The article mentions the symbolic connection of the surveying rope with the ram's head of the ancient Egyptian god Khnum, which may indicate the sanctity of measurements. I wonder what religious beliefs were attached to surveying in ancient Egypt. Were there rituals/ceremonies performed at the start or completion of important surveying tasks, especially given the importance of these measurements for agriculture and construction? The article also mentions the length of a remen which is half of √2 cubits long. I wonder if the ancient Egyptians had a way of calculating its decimal expansion to some place value. There is a trick to find square roots of numbers and giving an approximate decimal expansion, but I have not been taught about it at school. I only saw kids working on it while I was helping out at Kumon. I’m wondering if they knew about rational and irrational numbers as well. If they did, did they know that √2 was irrational, and what was their proof? One particular thing that surprised me was that the annual inundation of the Nile necessitated the need for consistent remeasurement and redistribution of arable land. This impacted not only on the practice and development of surveying but also on taxation and governance. The Nile was a source of life, but its yearly inundation would also erase boundary markers, making it vital for surveyors to redefine land divisions and boundaries. Such a consistent activity would eventually lead to advancements in surveying techniques.
Interesting reflections!
ReplyDelete