Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://www.traianvs.net/pdfs/surveying.pdf
“…Specifically, because the Earth is round and its surface is generally very uneven, the
ancients realised the need to take plane projection measurements in as many dimensions
as possible. They knew perfectly well that any measurement on the ground had to be
placed in a projection onto its horizontal plane, not only in the interests of accuracy but of
pure justice.
It is often asked by what method one can reduce to a horizontal projection an area of
ground that is on a slope. In effect it is as though one were to flatten the higher areas so
as to reduce them to a plain.
The nature of seeds themselves prove this method: because the ground on a slope cannot
be regarded as horizontal, everything that sprouts from the ground grows vertically into the
air, and, as it grows, disregards the slope of the ground, and takes up no more space than
if it were to grow from a plain.
If all seeds were to germinate at right angles to the slope, we would measure according to
the configuration of the area; but, since the slope contains no greater number of rows of
trees than the...
...corresponding surface on flat ground, one can consider the horizontal projection of the
ground as that which one must measure8.
In this way they represented the ground by drawing the survey from their measuring efforts
with the same precision as is known to ourselves. Also they drew up their maps and plans
in such a way that one can make accurate measurements from them and compare any
information taken from them with the ground if it were required or transfer the established
limits or lines that are relevant to any topographic work one undertake.
The totality of the scientific knowledge that they possessed, together with the techniques
needed for its application, allowed the Roman engineers to apply excellent surveying
abilities. For this they also required instruments of sufficient accuracy, which they
assuredly possessed, because otherwise they could not have reached those important
achievements that arose from that civilization.
Enormously long aqueducts (over 100 km. – 60 miles long); with very low slopes, carefully
calculated along its whole length, and often over continuous lengths. Extraordinarily long
straight lines of highways, sometimes more than 50 km. (39 miles) long, big dams made to
spill their water at a specific point and at a specific fill level, large flooded areas,
sometimes enormous, surface drainage areas, made by breaking the endorheism over a
long distance with very costly channels, precisely traced and levelled. None of this could
be the result of chance; rather is it the well developed, exact, advanced, surveying
knowledge, which was available to the Romans…
… Groma: This instrument is probably the best studied and known of those used in
antiquity. It has been the subject of varied hypotheses and also of essays on experimental
archaeology…. …Despite all this, its use does not seem to have been interpreted with
adequate success….
…It is a very rudimentary tool for making alignments at right angles to one another, a
surveyor's square as primitive as it is inaccurate. According to some authors, this
instrument, already known in Greece, came to Rome through the Etruscan culture…
…Measuring, fixing and drawing onto maps, of parcels of land is one of the most ancient
tasks entrusted to the science of surveying. Its religious character reached its greatest
expression in Roman times. We have already seen that the groma, despite being an
inadequate instrument for such tasks, continues to be associated with Roman surveyors,
probably because of the ritual characteristics represented by both the instrument and the
surveying process.
…Not only has the water to arrive perfectly at its destination, but also there must not be
difficulties on the channel as a result of inadequate velocity of the liquid on its journey.
Obviously, the ideal speed of the water needs to be known with relation to the type of
lining of the channel, and the characteristics of the liquid itself. Sediment and obstructions
can lead to as many problems in the life of the channel as erosions. However, once this
optimum velocity is established, by means of the relevant techniques already existing, and
once the volume is known and the water level, the slope of the channel will be the one that
ensures the fulfilment of the desired parameters.
This delicate balancing, laid a lot of responsibility on the engineers engaged on the
construction of these works, starting with the surveyors. The Romans, nonetheless knew
how to achieve this balancing so magnificently in the great majority of the aqueducts that
can be observed even today….
… For this reason levelling with the chorobate was not carried out over distances of more
than 70-80 m. (75-85 yards). Levellings over these distances are not recommended to be
carried out today either…
… On occasions, however, levelling becomes convenient, and even necessary, over long
distances. In those cases, knowing the important results of this error, the Romans made
the required corrections…
… Drilling of galleries.
Tunnels were often constructed in Roman public works. Perhaps where the greatest
problems were to be found was in the construction of galleries for the flow of water, of
which there were many. We should bear in mind that, in an aqueduct, underground
conduiting constituted the largest proportion of the work, and was very different from
stretches built on the surface or on arches.
