Recent comments in /f/history

silverfox762 t1_j7enih7 wrote

Reply to comment by Magnergy in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Nope. We were a civil engineering firm, paid well, above board, and everything was plotted by and on instruments based on county records.

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pc_flying t1_j7en24i wrote

Reply to comment by whyenn in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Dropping this here because it's related, but there's no good segue in the comments yet:

There is a longstanding Wiccan practice of burying iron nails at property lines to 'pin it down' and protect from negative magic

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Raphius15 t1_j7emkyg wrote

Reply to Was it a good Idea for vercingetorix to take refuge with his army in Alesia in 52bc? by thereasonyousuffer

Vercingetorix wasn't the only leader in the city of Alesia during the siege. All decisions (attacks, retreats, army and food managements and so on... ) had to be decided with a consensus with the other Gaulish leaders... Which add complexity to this situation.

It was a terrible mess between them and probably some calls could have given advantages to the Gaulish and maybe a different outcome to the siege.

You have to get in mind that Vercingetorix and Caesar were long time friends before the siege so they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. So, Vercingetorix knew what he was doing but sometimes, not listened.

I am blaming the Gaulish leaders for bad managements and Vercingetorix took the fall.

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PhasmaFelis t1_j7ely23 wrote

Reply to comment by Sunnyjim333 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Roman roads are interesting. Astonishing engineering, a really well-built stone road can last for millennia.

But you wouldn't want to drive on one. Stone pavers give a hell of a rough ride at any real speed, and stone is deadly slick when it's wet. For cars you really need something that's very smooth and slightly tacky, and unfortunately asphalt is the best we've come up with so far. I'll take dealing with potholes over a 30MPH top speed.

(And if we did drive on Roman roads, I don't think they'd last so long under regular 18-wheeler traffic.)

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IndependentNo6285 t1_j7ekds4 wrote

Reply to comment by duncan345 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Yep, I've worked as a survey assistant (or "chainie" due to the old chains of measurement) in Australia and they still mark boundaries in relation to buried galvanised iron posts, usually 25cm long and buried with a sledgehammer

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Bonezone420 t1_j7ehpav wrote

Reply to comment by PorkRindSalad in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Well, for a start, you'd have to be stupid to tell anyone you did it. So, just theoretically speaking, if anyone did this - you simply might not know because they didn't get caught.

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ABoxOfFlies t1_j7eg7pj wrote

Reply to comment by duncan345 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

As an old chainman, I've never seen anything other than a legal sized pin used for land identification (Canada,) so this sounds pretty interesting; I've also never heard of buried lead plates.

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PorkRindSalad t1_j7ee9q0 wrote

Reply to comment by silverfox762 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

I wonder what keeps people from just hammering their own rebar down and claiming that's where the line is. Wouldn't even have to remove the first one, just create enough confusion to get away with adjusting the new fence line.

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MetaDragon11 t1_j7edc3v wrote

Reply to Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

Lead? Ive heard of copper, tin or bronze or even steel but never lead. It started when the French were there as a snub to the English... it didnt stick for either of them once the United States formed.

It died out cause we got more sophisticated ways to measure property lines and how to grant them.

I dont know of any legal precedent for the old European style or claims that go that far back but marking land with metal was common and still pops up occasionally to this day due to land inheritences and whatnot.

You might even hear stories on other reddits avout neighbors stepping on each others toes due to ignorance or maliciousness about where property lines are. Its the primary reason we have Tree Law.

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noahjsc t1_j7eb47h wrote

Reply to comment by ThisOriginalSource in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

I can explain this a bit as I learned a bit of orienteering from youth groups/military experience. So when working with a compass you have to actually modify the declination a bit. All this is rotating the angle markers. To determine that requires a little bit of math. This is because True North location actually moves over the years. So what he's stating is that the bearing to the location has shifted. As if you had a compass set to 0 declination which means 0 points at true north the bearing would be different.

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Quick explanation on what a bearing is. So when using a map the lines straight north are considered 0 degrees. East is 90, South is 180 and West is 270. So by drawing a line from one point to another you can use a protractor or other angle measuring tool to determine the angle.

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If the map is new and set properly to true north there is no declination set on the compass. So what you do is you rotate the right so that the angle you determined from the map is set to the front of the compass. You then rotate the compass(typically by moving yourself as you point it outwards from your body) till the north on the magnet and north on the reading align. You then know you are pointing at your bearing.

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With declination you have to adjust that angle a bit(usually compasses have a key to do it so you don't have to adjust on calculation). So on an old map you calculate declination and then when you shoot your bearing you'll still be pointed to the right location. However if you didn't calculate for declination cause true north moved you'll be facing a few degrees off.

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I'm sorry if this explanation is confusing. It's typically best done with a physical compass and map to show what i'm talking about. I tried my best to do it in writing.

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dryingsocks t1_j7eaxmm wrote

Reply to comment by Sunnyjim333 in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

to be fair, the heaviest vehicle during roman times was a ox cart. with cars becoming heavier and heavier they put more wear on the street than romans ever could

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SchmilkBoii t1_j7e9a1n wrote

Reply to Was it a good Idea for vercingetorix to take refuge with his army in Alesia in 52bc? by thereasonyousuffer

The decision by Vercingetorix, a Gaulish chieftain, to retreat to Alesia in 52 BC with his army was a strategic one that had both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, the location of Alesia offered a strong natural defense, as it was surrounded by high walls and rivers, making it difficult for the Roman army to penetrate. This gave Vercingetorix and his army some time to regroup and prepare for a potential siege.
However, by retreating to Alesia, Vercingetorix effectively cut himself off from the rest of Gaul and any possible reinforcements. This made it easier for the Roman army, led by Julius Caesar, to surround and lay siege to Alesia. The Romans built fortifications and roads around Alesia, which made it difficult for Vercingetorix to break out. The Gauls eventually surrendered, and Vercingetorix was taken prisoner and eventually executed.
So, whether it was a good idea or not depends on how one views the situation. If Vercingetorix was looking for a short-term solution to regroup and gather his forces, then the decision to retreat to Alesia may have been the right one. However, if he was looking for a long-term solution to maintain control over Gaul, the decision to retreat to Alesia may have been a mistake.

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Sawendro t1_j7e88c2 wrote

Reply to comment by EpsomHorse in Lead Plates and Land Claims in North America and Europe: When did the practice begin of burying lead plates to establish ownership of land, and why did it die out, and was it ever used successfully in a court of law to establish ownership? by whyenn

If the person trying to move the boundary line doesn't know about the buried marker, then it is much easier to call them on their bullshit, basically. A fence can be moved and rocks relocated, but unless you know where the underground markers are and can dig up and rebury them...

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