Abstract
Reconstructing the lost contours of Charles Hutton
Highlights
This study reports on an historical investigation of map-making practice and achievement from the late 18th century, and attempts to reconstruct the practices and outcomes of an innovative surveying and mapping exercise, using historical data and contemporary geospatial data handling
The prisms, arranged as circular sections, had their heights calculated with reference to the height points within them
Hutton devised a method of interpolation of prism height for those which had no height data by creating a surface defined by contours: “I fell upon the following method ... by which I was enabled to proceed in the estimation of the altitudes both with much expedition and a considerable degree of accuracy
Summary
The prisms, arranged as circular sections (some individually coloured in Figure 2 to exemplify), had their heights calculated with reference to the height points within them. The data collected included astronomical observations to establish latitudinal positions, lengths of fixed base lines (one to the north of the mountain and one to the south), a standard traverse around the mountain to establish fixed points, and transects/vertical profiles radiating from those points.
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