Ancient Roman units of measurement
Overview
Ancient Greek units of measurement
Ancient Greek units of measurement would later create the foundation of Egyptian, and formed the basis of the later Roman system.Generally speaking, standards of measurement within the ancient Greek world varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures evolved as...
with Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian units of measurement
-Length:Units of length date back to at least the early dynastic period. In the Palermo stone for instance the level of the Nile river is recorded. During the reign of Pharaoh Djer the height of the river Nile was given as measuring 6 cubits and 1 palm...
, Hebrew
Ancient Hebrew units of measurement
Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement, such as the Omer, used primarily by ancient Israelites, appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later Judaic scripture, such as the Mishnah and Talmud...
, and Mesopotamian
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. The units themselves grew out of the tradition of counting tokens used by the Neolithic cultural complex of the Near East. The counting tokens were used to keep accounts of personal...
influences. The Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
units were comparatively consistent and well documented.
Notes
- From late AntiquityLate AntiquityLate Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
the Roman foot was sometimes divided into unciaeUncia (length)An ' is an ancient Roman unit of length that roughly corresponds to an inch. One uncia is 0.97 inches or 24.6 millimeters. There are twelve in one pes....
comprising 12 equal parts.
The ancient digit measure, however, largely dominated before the beginning of the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. - A Roman foot was approximately equal to the height of a modern A4 sheet of paperISO 216ISO 216 specifies international standard paper sizes used in most countries in the world today. It defines the "A" and "B" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available size...
.
The Roman acre is the squared Roman arpent, 120 pedes by 120 pedes.
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