The narrowness and small dimensions of the gallery made construction very difficult, as
well as its planning on the level and in height…
… We can, however, be sure that none of the great aqueducts of antiquity would have
been constructed by these methods. Roman engineers possessed excellent surveying and
mathematical knowledge, as well as instruments sufficiently powerful to complete these
works successfully. Confirmation of the degree of perfection can be found in the high
geometrical standards of their actual works.
Trigonometry was probably better understood than the Romans have been given credit for,
so that there were few problems beyond their capability. As so often occurs in surveying,
there is more than one way of arriving at the same solution…”
https://erenow.com/ancient/ancient-perspectives/6.php
“…The theodolite, too, measures angles; but because in Greek and Roman times
trigonometry, which handles angles, was in its earliest infancy, ancient surveyors worked
with Euclidian geometry. Even so, the early modern surveyor’s approach to leveling was
broadly similar…
.. Maps of large areas were compiled essentially by observation of the altitude of the sun
and stars. Ptolemy’s Geography goes hand in hand with the Almagest, his great work on
astronomy… Although we know deplorably little about the methods employed, maps of
smaller areas must have been surveyed with equipment designed for terrestrial use. Such
maps include cadasters of land boundaries, of which… the great marble map of Rome…
and the long-lost maps which we know existed of Rome’s aqueducts.⁶ This said, however,
it does seem that surveying instruments were used less for recording existing features
than for creating new ones—setting out rectangular grids for city streets and land division,
establishing routes for roads, meticulously fitting aqueducts into the landscape in order to
obtain reasonable gradients, and, hardest of all, driving tunnels so that the ends met….
…Nowadays, when the primary leveling is completed, its accuracy is checked by taking
“flying levels” back to the starting point. In theory this will bring the cumulative height
difference back to zero, although in practice a closing error is tolerated, provided it falls
within strictly defined limits. If Greek surveyors had done the same, they too could have
found how accurate or inaccurate their survey had been, but there is complete silence in
the manuals about any such check. What the Greek world required of its surveyors was
probably for the most part nowhere near as stringent as today’s demands. But once again
a sharp distinction must be drawn between Greek and Roman achievements and
therefore, one might deduce, between Greek and Roman requirements. On Roman
aqueducts, the smallest error could turn a potential success into an abject failure. For all
we know (which for Roman procedures is very little), Roman surveyors may have taken
flying levels to check their results….
…It is natural to turn next to Roman roads. In mountainous country the Romans had the
good sense to fit their roads to the landscape in order to avoid impossible gradients. But
on more gentle ground, many of their roads are renowned for running straight as an arrow
over hill and dale, mile after mile. When they do change direction, it is usually on a high
point, which is understandable. But how were long, straight alignments set out between
two low-lying towns and across a number of intervening ridges? Ancient literature is silent
on this puzzle. Roman surveyors had no preexisting maps to guide them, or none that
were anything like accurate enough, and they had no magnetic compasses, although they
may have had a better sense of the lie of the land than is usual today….
…There are many theories about the method that Roman surveyors might have used. One
is “successive approximation, in which a rough solution is refined by trial-and-error, until
sufficient accuracy is achieved.”… But how in practice might this be done? How does one
bring into line marks on a succession of hilltops which might be 20 km apart, and where
visibility extends only from one hilltop to the next, or to a terminus? In these
circumstances, while it is straightforward to bring any three marks into line by interpolating
the third between two previously fixed ones, to align (say) four marks between two fixed
ones is a problem of a totally different order. The three marks at one end can be brought
into line with each other and with the three at the other end; but how to align the two
resulting alignments? It can be done, but only by laborious and lengthy trial and error. At
least this method may account for roads which run in a succession of straight doglegged
alignments; only one hill intervenes between the ends of any particular leg, each alignment
being established merely by a groma on the intervening hill…
…In the vertical plane the Romans worked with the libra. We know deplorably little about
it… There is no surviving description or illustration. It does not feature in the Corpus
Agrimensorum, which for all practical purposes is unconcerned with altitudes. As a
surveying instrument, the libra is in fact mentioned only once, by Vitruvius (8.6.3): “leveling
is done with dioptras or librae aquariae or the chorobates.” It is often assumed that libra
aquaria means a water level like that on the chorobates or Hero’s dioptra. But beyond
these two instances there is no evidence for the water level in the Greek and Roman
world, and taking a true horizontal off a water surface, unless it be impractically long, is
almost impossible. It seems therefore that the libra aquaria was not a level leveled by
water, but a level for leveling water—in other words, an aqueduct level….
