Georeferencing of the Nile River in Piri Reis 1521 map, Using Artificial Neural Network Method

Abstract

For many years, the adaptation of the historical maps to those used today has been one of the fields of study of cartography and geodesy. In this process, the first problem is that the coordinate system in historical maps differs from the modern coordinate systems. For such problems, many mathematical methods have been developed and implemented for the georeferencing process. The second problem, more complicated than the first, is how to resolve the situation when the mapped area was drawn on more than one sheet of paper and without a scale. This study focuses on the map drawn in 1521 by the Ottoman admiral, Piri Reis, of the Nile, which gave life to Egypt, the cradle of civilizations. The Nile was drawn from Cairo to Rosetta on four map sheets in five parts without a coordinate reference and scale factor. The method that has performed well in solving problems that cannot be expressed mathematically is the artificial neural network (ANN) technique which is widely used in solving engineering problems. The current study reports on the use of the Back Propagation Artificial Neural Network (BPANN). The map obtained by BPANN was compared with a current map of the Nile, and the result was that the ANN technique can also be used in the absence of a scale.