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The story of old maps

13 Jun
Lascaux,_Megaloceros

Mapmaking or cartography has been a part of our world’s history since ancient times.  In truth, many specialists agree that map making had its beginning with cave paintings.  However, the oldest known maps are carved on Babylonian clay tablets dating to about 2300 B.C. These maps were considered extremely advanced in Old World Greece. In […]

Hereford Mappa Mundi

06 Jun
mappa-facsimile

This great, detailed, and elaborately decorated mappa mundi is believed to be the only surviving complete example of a medieval wall map of the world. It is housed in Hereford Cathedral in Hereford, England. The precise date and creator of this mappa mundi is unknown, but speculations have filled that void. Some scholars believe that […]

The Portolan Mystery: Carte Pisane Antique Map

30 May
th

The Portolan Mystery: Carte Pisane   The mystery that is Carte Pisane Antique Map  is one of the most important documents in the history of navigation. The Carte Pisane is the earliest surviving portolan chart that is speculated to have been drawn between 1290 and 1300, and is now located in the Bibliothèque Nationale Library […]

The Sawley Mappa Mundi c.1190 Antiquarian Map

11 Mar
cat300r2_49e

The Sawley Mappa Mundi c.1190   Modern eyes look for maps to be topographical with large-scale detail, contour lines, and accurate graphic representation of natural and cultural features of a region. They tend to serve as significant points of reference and as a navigation tool. These are the types of maps that generally make sense […]