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| In ], a '''rope stretcher''' (or '''harpedonaptai''') was a ] who ] ] demarcations and ] using ]s, stretched so the rope did not sag. When performed by a ] to begin building a ]<ref>Wilson, ''op.cit.'', p.38</ref> the '''stretching of the rope''' was probably a religious ceremony.<ref>Breasted: From the Great Karnak Building Inscription (Year 24 of the reign of Thutmose III), ''op.cit.'' § 608</ref> On artefacts as ancient as the ], Egyptians documented the royal surveyors' procedure for restoring the boundaries of fields after each ]. | |||
| In ], a '''rope stretcher''' (or '''harpedonaptai''') was a ] who ] ] demarcations and ] using ]s, stretched so the rope did not sag. The practice is depicted in tomb paintings of the ].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-4eWtgEXjoC&pg=PT282 |page=282 |title=Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location |isbn=9780470901601 |last1=Robillard |first1=Walter G. |last2=Wilson |first2=Donald A. |last3=Brown |first3=Curtis M. |last4=Eldridge |first4=Winfield |date=31 January 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref> Rope stretchers used ] and the ],<ref></ref> which are still in use by modern surveyors. | |||
| The commissioning of a new sacred building was a solemn occasion in which pharaohs and other high-ranking officials personally stretched ropes to define the foundation. This important ceremony, and therefore rope-stretching itself, are attested over 3000 years from the ] to the ].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWKYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |page=98 |title=Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future: Volume I: Antiquity to the 1500s |isbn=9783319001371 |last1=Williams |first1=Kim|author1-link=Kim Williams (architect) |last2=Ostwald |first2=Michael J. |date=9 February 2015 |publisher=Birkhäuser }}</ref> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| The first ]s to use ropes and plumbs may have been ]ian.<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', op.cit.'', p.828</ref> Rope stretching technology spread to ] and ], where it stimulated the development of ] and ]. Some think that it was India that influenced Greece.<ref>Chattopadhyaya, ''op.cit.'', p.153</ref> | |||
| Rope stretching technology spread to ] and ], where it stimulated the development of ] and ]. | |||
| ==The Egyptian rope trick== | |||
| '''Rope stretchers''' used ] and the ],<ref></ref> which are still in use by modern surveyors. The plummet can be used with a square ruled off into intervals on tongue and blade to get a unit rise and run or angle when taking an elevation to a distant point as with a modern sextant. | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
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| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| * Alistair Macintosh Wilson |
* {{cite book |first=Alistair |last=Macintosh Wilson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nh7rwAEACAAJ |title=The Infinite in the Finite |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=9780198539506 }} | ||
| * Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya, ''Environment, Evolution, and Values: Studies in Man, Society, and Science'', South Asian Publishers 1982 | |||
| * ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica,'' Encyclopædia Britannica 1974 | * ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica,'' Encyclopædia Britannica 1974 | ||
| * James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, Chicago 1906 | * James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, Chicago 1906 | ||
| ⚫ | * Joel F. PAULSON, "Surveying in Ancient Egypt,", ] Working Week 2005 and ]-8, Cairo, Egypt April 16-21, 2005. | ||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| ⚫ | * |
||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | |||
| * | * | ||
| * "The knowledge of pleasing proportions of the rope stretchers was incorporated by the Greeks" | * "The knowledge of pleasing proportions of the rope stretchers was incorporated by the Greeks" | ||
| * | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Rope Stretcher}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Rope Stretcher}} | ||
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Latest revision as of 07:38, 24 April 2024
In ancient Egypt, a rope stretcher (or harpedonaptai) was a surveyor who measured real property demarcations and foundations using knotted cords, stretched so the rope did not sag. The practice is depicted in tomb paintings of the Theban Necropolis. Rope stretchers used 3-4-5 triangles and the plummet, which are still in use by modern surveyors.
The commissioning of a new sacred building was a solemn occasion in which pharaohs and other high-ranking officials personally stretched ropes to define the foundation. This important ceremony, and therefore rope-stretching itself, are attested over 3000 years from the early dynastic period to the Ptolemaic kingdom.
Rope stretching technology spread to ancient Greece and India, where it stimulated the development of geometry and mathematics.
See also
References
- Robillard, Walter G.; Wilson, Donald A.; Brown, Curtis M.; Eldridge, Winfield (31 January 2011). Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location. John Wiley & Sons. p. 282. ISBN 9780470901601.
- Petrie Museum website: plumbs
- Williams, Kim; Ostwald, Michael J. (9 February 2015). Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future: Volume I: Antiquity to the 1500s. Birkhäuser. p. 98. ISBN 9783319001371.
- Macintosh Wilson, Alistair (1995). The Infinite in the Finite. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198539506.
- The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica 1974
- James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, Chicago 1906
- Joel F. PAULSON, "Surveying in Ancient Egypt,", FIG Working Week 2005 and GSDI-8, Cairo, Egypt April 16-21, 2005.
External links
- surveying instruments
- proportions "The knowledge of pleasing proportions of the rope stretchers was incorporated by the Greeks"
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