For site work, any horizontal line can be chosen as a datum for heights and for Leveling.

The
height of a point is measured along the vertical above or below the chosen datum. The height of
a point relative to a datum is known as its reduced level (RL).

On most construction sites there is a permanent datum. The horizontal line or surface passing
through this, with its height, becomes the leveling datum. The height of the datum can be
arbitrary; a value often used for this is 100.000m. This is chosen to avoid any negative heights
occurring. Any reference point on site which has had a height assigned to it is known as a bench
mark. For most surveys and construction work, several bench marks would normally be
established by leveling from the datum. If heights are based on an arbitrary datum these are
known as Temporary Bench Marks or TBMs.

2.2.2 Curved Surfaces

Level (or horizontal) lines are always at right angles to the direction of gravity. The direction of
gravity is generally towards the center of the earth. Over large areas, as the Earth is curved, level
surfaces will also be curved. For these, a height difference is measured along a vertical between
two curved level surfaces.