Groma surveying

Groma surveying

Definition

The "Groma" or "gruma" (altered from Greek "gnomon" "γνόμων" "indicator", possibly through Etruscan) was the principal Roman surveying instrument. It was composed of a vertical staff with horizontal cross pieces mounted on a bracket. Each cross piece had a plumb line and plumb bob hanging vertically. Its main use was to survey straight lines, squares, and rectangles.The same name was given to:
* the center of any new military camp, ie the point from which was traced the regular grid by using the "groma" instrument
* the center of a new town, from which the gromatici (surveyors) began to lay out cardo and decumanus grid, with a plough and a pair of oxen

References

University of Pennsylvania - Corinth Computer Project

External links

* http://corinth.sas.upenn.edu/gromatxt.html
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A24591099 BBC: h2g2: The Groma: The Tool That Built An Empire]


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