Map Notes -- PTOLEMY1.txt

	Map Notes

Ptolemy 1578	NOTES about HAMPSHIRE from a PTOLEMY MAP of BRITAIN, 1578
	These notes about Hampshire are made from the Ptolemy map of roman Britain, drawn and published by Gerhard Mercator, 1578. The example studied was brought into Hampshire CC Museums Service for identification and studied with the kind permission of the owner.
	map type: HantsMap & Ptolemy 1578
	Geographia
	The geographical data, a world gazetteer 'Geographia' compiled by Claudius Ptolemy, was later used by various cartographers to draw maps, often referred to as Ptolemy maps. The data relevant to the Hampshire area is:-
	Location of Albion island of Britannia (1st map of Europe)
	...
	Description of the south side below which is the Britannicus ocean. ...
	...
	mouth of the Alaunus river 17 40 52 20
	Great harbour 19 - 53 -
	mouth of the Trisantonis river 20 20 53 -
	...
	Below the Atrebati, and the Canti are the Regni and the town
	Noeomagus 19 45 53 5
	Below the Dobuni are the Belgae and the towns
	...
	Venta 18 40 53 -
	...
	Below Magnus Portus (Great harbour) is the island Vectis, the middle of which is in 19 20 52 20
	The figures are longitude and latitude in degrees and minutes on Ptolemy's scales.
	Gerhard Mercator, much of whose life was concerned with revising Ptolemy's data, produced a map in 1578, which is studied here. It comes from:-
	Mercator, Gerhard: 1578: Tabulae Geographicae Cl. Ptolemaei ad mentem autoris restitutae et emendatae Per Gerardum Mercatorem: (Cologne, Germany)
	The map is in its 1st state, published in further editions 1584, 1605, 1618-19. The plate was altered and published in a 2nd state 1695 to 1704; and in a 3rd state 1730. The map size is wxh = 33.5x40.5cm.
	There is an interesting discussion of the projection of the Ptolemy maps of Britain, with an explanation of the strange distortion of Scotland etc, in:-
	Strang, Alastair: 1998: Recreating a possible Flavian map of Roman Britain with a detail map of Scotland: Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland: vol.128: pp.425-440
	MAP FEATURES
	NB mostly only features relevant to Hampshire are noticed.
title	Printed at the top:- EUROPAE .I. TAB: Europe map 1. The map shows the British Isles with parts of France and Germany.
orientation up is N	The map is printed with north at the top.
lat and long scales	The map has latitude and longitude scales printed in the map borders, based on a prime meridian 20 degrees W of Greenwich, perhaps the Canary Islands?
sea area sea pecked	The sea is engraved with a pecked pattern. There is a monstrous fish west of Ireland; and a fishing scene in the North Sea. The sea area south of Hampshire is labelled:- Britannicus oceanus
coast line coast shaded	The coast line is shaded for emphasis.
rivers	A few rivers are drawn with wiggly lines; labelled at their sea mouths. The Hampshire area has:- Alaunis flu: Trisanton fluvius though not in their expected positions.
tribal areas	This map represents an England well before the concept of county! It shows british tribal areas, bounded by dotted lines, each labelled. The south central area includes:- Belgae Durotriges Regni A match to other plots of tribal areas has not been made; and is likely to be hard. Winchester - Venta Belgarum, is drawn in the region of the Belgae.
settlements	A few settlements are shown, positioned by a circle, with a tower; labelled in italic lowercase text. Hampshire places, roughly, seem to be:- Magnus portus Venta
	Close, Charles, Sir: 1931: Ancient Maps of Great Briatin, with special reference to Hampshire: ProcHFC: vol.10: pp.211-219 Stevenson, Edward L (translator; editor): Claudius Ptolemy The Geography: Dover Publications (New York, New York, United States)

	map type Ptolemy 1578 -- menu of resources
	source item -- private collection (17) -- map

	list of map notes

	HantsMap Notes -- PTOLEMY1.txt MN: 9.10.2001 last edit: 25.12.2002

NOTES about HAMPSHIRE from a PTOLEMY MAP of BRITAIN, 1578

Geographia

MAP FEATURES