Notes on the annals of Land Surveying

Notes on the annals of Land Surveying

Land surveying is among the oldest professions in the world. Since man has decided that a part of land should belong to a tribe, the need for surveying began.

Land surveying is fascinating. The methods used seek to decide which part of land belongs to whom, hopefully ending arguments once and for all.

In a nutshell, surveying is really a process using mathematical means to survey land.

The initial accounts of surveying land dates back to ancient Egypt. Experts have found evidences that the ancient Egyptians used basic geometry to redraw the lines of boundary when the Nile River overflowed. An Egyptian land register dating back to to 3000 BC was also found.

Following the Egyptians, the Romans - also just about the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world - practiced land surveying. They took it one step further and made "land surveyor" the official position within the Empire. They were called agrimensores, also known as Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum. Although they used very simple tools, these were very thorough making use of their jobs and would create straight lines and correct angles by using these tools. Following the lines were measured, they would create shallow ditches to mark the lines. In fact, a number of the furrows they made still exist today.

Among  https://propertyinspectionsnw.com/  recorded land surveying of the "modern" times is that of William the Conqueror who wrote the Domesday Book in 1086. This book is actually a list of names of land owners, how much land they owned and other information regarding the land. While it was an amazing quantity of information during this time period, the bits of information weren't 100% correct. The locations were not accurate and the maps weren't made to scale.



Among history's greatest icons was also a devoted surveyor - Napoleon Bonaparte. The fascination with surveying land was actually just something of his want to conquer the world. Napoleon Bonaparte founded a registry called the cadastre. This consists of a registry of properties of a county, ownership details, locations and as much information about the land's value. Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte can be considered a land surveyor - and an extremely smart man.

The techniques used for land surveying also have evolved on the centuries. A long time ago, people would use whatever may help them determine the length from one point to another. This means using chains with links and even ropes. Needless to say, this didn't give accurate results but they didn't have the technology we now have back then.

Today, land surveyors have the very best technologies to help them making use of their job. There is GPS, or Global Positioning System, which is probably the most accurate technologies used today. Total stations may also be very important to a land surveyor, which employs using an EDM or Electronic Distance Measurement device along with a theodolite that allows for more precise angle and distance measurements.