…From the perspectives of geography, cartography and much else, the city of Rome was
a stimulating place to be during the last two centuries BCE. This turbulent period saw
extraordinary expansion of Roman power far beyond the Italian peninsula in all directions.
One result was that a conceptual and cultural awakening occurred, a transformation of
Romans’ worldview. It would be wrong to assume that previously they had been a people
uninterested in organizing and recording their surroundings. On the contrary, their practice
of surveying to divide up the cultivable land of their territory—explained in the previous
chapter—was already long established... For defeated communities whose territory was
appropriated by Rome, one of the most painful and lasting consequences of their loss
must have been the manner in which Roman surveyors proceeded to alter radically, and
forever, the very appearance of a once-familiar landscape. Moreover, its new Roman
aspect was symbolically encapsulated in a map on stone or bronze set up in the heart of
the community for all to see—for Romans a proud affirmation of conquest and ownership,
to the dispossessed a bitter testament to their permanent loss... In time, Roman surveyors
extended their coverage to cities, making very detailed maps that in some cases were
engraved on marble and presumably put on display; 1:240 came to be a standard scale for
such surveys. Various fragments survive to convey a sense of how impressive these
painstaking city maps must have been—recording owners’ names, for instance, and the
length of a property’s street frontage, not to mention individual walls, columns, steps,
staircases, doorways, and other such features…
…Despite the fundamental importance of Roman land surveying, its spatial range came to
seem relatively modest from the second century BCE onward, when for the first time the
Romans found themselves embroiled in struggles spanning the entire Mediterranean and
even well beyond ... An enlarged spatial vision was now essential. Its public representation
no doubt stemmed in part from the established familiarity with land survey maps, in part
also from the practice which victorious generals had adopted of commissioning huge
pictures of their battles and sieges that were then displayed, among other means, by being
carried in triumphal processions through Rome…
A third and growing source of inspiration and understanding is likely to have been the
Greek tradition of geography and cartography...whichhad been greatly advanced by
Eratosthenes at Alexandria during the third century. We hear that as early as 174 a former
consul (chief magistrate and general) set up a tablet in the Temple of Mater Matuta in
Rome commemorating his subjugation of the island of Sardinia. Accompanying it, we are
told, was a forma—literally a “shape” or “outline”—of the island, on which battle scenes
were painted.³ It is conceivable that a map is meant here, although there can be no
certainty, because the Latin language in fact never develops a term to signify “map”
unequivocally. So the unspecificforma in this account could equally well signify a three-
dimensional image, such as a statue personifying the island. But forma is also often the
noun used for a survey map, and some sort of map is perhaps the more likely meaning for
it in the context here. It was a large map of the island, we may imagine, although the
character of its appearance is beyond recovery, and there is also no knowing whether it
was painted directly onto a wall, or drawn on a freestanding panel, say, or on some other
surface…”
http://www.pontuali.com/marco/en/blog/381-news/260-surveying-and-engineering-in-
ancient-rome.html
“Roman monuments stand to this day as a testament to the greatness of Roman society.
Some of the most distinctive monuments are the roads and aqueducts. These structures
are impressive in their design and functionality, some of which can still be used today.
These monuments also stand as a testament to those who built them. The surveyors of
Rome played an essential role in the construction of the roads and the aqueducts, and
developed many of the fundamental principles of surveying and construction.
The first step in understanding the methods of surveying in ancient Rome is to become
familiar with the terminology, definitions, and units of measure that were used at the time.
Although surveying is one of the oldest professions, land surveyors of ancient Rome,
the agrimensores, worked in a time of early techniques in land development. Land division
was often undertaken in order to provide a place to live for veterans of the Roman
army. These settlements were known as colonia.
One prominent way to developing land into tracts was known as limitatio. This technique
involved creating a grid system of limities -- paths whose used varied. These limities were
indexed by a set of master orthogonal axes, the kardo maximus (KM), and the decumanus
maximus (DM); the latter was typically depicted vertically on a map, or forma.
In recording the surveys, the forma was oriented based on calls that let
the agrimensore know where he was in relation to the intersection, also known as
a tetrans, of the kardo maximus and thedecumanus maximus. The calls were as simple
as: "above or below the KM, ultra kardinemand citra kardenem, respectively, and to the
left or to the right of the DM, sinistra decumaniand dextra decumani, respectively." These
calls were marked in the field with termini that were essentially stone property corners.
