--- aletheia kallos <aletheiak@...> wrote:

> but i will bring my tape measure to be sure
> if you havent checked it

This is a very interesting question; i. e. is the
boundary cross really at the center of the X-mark in
the 110-rock on top of Sorgschrofen?

As I see it, the following scenario is at least
plausible.

The border was agreed on in, let's say, general terms
in the treaty. The wording was something like this:
The boundary cross is at the highest peak of
Steinberg.
(See http://jungholz.enclaves.org for a memory refresh
of the treaty text.)

After a while marker 110 was placed at some random
spot on or near the "highest peak".

More than 150 years passed.

Man was given laser measurement equipment, and along
with that came an obsessive urge for precision.

So, a number of geodetic reference markers were
placed, the position of the X-mark was measured, and
it's coordinate was entered into the official boundary
description.

If you are with me, and you agree with me, then thus
far we must accept the X-mark as the true cross (pun
not intended), since it defined itself.

But there is evidence that at least the looks, if not
even the shape, of the 110-rock has changed at least
once in the past few decades. Then, if it has been
shifted, or if a new coat of paint has been applied
by, say, not too careful extra workers, *after* it was
measured, the position of the cross is in question.

There is also the subtle question, raised by "m" as I
remember, whether the X-mark or the actual *top* of
the 110-rock is the correct spot, but what is said
above applies in both cases.

My input to the latter disussion would be that there
is reason to believe that the X-mark is actually
intended to define the spot. I have come to understand
that this manner of marking a border is quite common
in mountainous areas in central Europe. ATLI, which
has been discussed here recently, contains a
substantial number of markers cut directly into the
rock ("Felsmarken"), as does ATDE. There are also a
few at CHIT-Campione, and most likely others
elsewhere.
However, an amateur measurment, conducted even with a
cheap tape measure from some american superstore,
should settle this question.

M

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