The English verb “to survey” refers to a variety of activities, two of which will be discussed here with an emphasis on the way in which these were practiced in Ancient Egypt. The first can be provisionally defined as the techniques to reduce reality to fit onto a map or a model and the second as the techniques to transfer the information and ideas reflected on a plan or a model to the real world. Up until very recently, a surveyor would go into the field with two instruments, one to measure angles, such as a transit or a theodolite, and one to measure distances, such as a measuring tape or an electronic distance measuring device (EDM). Modern technology has combined these two instruments into one, and they are referred to as a “total station,” which can perform both functions. The underlying principles of surveying, and the fact that these are based on the accurate measurement of angles and distances, were already mostly understood in Ancient Egypt. It must be kept in mind that the...
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Barnard, H. (2014). Surveying in Ancient Egypt. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_9331-3
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