With the forma and termini, the agrimensore had a rough way to orient himself within
the colonia. Another simple way for the agrimensore to orient himself was the
indexed limities, the limes quintarius. These were typically every fifth limes, the more
commonly used paths, or possibly ditches known as novercae. Tracts, or centuries, were
demarked by boundaries known as fines. This process of dividing the land, known
as deductio, was simply the act of colonization.
Along with the agrimensore, there was another individual known as the mensore, or
measurer. It was the mensore's job to aid the agrimensore in the division of the
land. Land, to the Romans, was known as ager. Ager within the territorium, land under
the control of a Roman city, was generally classified as ager arcifinius, unsurveyed land,
or ager publicus, public land.
The Romans developed forms of measurement to account for length and area. These
units were simple and could be measured by a mensore without any form of measuring
device. For example, the digitus, about 18.5 mm, was taken as the width of a
finger. The minor palmus was nothing more than the width of the palm, or
four digitus. The cubit, or cubitus, was the distance from the end of the fingers to the
elbow, roughly 1.5 feet or 24 digitus.
To measure longer distances, the feet of the mensore were used. A pes was the length of
their foot. The pace, or passus, was a distance of roughly five feet. An actus was
considered 24 passi and astadium was 125 passus. For longer distances the mille
passus or mille passus, meaning 1000 passus (also 625 stadia) was used.
An actus, or 24 passus, was used as a common length and width in area demarcation.
One square actus was equivalent to 14,400 pes. Other terms for areas included the
iugerum, two square actus, theheredium, which equated to two iugerum, and the centuria,
which was equal to 100 heredia. Interestingly enough, if the agrimensore found an error in
an older survey which resulted in a gap, this land was deemed subsecivum, or
unallocated, and was left alone...
...Upon examination, two things stand out. First there was no concept of numbers smaller
than one. Precision and accuracy are apparent in Roman work, but there was no need for
the type of accuracy common to modern surveying.
The other accommodation not made with this numbering system is that 1000 is the
maximum number. There apparently was no consideration made for numerical values
exceeding this amount, yet another aspect of modern surveying not seen here.
All in all, the system of numbers and measurement was simple, but efficient, as
demonstrated by some of the Roman structures that still stand today.
Essential to every engineering project, presently as well as in ancient times, was the need
for consistency and precision in measuring. The use of measuring equipment assisted the
surveyors in this endeavor and was essential in the Romans' ability to build on a grand
scale. Some methods were less precise than others, ranging from the use of pacing and
ropes to standardized rods. The Romans also had several devices at their disposal that
utilized the fundamental principals of surveying. These included the Groma,
the Dioptra and the Chorobates.
The normal method or device used for measuring distances was the cord, which may have
been made from a variety of fibers. The most common cord was the scoinion, which
formed from twisted rushes or other similar substances. Also noted by the Greek
philosopher Hero was the chain, but it is thought that it was not used as much as the cord
due to its high cost and weight. Special attention is called to the fact that throughout
history the cord-stretchers played an important part in society, especially in Egypt. The
cords were kept stretched to help eliminate errors in measurements due to shrinkage or
tension. Since land was taxed by area, correct measurements were very important.
An alternative to the cord, which was used commonly by the Romans, was the measuring
rod or kalamos. Originally it was made out of reed but it was typically made of wood. The
original length of the rod was 5 or 6 2/3 cubits. The 6 2/3-cubit length was also known as
the akaina, which corresponded to the wooden ten-foot rod (decempeda or pertica). On
the end of the rod were bronze ferrules marked in digits for small measurements and
flanged to abut neatly against its neighbor. The rod was a much more accurate
measurement device since the wood expanded and contracted much less than the cords.
For very long distances, pacers or bematisai were used. Notes were made of pacers
traveling with Alexander the Great during his campaigns. It was the bematistai's job to
count their paces and note their direction as they marched. Records and outline maps
were compiled and published from the descriptions of these routes.
Temples, town grids and land boundaries needed to be laid out by Roman
surveyors. These needed to be set in a particular orientation. The Romans used celestial
bodies to establish an approximate North/South line. The sun was the most common star
used, by observing the shadow of a vertical gnomon and marking the points where it
appeared to be the longest.
Relatively small set squares were also used by Roman surveyors. These squares could
be laid on the ground and by extending the cords from the stakes could be placed. Once a
rectangle was formed, the resulting diagonal distances could be compared against each
other to check for squareness.
