This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.7.14.87 (talk) at 04:06, 4 February 2018. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 04:06, 4 February 2018 by 24.7.14.87 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)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, and officials as high-ranking as the Pharaoh participated in a ceremony that involved personally stretching ropes to define the foundation. This important ceremony, and therefore rope-stretching itself, are attested over 3,000 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
- Brown, Curtis Maitland et al. (1994) Evidence and procedures for boundary location
- Petrie Museum website: plumbs
- Williams, Kim and Michael J. Ostwald (2015) Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future vol. 1
- Alistair Macintosh Wilson, The Infinite in the Finite, Oxford University Press 1995
- 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"
- Sangaku and The Egyptian Triangle
.png){kind=small} | This article about subjects relating to ancient Egypt is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |