Historical travel times according to Specht’s map. Case study: Săcuieni county - Wallachia (Romania)

• Main Authors: Alexandru-Ionuț Cruceru, Cezar Buterez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bucharest 2017-06-01
• Series: Cinq Continents
• Subjects: ordinary travel; duration; Specht map; Saac County; Romania; historical cartography
• Online Access: http://cinqcontinents.geo.unibuc.ro/7/7_15_Cruceru.pdf

Being the first large-scale map of the province of Wallachia (approx. 1:57,600), and also among the first that were constructed using modern topographic survey means, the Specht Map (1790-91) has been used, sometimes quite extensively, in many historical-geographical researches. A fact less known is that the map was accompanied by three tomes, providing additional information, such as: location of the elements, number and type of constructions, type of plant formations and others. Despite the novelty, the manuscripts kept as copy at the Library of the Romanian Academy were seldom used for scientific purposes. The purpose of this article is to explore the veracity of the data that expresses the distances between the settlements on the Specht map in time units. The analysis consisted in interpolation of the data organized into a historical-geographic database, and reflect two hypostases of the population movement: the trip in the local horizon (in the vicinity of the village) and the intra-county trip, having as a pole the county seat. In order to delimit the study area on relevant criteria, we have chosen as a case study Sacuieni County, one of the administrative-territorial units of transit between Muntenia and Transylvania. For validation, the maps obtained were compared with travel descriptions from the 18th-19th centuries. Taking into account the existing variables (means of travel, season, road condition, etc.), the results of the analysis correspond to the historical testimonies and the real situation. In conclusion, the Specht map together with the three complementary manuscripts is a true source of data in terms of estimated time between settlements.