February 23 Is A Day To Celebrate Boundaries

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

February 23^rd marks a day of celebration that many have completely lost sight of. Should anyone review the history of the Roman Empire, one would find that very similar to the Greeks, the Romans created and worshipped many gods. One god in particular arouses the interest of many surveyors. He is the Roman god known as “Terminus”, the Roman god of boundaries. “Terminus” is the Latin word for a boundary stone. Surveyors still today retrace boundaries that refer to ancient monuments, stone, and markers. It is only fitting then that the most recent ALTA/ACSM Standards for Land Title Surveys goes into effect on February 23, 2011.

As history is examined, the honor associated with the Roman god Terminus was celebrated annually with a festival celebrated on February 23 called “Terminalia.” This celebration involved practices that brought individuals to a place of reflection or “yearly renewal.” Neighboring families would come together at boundary markers and would garland their respective sides of their markers. They would worship Terminus and make offerings of crops, honeycombs and wine to him at an altar. Many ancient authors agree that the motivation for the worship of Terminus was to prevent of violent disputes over property. So in keeping with his character of peace, his earliest worship did not involve blood sacrifices. But then later, these markers became drenched in the blood of a sacrificed lamb or pig. And in the end, it was followed by a communal feast and the singing of hymns to his praise.

Surveyors throughout history have dealt with boundary disputes. People have been disputing boundary lines since the beginning of time. Ovid, a Roman poet, wrote: “O Terminus, whether thou art a stone or a stump buried in the field, thou hast been defied from days of yore…thou dost set bounds to peoples and cities and vast kingdoms; without thee every field would be a root of wrangling. Thou courtest no favour, thou art bribed by no gold; the lands entrusted to thee thou dost guard in loyal good faith.” Like Terminus, a good and prudent land surveyor marks boundaries fairly while taking into consideration all evidence found from their client’s deed and parcel as well as the neighboring properties.

Even Old Testament scriptures in the Bible speak to the importance of boundary markers and not moving them. It says in Deuteronomy 19:14: “Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land…” Also, Deuteronomy 27:17 states, “Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.”

Another old custom relevant to boundary lines and markers is something called “beating the bounds.” This tradition, still kept in some parts of Britain, of marking the boundaries of a church parish by marching round them and hitting the ground, or certain boundary marks, with long sticks. The ceremony is performed once a year, usually on Ascension Day or before Easter. Thereby a tradition came about where boundaries were walked and a child beaten at corner points so as for him to remember where they were. This became popular during the transfer of lands from one generation to the next.

The ceremonies and traditions surrounding boundaries have gone by the wayside in our culture, but we can still value knowing where the boundaries of your property are. There is no need for beatings or sacrifices – simply walk your boundaries frequently. Sadly, many purchase property without much thought to where their corners are, but this February 23 is a great time to give it some extra thought.

jmettee   Surveying, Uncategorized
Surveying
No Comments »