Land surveying is probably the oldest professions on earth. Ever since man has decided a portion of land should belong to a tribe, the need for surveying began.
Land surveying is fascinating. The methods used seek to decide which section of land belongs to whom, hopefully ending arguments once and for all.
The bottom line is, surveying is really a process using mathematical means to survey land.
The initial accounts of surveying land goes back to ancient Egypt. Experts have found evidences that the ancient Egyptians used basic geometry to redraw the lines of boundary when the Nile River overflowed. An Egyptian land register dating back to to 3000 BC was also found.
Following Egyptians, the Romans - also probably the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world - practiced land surveying. They took it one step further and made "land surveyor" the official position within the Empire. They were called agrimensores, also called Corpus Agrimensorum Romanorum. Although they used very easy tools, they were very thorough with their jobs and would create straight lines and correct angles by using these tools. Following the lines were measured, they would create shallow ditches to mark the lines. Actually, a few of the furrows they made still exist today.
One of many recorded land surveying of the "modern" times is that of William the Conqueror who wrote the Domesday Book in 1086. https://surveyorsyorkshire.co.uk/best-utility-surveyors-yorkshire/ is actually a set of names of land owners, how much land they owned along with other information about the land. Although it was an amazing quantity of information during this time period, the bits of information weren't 100% correct. The locations weren't accurate and the maps were not made to scale.
One of history's greatest icons was also a devoted surveyor - Napoleon Bonaparte. The fascination with surveying land was actually just something of his want to conquer the world. Napoleon Bonaparte founded a registry called the cadastre. This includes a registry of properties of a county, ownership details, locations and as much information regarding the land's value. Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte can be considered a land surveyor - and a very smart man.
The techniques used for land surveying also have evolved on the centuries. In the past, people would use whatever could help them determine the length from one point to another. This implies using chains with links and even ropes. Of course, this didn't give accurate results but they didn't have the technology we've back then.
Today, land surveyors have the very best technologies to greatly help them with their job. There is GPS, or Global Positioning System, which is just about the most accurate technologies used today. Total stations are also very important to a land surveyor, which employs the application of an EDM or Electronic Distance Measurement device plus a theodolite that allows for more precise angle and distance measurements.