A Brief History Of The Tools Used While Performing Land Surveys

When a section of earth is going to have a building or road built on it, land surveys must be performed. In order to have the boundaries properly mapped, a surveyor who uses special equipment and techniques is hired. In addition to tools the surveyor uses special techniques that involve the use of law, engineering, trigonometry, geometry, physics and math.

The process of surveying was first recorded in the times of ancient Egypt where architects used a rope to create boundaries when the River Nile flowed over its banks. Along with creating new boundaries the Egyptians used this method to help them create their monuments as well. After the Egyptians began the work, more instances involving these methods came to light.

Later in history the monument Stonehenge was constructed and archaeologists of today believe that the people who built it relied upon surveying tools. The tools that are believed to have been used include a rope and peg model. While this was going on the Greeks created a new tool called a Groma and it was so well liked that the Romans imported it for use in Rome.

The new tool from Mesopotamia was used in constructing a number of buildings all across the Roman Empire. The tool was also used in Rome to divide up the spoils of war so they could be handed out to the important people of the time. Along with Rome the Arab Nation began creating their own style of tools that were considered specialized when they were created.

A few tools include the use of an Astrolabe which was used by many professions during that time period. It is still used today in some form or another in the time of the first surveyors it was used for mapping the stars. Other tools were used as well and include a triangle with a plumb line connected to it and two hooks along with a plumb line attached to a straight board.

Towards the end of the 90s the equipment used were quite advanced compared to the ones used during Egyptian times. One said tool is a Theodolite which was mounted upon a tripod and used to measure angles such as vertical and horizontal. The measurements were used with the process of triangulation to complete the survey measurement information.

Since the 90s a new tool has taken the place of its predecessor the Theodolite and that is a total station. This new and improved tool is designed to sit upon a tripod as well, only it has a built in computer system. The computer is used to send information to a satellite that then transmits it to a remote computer for review.

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