Talk:Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement/Archive 1

Removed content

Rktect 8/5/05

Egil, before you continue cleaning up things you apparently know nothing about

Why not take a moment and tell us what you know about the subject?

I would like to see some discussion of standards of measure and the system

they were based on. Why do you object to that?

Why do you think its so much more useful to compare Mesopotamian units to English units or

metric units than the units of their contemporaries such as the Egyptians and immediate

inheritors such as the Greeks and Romans that you would find it necessary to

remove those comparisons from the discussion?

I really don't think you know what's of value and what is not

but feel safer if you can destroy anything you don't understand

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I have removed the following content from the article (between the two horizontal bars, below). Some of it may be of value, but in that case, it really needs to be integrated into the existing article in a proper manner, and with references. -- Egil 15:23, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

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The Greek root of stadios means to stand or have standing, to establish a standard. The problem was that there were several different standards.

• In Mesopotamia there was the sos = 180 m
• In Egypt the khet was 100 royal cubits
• In Egypt 210 khet were an itrw or hour of travel on the river
• In Egypt 300 Royal cubits were the stadia of Eratosthenes = 157.5 m
• 700 to a degree at Alexandria,
• In Egypt 350 Royal cubits were a Minute of March = 183.75 m
• In Egypt 60 Minutes of March were an atur or Hour of March
• In Persia there were stadia of 700 feet = 222 m
• 500 to a degree on the equator or
• This was the geographic stadia of Marianus of Tyre and Ptolomy
• In Attic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 600 pous = 185 m
• 600 to a degree of 111 km
• In Attic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 600 pous = 185 m
• 600 to a degree of 111 km
• In Ionic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 625 pous = 185 m
• 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km
• In Rome a Milliare of 8 Stadiums of 625 pes = 185 m
• 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km
• In England a Myle of 8 Furlongs of 625 fote = 185 m
• 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km

Sumerian lengths

As a collection of city states organized like the Greeks by gene, oinkos and phratre the Sumerians had a plethora of multiple standards. All stated values are in precise unit fractions of a common standard.

Unit	Measure	Definition	Size
digit, finger
šusi	little finger	3/4 uban	15 mm
shusi	ring finger	5/6 uban	16.67 mm
sheshi	index finger		17.67 mm
uban	thumb		20 mm
ell
šusi ell	short ell	3 šusi	45 mm
shusi ell	median ell	3 shusi	50 mm
sheshi ell	long ell	3 sheshi	53 mm
uban ell	thumb-ell	3 uban	60 mm
	18 shusi = 15 uban
palm
šusi palm	short palm	4 šusi	60 mm
shusi palm	median palm	4 shusi	67 mm
sheshi palm	long palm	4 sheshi	71 mm
uban palm	thumb-palm	4 uban	80 mm
	24 shusi = 20 uban
hand, qat
šusi qat	short hand	5 šusi	75 mm
shusi qat	median hand	5 shusi	84 mm
sheshi qat	long hand	5 sheshi	88 mm
uban qat	thumb-hand	5 uban	100 mm
	30 shusi = 25 uban
fist
šusi fist	short fist	6 šusi	90 mm
shusi fist	median fist	6 shusi	100 mm
sheshi fist	long fist	6 sheshi	106 mm
uban fist	thumb-fist	6 uban	120 mm
	36 shusi = 30 uban
span
šu-dù-a	span (‘hands’ + ‘to stack’)	10 šusi	150 mm
zipaþ	span	10 shusi	167 mm
zapaþ šu.bad	span	10 sheshi	176 mm
zipaþ	span	10 uban	200 mm
quarter (span of outstretched thumb and little finger)
ñušur	shaftment	15 šusi	220.5 mm
šu-dù-a	shaftment	12 shusi	250 mm
foot
ñušur	foot	20 šusi	300 mm
šu-dù-a	foot
18 shusi		≈ 304.8 mm
18½ shusi	≈ 308.4 mm
ñiš	tool rod	17 sheshi	300 mm
ñìri	foot	15 uban = 3 gat = ½ cubit	300 mm
cubit
ku	ordinary cubit	30 shusi= 25 uban= 6 ordinary qat= 5 long qat	500 mm
kus	cubit	36 shusi = 30 uban	600 mm
kùš	‘hand’ + ‘arm’
hand and forearm, as a unit of measurement, ell/cubit
šu-da	ell/cubit	2 gat of a cubit of 5 gat divided into 30 shusi
double remen
ñìr	step; way, path	60 shusi = 50 uban	= 1 m
kùš-numun		2 ñiš-bad	= 1 m
ñidri+ uru9	‘support’; úr, ‘leg(s)’; pace		= 1.5 m
ñìri…gub	to step on ‘foot’ + ‘to stand’		= 3 m
qanu		6 ammat	= 3.6 m
še ñiš-è-a	‘grain’ + ‘stick’ + ‘to exit from’ + nominative	harvested grain that has just been threshed and only roughly measured with a stick
gi	reed (circular + to sprout)	6 cubits	= 3 m
éše, éš[šè]	rope; measuring tape/cord	10 nindan rods = 20 reeds = 120 cubits
Area measure square roots
side of the ordinary iku		60 ordinary kù	30 m
side of the ordinary iku		60 qanu = 1/6 sos
side of the great iku		60 qanu	36 m
Other
sos		= 360 ganu	≈ 180 m
parasang		= 30 sos	≈ 5.4 km
kapsu		= 2 parasang	≈ 10.8 km

