Rope stretcher

In ancient Egypt, a rope stretcher (or harpedonaptai) was a surveyor who measured real property demarcations and foundations using knotted cords, stretched so the rope did not sag.

[1] Rope stretchers used 3-4-5 triangles and the plummet,[2] which are still in use by modern surveyors.

The commissioning of a new sacred building was a solemn occasion in which pharaohs and other high-ranking officials personally stretched ropes to define the foundation.

This important ceremony, and therefore rope-stretching itself, are attested over 3000 years from the early dynastic period to the Ptolemaic kingdom.

[3] Rope stretching technology spread to ancient Greece and India, where it stimulated the development of geometry and mathematics.