Surveyors have been doing their job for millennia, and the ingenuity (and accuracy) of ancient instruments is mind-boggling. My last blog was focused on the surveyors of ancient Egypt, who were responsible for laying out temples, palaces, pyramids, boundaries for the Pharaoh to be able to levy taxes accurately.

As most surveyors know, Egypt potentially produced the first known surveyors, known as “Rope-Stretchers” [harpedonaptae in Greek]. They earned that name because one of the tools used in surveying was a calibrated rope. These ropes were specially-treated to hold their length by being stretched out taut between stakes and then rubbed with a mixture of beeswax and resin. They were graduated by 13 knots tied at equal intervals (small or large, depending on the intended use).