The surveyors recorded their field measurements on wax tablets or papyrus. The abacus
may have been used to do complex mathematical calculations. The properties of the 3, 4
and 5 triangle were well known and multiples could be tied in a rope or cord for laying out
right angles…”
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/pdf/uploads/hesperia/147876.pdf
“…Aristophanes, Birds, 995-996, wishes "to survey the sky and divide it up in fields" but
goes on to plan a city, such a city, to be sure, as no Greek city ever resembled.
When it comes to the archaeological record the regular division of urban land for
houses is conspicuous but in the Greek world only exceptionally does the countryside
reveal its patterns. Nonetheless the link between the two is fundamental, and for both
the same techniques of surveying and geometry …
would have been used. Some of the directions in which research needs
to be undertaken for understanding the relationship of town and country planning were
pointed out over ten years ago by Roland Martin.5 Our study of the town plan of Halieis
has provided us with the opportunity to pursue a number of these problems.
The historical circumstances of the planning of Halieis are obscure….”
TRADUCCION
http://www.traianvs.net/pdfs/surveying.pdf
A menudo se pregunta por qué método uno puede reducir a una proyección horizontal un
área de terreno que está en una pendiente. De hecho, es como si uno aplanara las áreas
más altas para reducirlas a una llanura.
La naturaleza de las semillas demuestra este método: como el suelo de una pendiente no
puede considerarse horizontal, todo lo que brota del suelo crece verticalmente en el aire y,
a medida que crece, hace caso omiso de la pendiente del suelo y no admite más espacio
que si creciera de una llanura.
La totalidad del conocimiento científico que poseían, junto con las técnicas necesarias
para su aplicación, permitieron a los ingenieros romanos aplicar excelentes capacidades
topográficas. Para esto también requerían instrumentos de precisión suficiente, que
seguramente poseían, porque de lo contrario no podrían haber alcanzado los logros
importantes que surgieron de esa civilización.
Acueductos enormemente largos (más de 100 km. - 60 millas de largo), con pendientes
muy bajas, cuidadosamente calculados en toda su longitud, y con frecuencia en
longitudes continúas. Líneas rectas de carreteras extraordinariamente largas, a veces
más de 50 km. (39 millas) de largo, grandes presas hechas para derramar su agua en un
punto específico y en un nivel de relleno específico, grandes áreas inundadas, a veces
enormes, áreas de drenaje superficial, hechas rompiendo el endorismo a larga distancia
con canales muy costosos, precisamente trazado y nivelado Nada de esto podría ser el
resultado de la casualidad; más bien es el conocimiento bien desarrollado, exacto,
avanzado y topográfico, que estaba disponible para los romanos…
…Groma: Este instrumento es probablemente el mejor estudiado y conocido de los
utilizados en la antigüedad. Ha sido objeto de variadas hipótesis y también de ensayos
sobre arqueología experimental…. A pesar de todo esto, su uso no parece haber sido
interpretado con éxito adecuado…
…Es una herramienta muy rudimentaria para hacer alineaciones en ángulo recto entre sí,
un cuadrado de topógrafo tan primitivo como inexacto. Según algunos autores, este
instrumento, ya conocido en Grecia, llegó a Roma a través de la cultura etrusca…
…Medir, fijar y dibujar en mapas, de parcelas de tierra es una de las tareas más antiguas
confiadas a la ciencia de la topografía. Su carácter religioso alcanzó su máxima expresión
en la época romana. Ya hemos visto que la groma, a pesar de ser un instrumento
inadecuado para tales tareas, sigue estando asociada con los topógrafos romanos,
probablemente debido a las características rituales representadas tanto por el instrumento
como por el proceso topográfico.
…El agua no solo debe llegar perfectamente a su destino, sino que tampoco debe haber
dificultades en el canal como resultado de una velocidad inadecuada del líquido en su
recorrido.
Obviamente, la velocidad ideal del agua debe conocerse en relación con el tipo de
revestimiento del canal y las características del líquido en sí. Los sedimentos y las
obstrucciones pueden provocar tantos problemas en la vida del canal como erosiones. Sin
embargo, una vez establecida esta velocidad óptima, mediante las técnicas relevantes ya
existentes, y una vez que se conoce el volumen y el nivel del agua, la pendiente del canal
será la que asegure el cumplimiento de los parámetros deseados.