Sumerian area measure

• 1 uzalag
• 1 uzalak: = 1/4 of an iku = 25 sar
• 1 še: barley; grain; = 432 square linear barleycorns = 12 square uban
• 1 ubu : = 1/2 of an iku (= 50 sar).
• 1 sar:
• 1 šar: 'garden plot' = 1 square ninda
• 1 square ninda = 60 surface shekels = 1/100 iku
• 1 square ninda = 4 square reeds = 144 square cubits
• 1 iku: = 3600 meters2 = 100 sar = 1 square 'rope' = 1/18 bùr
• (plural Akk. form of ég, ék, 'levee').
• 1 éše, = 120 1/2 cubits or feet = the side of 1 square iku in area
• éš[ŠÈ]: = 6 iku; leash (can be an adverbial suffix like eš)
• (eš, 'much', + eš, 'much') [ŠE3 archaic frequency: 152].
• nindan,
• ninda: rod = 12 cubits (kùš) = 6 meters; one side of a sar
• šar, 'garden plot' square measure
• from Akk. middatu, mindatu, 'to measure'

Sumerian volume measure

• 1 gur = 1 square ninda times 1 kùš = 144 kùš3
• 1 gur = 18 cubic meters
• 1 bariga = 60 gur PI or UL in Old Sumerian period
• 1 bariga = 36 sìla in the Old Sumerian period
• 1 bán-rig-a = 6 bán. 'the bán from picking, gleaning'
• 1 èše: = 6 iku.
• 1 bùr: = 18 iku = 3 éše = 1800 sar
• the amount of land that supported a family
• 1 bùru from Akkadian buuru IV, "hunger",
• bii/eeru IV, "space, distance"
• gána, gán: tract of land, field parcel;
• (flat) surface, plane; measure of surface; shape, outline;
• cultivation = iku = gan- field" GAN2
• 1 ma-na-tur: little mina = 1/3 shekel = 60 surface še = 720 square uban
• 1 a-ñá-ri-in: a flat area measured in sar
• 1 ñarim
• 1 A-ñar:
• 1 e5-ñar
• 1 gín-tur: little shekel = 1/60 shekel = 1/3600 square nindan
• 1 sar = 3 surface še = 36 square fingers
• 1 sar = surface of the side of a cube of 1 sìla capacity.

Akkadian length

• 1 ŠU.BAD: 'open hand' = 12 šusi = 220 mm = 8.66"
• 1 ammat cubit of 530 mm - 20.87 a unit of wheat or barley measure
• 1 ammatu := 6 long qat= 600 mm
• 1 ÑIŠ-BAD: =1 kùš. 600 mm
• 1 UŠ: = 6 ropes = 60 nindan rods.

Akkadian area

• 2 AŠ: = 1/2 of an iku (= 50 sar).
• 1 iku: = 3600 meters2 = 100 sar = 1 square 'rope'
• 1 iku = 1/18 bùr plural Akk. form of ég, ék, 'levee'
• 1 éš[ŠÈ]: = 120 cubits = the side of 1 square iku in area

Akkadian volume

• 1 bariga = 60 sìla in the Old Akkadian and Neo-Sumerian periods.

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