Scaphion
The
scaphion was a portable
gnomon, developed by
hellenistic astronomers. They put a gnomon in a metallic hemisphere, which was divided inside in concentric
circles. They could use it for determination of
geographical coordinates from measured
solar altitudes. Using this
measuring instrument Eratosthenes of
Cyrene (
ca. 220 BC) had measured the
length of
Earth's
meridian, and after that they used this instrument to survey smaller regions as well.