Este delicado equilibrio, les dio mucha responsabilidad a los ingenieros involucrados en la
construcción de estos trabajos, comenzando con los topógrafos. Los romanos, sin
embargo, sabían cómo lograr este equilibrio magníficamente en la gran mayoría de los
acueductos que se pueden observar incluso hoy en día….
…Perforación de galerías.
.. Sin embargo, podemos estar seguros de que ninguno de los grandes acueductos de la
antigüedad habría sido construido con estos métodos. Los ingenieros romanos poseían
excelentes conocimientos topográficos y matemáticos, así como instrumentos lo
suficientemente poderosos para completar estos trabajos con éxito. La confirmación del
grado de perfección se puede encontrar en los altos estándares geométricos de sus obras
reales.
https://erenow.com/ancient/ancient-perspectives/6.php
“…El teodolito también mide ángulos; pero debido a que en la época griega y romana la
trigonometría, que maneja ángulos, estaba en su primera infancia, los antiguos topógrafos
trabajaban con la geometría euclidiana. Aun así, el enfoque de nivelación del topógrafo
moderno temprano fue muy similar…
…Es natural girar al lado de las carreteras romanas. En el país montañoso, los romanos
tenían el buen sentido de adaptar sus caminos al paisaje para evitar gradientes
imposibles. Pero en un terreno más suave, muchos de sus caminos son famosos por
correr recto como una flecha sobre la colina y el valle, kilómetro tras kilómetro. Cuando
cambian de dirección, generalmente se encuentra en un punto alto, lo que es
comprensible. Pero, ¿cómo se establecieron alineaciones largas y rectas entre dos
ciudades bajas y a través de una serie de crestas intermedias? La literatura antigua no
dice nada sobre este rompecabezas. Los agrimensores romanos no tenían mapas
preexistentes que los guiaran, o ninguno que fuera lo suficientemente preciso, y no tenían
brújulas magnéticas, aunque podrían haber tenido una mejor idea de la mentira de la
tierra de lo que es habitual en la actualidad….
…Existen muchas teorías sobre el método que los topógrafos romanos podrían haber
usado. Una es la "aproximación sucesiva", en la cual una solución aproximada se refina
por ensayo y error, hasta que se logra una precisión suficiente. "…Pero cómo en la
práctica podría hacerse esto? ¿Cómo se trazan marcas en una sucesión de cumbres que
podrían estar a 20 km de distancia, y donde la visibilidad se extiende solo desde una
colina a la siguiente, o hasta una terminal? En estas circunstancias, si bien es sencillo
alinear tres marcas al interpolar el tercero entre las dos previamente establecidas, alinear
(decir) cuatro puntos entre dos fijos es un problema de un orden totalmente diferente. Las
tres marcas en un extremo se pueden alinear entre sí y con las tres en el otro extremo;
pero, ¿cómo alinear las dos alineaciones resultantes? Se puede hacer, pero solo por una
prueba y un error laboriosos y largos. Al menos este método puede dar cuenta de las
carreteras que se ejecutan en una sucesión de alineaciones doglegged rectas; solo una
colina interviene entre los extremos de cualquier pierna en particular, cada alineación se
establece simplemente por un groma en la colina intermedia….
…En el plano vertical, los romanos trabajaron con la libra. Sabemos deplorablemente
poco sobre esto…No hay una descripción o ilustración sobreviviente. No figura en el
Corpus Agrimensorum, que a todos los efectos prácticos no le preocupan las altitudes.
Como un instrumento topográfico, la libra de hecho se menciona una sola vez, por Vitruvio
(8.6.3): "la nivelación se realiza con dioptras o librae aquariae o los corobates." A menudo
se supone que libra aquaria significa un nivel de agua como el de los chorobates o la
dioptra del héroe. Pero más allá de estos dos casos no hay evidencia del nivel del agua
en el mundo griego y romano, y tomar una verdadera horizontal de una superficie de
agua, a menos que sea poco práctico, es casi imposible. Parece, por lo tanto, que el libra
aquaria no era un nivel nivelado por el agua, sino un nivel para nivelar el agua, en otras
palabras, un nivel de acueducto….
http://www.pontuali.com/marco/en/blog/381-news/260-surveying-and-engineering-in-
ancient-rome.html
Una forma destacada de desarrollar la tierra en los tramos se conocía como limitatio. Esta
técnica implicaba la creación de un sistema de límites de cuadrícula, caminos de los que
se variaba. Estas limitaciones se indexaron mediante un conjunto de ejes maestros
ortogonales, el kardo maximus (KM) y el decumanus maximus (DM); este último
generalmente se representa verticalmente en un mapa, o forma.
