Two hundred years ago, in 1824, British military surveyors began the process of surveying and mapping Ireland.  The country became the first in the world to be mapped in its entirety at the scale of six inches to a mile, but the surveyors didn’t just produce maps.  They also wrote hundreds of letters, kept detailed statistical accounts, drew sketches of the landscape and noted variations of place names in thousands of name books. 

To mark the bicentenary of when the Ordnance Survey mapping of Ireland began, a project was launched, called OS200, to bring the original source materials relating to the mapping of Ireland together in a digital format for the first time.  The aim was to present these historic and fascinating source materials in their geographic context, so that they could be more easily discovered and used for research purposes.  

A platform for collaborative research
ArcGIS Pro has proven an effective platform for conducting a research project of this complexity.  “One of the challenges we often have in digital humanities is sharing information,” explains Dr Catherine Porter, Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Limerick.  “ArcGIS Pro has made it easy for us to share information across partner institutions and work collaboratively.”

Improved understanding of early survey processes
The use of ArcGIS Pro in this project has contributed to an improved understanding of how Ireland was mapped by the Ordnance Survey two centuries ago.  “Researchers are learning more and more about the work of the surveyors themselves, the surveying process and what went on, on the ground.  “In this way, they are now able to explore the complex and, at times, uncomfortable histories surrounding this military-led operation in Ireland.”

Fresh insight into landscape change over time
By using ArcGIS Pro to connect text and sketches in memoirs and letters with precise locations, the project team has been able to map landscape observations such as the whereabouts of bogs and woodlands that no longer exist.  As Porter says, “ArcGIS Pro has enabled the project team to dig deeper into the data, uncover previously-unknown connections between descriptions in sources and specific locations, and gain a better understanding of change over time.”

Powerful visualisations for engaging with the public 
The project team has created powerful visualisations with ArcGIS Pro that help to convey information to a wide range of stakeholders, including the public.  “Our ArcGIS Pro visualisations are a vitally important part of our exhibitions in Dublin and Belfast and bring the project to life,” Porter says.  “We do a lot of presentations for local historical groups, and it’s the visualisations that we have created in ArcGIS Pro that people always want to talk about!”

Support for future research into 19th-century Ireland
It is anticipated that ArcGIS Pro will support future research and reveal even greater insight into social and economic conditions, people and culture in the 19th century.  “The survey period of 1824 to 1842 is particularly important in the context of Ireland’s history because it was just before the famine,” Porter explains.  “A lot of people died or emigrated at that time, and local knowledge was lost, so OS200 is building our understanding of what Ireland was like two centuries ago.”