Using Internet for the mass dating of drawings in the Russian state of the late XVII – early XVIII centuries for completing special GIS databases

Abstract

This article presents the results of assessing the possibility of determining the dates of compiling cartographic materials (drawings) of the Russian state in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries using information provided exclusively by Internet resources. For correct dating, the author chose the method based on the analysis of available on historical drawings information about the property of the depicted objects and their owners. The method is mostly based on the content of the drawings making it possible avoid additional information (for example, the names of their compilers). The research was carried out on the example of seventeen drawings of Ruza district, Moscow province of the specified era. Based on data of the selected Internet resources was carried out, the author set the dates of fifteen from seventeen drawings. The accuracy of the results was acceptable, although slightly lower than the results provided by the scientific community, but the effectiveness of the used method turned out to be significantly higher than the traditional ones. The conducted studies have demonstrated the possibility of using the considered method and information sources for the mass dating of the Russian drawings of the late 17th - early 18th centuries, allowing to fill the gaps in relevant information for specialized geographic information systems.