Hey!
In the summer of 2022 I started a personal campaign to get the historic place names of Wales, as listed and recorded by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), inserted on modern Google Maps with the aim of raising the awareness of the rich legacy of our historic place names, encouraging their continuing everyday use, and preserving these important elements of our national heritage.
The current pin total of recorded place names incorporated on to Google Maps is 140. The pins where possible are supported by photos of each location and a link to the RCAHMW website where further data can be gained regarding the source of the historic place name:
RCAHMW-Confirmed Place Names Pins · Chris-Manawydan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rYKNrpbEU2vHdqrk7?g_st=i
The placeholders allow posts, photos & reviews to be located on to Google Maps at each location.
The optimistic goal is to eventually cover the total distance of 870 miles of the Wales Coastal path that follows our entire coastline! Ultimately the recognition of the historic place name pins on a widely used platform means that there is now more chance that the place names will be adopted and recognised by people in daily use. This in turn will inevitably help preserve their place in our language, culture and heritage.
Unfortunately the campaign has come to a bit of a halt in that Google Maps is no longer approving my requests. All I now get is a standard auto generated email thanking me for my contribution that advises that the new addition is in review. Frustratingly there is no contact detail to question the reason for the “in review” status. The approval of the addition of new place names appears to be very ad-hoc! As it stands, I have 78 recorded place names that have been submitted to Google that remain “in review” - these are saved on a “pending” Google Maps place names map:
RCAHMW-Pending Pins · Chris-Manawydan
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8ycVc7wiC2S5kk8J8?g_st=i
Many of the pending place names have been submitted on a number of occasions.
Wonder if anyone else has the same frustrating issues regarding the ad-hoc approval process and the total lack of feedback from the Google Maps team.