Surveying

Surveying is the art and science of accurately determining the position of points and the distances between them. These points are usually, but not exclusively, associated with positions on the surface of the Earth, and are often used to establish land boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes.

Origins

Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of recorded history. In Ancient Egypt, when the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, boundaries were re-established through the application of simple geometry. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. 2700 BC, affirm the ancient Egyptians' command of surveying.

Related Topics:
Ancient Egypt - Nile River - Overflow - Farm - Geometry - Great Pyramid of Giza - 2700 BC

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The Egyptian land register (3000 BC). In Rome, the tax register of conquered lands(300 AD).

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In England, The Domesday Book by William the Conqueror(1086)

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• covered whole England
• contained names of the land owners, area, land's quality and specific information of the area's content and habitants.
• did not include maps to tell exactly where the place was

Continental Europe's Cadastre was born in 1808

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• founded by Napoleon I (Bonaparte), "A good cadastre will be my greatest achievement in my civil law", Napoleon I.
• contained numbers of the parcels of land (or just land), land usage, names etc. and value of the land
• 100 million parcels of land, triangle survey, measuretable survey, map scale: 1:2500 and 1:1250
• spreaded fast around Europe, but faced problems especially in Mediterranean countries, Balkan and Eastern Europe due to cadastre upkeep costs and troubles.

A cadastre loses its value if register and maps are not updated all the time.

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Large scale surveys are a necessary pre-requisite to map-making. In the late 1780s a team from the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain, originally under General William Roy began the Principal Triangulation of Britain using the specially built Ramsden theodolite.

Related Topics:
Ordnance Survey - William Roy - Principal Triangulation of Britain - Ramsden theodolite

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