The first map of Ireland, created back in 140AD was drawn up by Claudius Ptolemy, a man who had never visited the country.
According to history, the mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist would have used military, trader and traveller reports and his own calculations.
Ptolemy lived from around 87 to 150 AD and although he resided in Alexandria in Egypt for most of his life, he originally came from Greece.
The remarkably accurate map is included on the Prima Europe Tabula section of Ptolemy's Geographia.
His map shows two capitals called "Regia" - one in Ulster and the other in the east, and despite the time, his drawings and measurements of Ireland are fairly accurate.
The work known as the Geographia included guidelines on how to 'flatten' an image of the Earth when constructing maps, and was largely used as a reference throughout his time.
Ptolemy believed that the earth was a sphere that was encased within another spherical structure - the sky - rotating around the sun.
According to history, he based his calculations of longitudes and latitudes on this foundational principle.
The Geography contains the most intricate account of Ireland in classical literature, and details the latitude and longitude of six promontories, fifteen river mouths, ten settlements, nine islands, sixteen population groups.
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