Historical information

This is a surveyor's chain or Gunter's chain, an instrument used for measuring length. It comprises 100 pieces of straight metal wire, looped together end to end, and fitted with swivel handles. Its overall length is one chain (22 yards or 66 feet).

The Gunter's chain was named after its inventor, Edmund Gunter (1581-1626), an English clergyman, mathematician, and astronomer.

Physical description

5 lengths of wire with loops along the length. The 5 lengths are joined together by a piece of wire each end. The loops represent certain distance. At each end on the top row is a handle for pulling it out to correct length.