Con la forma y termini, el agrimensore tenía una forma aproximada de orientarse dentro
de la colonia. Otra forma sencilla para que el agrimensore se oriente fue en las limites
indexadas, los limes quintarius. Estos fueron típicamente cada cinco limones, los caminos
más comúnmente utilizados, o posiblemente zanjas conocidas como novercae. Tratados,
o siglos, fueron demarcados por límites conocidos como multas. Este proceso de dividir la
tierra, conocido como deductio, fue simplemente el acto de la colonización.
Junto con el agrimensore, había otro individuo conocido como el mensore o medidor. Era
tarea de los mensore ayudar al agrimensore en la división de la tierra. La tierra, para los
romanos, era conocida como ager. Ager dentro del territorium, tierra bajo el control de una
ciudad romana, generalmente se clasificaba como ager arcifinius, tierra no explorada, o
ager publicus, tierra pública.
Los romanos desarrollaron formas de medición para tener en cuenta la longitud y el área.
Estas unidades eran simples y podían medirse con un mensore sin ningún tipo de
dispositivo de medición. Por ejemplo, el digitus, aproximadamente 18,5 mm, se tomó
como el ancho de un dedo. El palmus menor no era más que el ancho de la palma, o
cuatro dígitos. El codo, o cubitus, era la distancia desde el final de los dedos hasta el
codo, aproximadamente 1.5 pies o 24 digitus.
Para medir distancias más largas, se usaron los pies del menisco. Un pes era la longitud
de su pie. El ritmo, o passus, era una distancia de aproximadamente cinco pies. Un actus
se consideró 24 pases y el astadium 125 pases. Para distancias más largas se usó el
mille passus o mille passus, que significa 1000 passus (también 625 estadios).
El método o dispositivo normal utilizado para medir distancias fue el cable, que puede
haber sido fabricado con una variedad de fibras. El cable más común fue el scoinion, que
se formó a partir de juncos retorcidos u otras sustancias similares. También señaló el
filósofo griego Héroe fue la cadena, pero se cree que no se utilizó tanto como el cable
debido a su alto costo y peso. Se presta especial atención al hecho de que a lo largo de la
historia las tendederas desempeñaron un papel importante en la sociedad, especialmente
en Egipto.
Los cables se mantuvieron estirados para ayudar a eliminar los errores en las mediciones
debido a la contracción o tensión. Como la tierra se gravaba por área, las medidas
correctas eran muy importantes.
Una alternativa al cable, que solían usar los romanos, era la vara de medir o kalamos.
Originalmente estaba hecho de caña, pero por lo general era de madera. La longitud
original de la varilla era 5 o 6 2/3 codos. La longitud de 6 2/3-codo también se conocía
como la akaina, que correspondía a la vara de madera de diez pies (decempeda o
pertica). En el extremo de la varilla había férulas de bronce marcadas en dígitos para
pequeñas medidas y con bridas para apoyarse perfectamente contra su vecino. La varilla
era un dispositivo de medición mucho más preciso ya que la madera se expandía y
contraía mucho menos que las cuerdas.
Para distancias muy largas, se usaron pacers o bematisai. Se hicieron notas de pacers
viajando con Alejandro Magno durante sus campañas. Era el trabajo del bematistai contar
sus pasos y tomar nota de su dirección mientras marchaban. Los registros y mapas de
esquema se compilaron y publicaron a partir de las descripciones de estas rutas.
Los topógrafos romanos debían diseñar templos, rejillas de ciudades y límites de tierra.
Estos deben establecerse en una orientación particular. Los romanos usaron cuerpos
celestes para establecer una línea aproximada norte / sur. El sol era la estrella más
común utilizada, observando la sombra de un gnomon vertical y marcando los puntos
donde parecía ser el más largo.
Los agrimensores romanos también usaron cuadrados relativamente pequeños. Estos
cuadrados podrían colocarse en el suelo y al extender los cordones de las estacas
podrían colocarse. Una vez que se formaba un rectángulo, las distancias diagonales
resultantes podían compararse entre sí para verificar la cuadratura.
RESEÑAS ADICIONALES
http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/pdf/uploads/hesperia/147876.pdf