Jurisdictional boundaries in Spain, survey and marking of boundaries in Teruel (Spain)

Abstract

In the 1890s and early 1900s, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) of Spain carried out geodetic studies required to georeference the boundaries of every single municipality in Spain, survey the boundaries and mark them out. The field notes for these studies still exist and can still be referenced today. Nowadays, most of the landmarks that were located in these studies have disappeared; replacing these monuments could be of great interest to the local government, both administratively and economically. The indeterminacy or change of municipal boundaries can lead to tax collection and even supply problems. This paper studies the accuracy of those studies. Furthermore, a technical method for locating the lost monuments is shown; this method could also be used to map the monuments in a precise and reliable way. In this way, the problem of replacing boundaries is subsequently analysed.