Michigan Surveying, Inc.

Michigan Surveying, Inc.

Land Development Consulting

  1. General

  2. Tools

  3. About Surveying

  4. Technical

Surveying techniques have existed throughout much of recorded history. In Ancient Egypt, when the Nile River overflowed its banks and washed out farm boundaries, the boundaries were re-established through the application of simple geometry. The nearly perfect squareness and north-south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. 2700 BC, affirm the ancient Egyptians' command of surveying.

Other noteworthy dates in the history of land surveying include:

  • The Egyptian land register (3000 BC).
  • In Rome, the tax register of conquered lands (300 AD).
  • In England, The Domesday Book by William the Conqueror (1086)
    • covered all England
    • contained names of the land owners, area, land quality, and specific information of the area's content and habitants.
    • did not include maps showing exact locations
  • Continental Europe's Cadastre was created in 1808
    • founded by Napoleon I (Bonaparte), "A good cadastre will be my greatest achievement in my civil law", Napoleon I
    • contained numbers of the parcels of land (or just land), land usage, names etc., and value of the land
    • 100 million parcels of land, triangle survey, measurable survey, map scale: 1:2500 and 1:1250
    • spread fast around Europe, but faced problems especially in Mediterranean countries, Balkan, and Eastern Europe due to cadastre upkeep costs and troubles.