by land surveying have also evolved over the centuries, over time. In the past, people would use most things might help them determine the length from one point to another. It indicates using chains with links and also ropes. As expected, this didn’t give accurate results but they did not have the technology we’ve got in those days.
Today, land surveyors hold the best technologies to help them with their job. There exists GPS, or Global Positioning System, which is by far the most accurate technologies being utilized today. Total stations are also crucial to a land surveyor, which employs using an EDM or Electronic Distance Measurement device along with a theodolite that enables for further precise angle and distance measurements.