With the advent of GPS, boundary stones have over time become less important from a cadastral point of view, but remain small historical monuments that are protected by law. My task was to inventory and present the boundary stones of the canton's internal and external boundaries, making them visible in OSM and OHM. I applied the same principle to the boundary stones I mapped outside the canton and outside Switzerland.

The choice of naming the boundary stones is not mine; it has probably been present since the beginning of the maps' existence. Many of the old maps I digitize in the Archives show the boundary stones with a name, often the boundary stone number if there is one, but also the details of what is engraved when they are emblazoned. Even today, national maps show national boundary stones with their numbers engraved. So, from time immemorial, when these boundary stones are mentioned, they are mentioned by these numbers or contents. These inscriptions have thus become the de facto name of the boundary stone.

The case of boundary stones with no visible content is special and deserves explanation. Putting nothing at all leaves it unclear whether there is nothing there or whether the boundary stone has not been completely lifted. Scientifically, it is more correct to indicate that there is nothing than to indicate nothing. So I've chosen to name these boundary stones with the | sign, which represents the line found on most boundary stone vertices to indicate the direction to the next boundary stone. A positive effect is also visible in OSM, because if there is no name for an object, the ref tag, if present - which is the case for all boundary stones - is displayed by default and can be counter-productive. There are therefore just over 600 of the nearly 2,500 boundary stones inventoried in the canton of Neuchâtel that have no visible inscription other than the line on their top.

I hope these explanations will be clear enough for you to accept the work as it has been carried out to date. More than 4 years and 70% of my time have already been invested voluntarily in this inventory, which several other cantons would also like to see carried out in their own cantons.

Greetings from Neuchâtel,
Claude
