Excerpt from Syria Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological, Expeditions to Syria: Geography and ItieraryThe instruments used were a prismatic compass, a twelve-inch theodolite with solar attachment, three specially selected Waltham watches, an aneroid barometer, and a boiling-point thermometer. The plan adopted in general was to keep a compass dead reckoning, assuming the pace to be an average of two and three-quarters miles per hour for ordinary going, and three miles per hour on good roads. For more accurate determination of locations the theodolite was used. Whenever there was a sufficient elevation the theodolite was set up and oriented by the magnetic needle, and sights were taken to prominent objects such as hills, towns, and ruins. From the natives also the approximate distances to these places were obtained, generally in hours of travel on foot, but these estimates of distance were rarely accurate. It was possible, however, to intersect a good many of these points from the next observation site.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.