2023/09/25 by Jasmine Kilburn-Toppin · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Historical Philosophy and Science #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #Historical and Literary Studies
paper · doi:10.1093/jdh/epad044
openalex publication_date 2023/09/25 · openalex created_date 2023/10/07 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
In this richly researched book, Thomas Morel illuminates the fascinating world of early modern subterranean surveying. Against the backdrop of the mining rush, the “art of setting limits” (which came to be known as Markscheidekunst, underground geometry) was fundamental to the economy of the Holy Roman Empire. It was also of growing cultural value. As mining became more technical and tunnels became deeper and more extensive, geometrical methods were used to “secure concessions’ boundaries,” effectively property rights for competing investors, and “to provide information about the direction of ore veins, the depth of underground galleries, and the probable duration of digging operations” (pp. 53–4). While the skills of underground surveying have been broadly acknowledged in previous mining studies, this is the first account that puts the expertise of the surveyors, and the broader “vernacular culture of geometry” of the mining cities of the Holy Roman Empire, at the heart of the narrative (p. 16).