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Measuring length in Ancient Egypt Page by Digitalegypt (University College London). Irrational numbers and pyramids Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Article by Gay Robins and C. C. D. Shute; Introduction to Egyptian Mathematics, with photographs of Maya's cubit rod from the Louvre and land surveying scenes from the tomb of Menna.
The ancient Egyptian royal cubit (meh niswt) is the earliest attested standard measure.Cubit rods were used for the measurement of length.A number of these rods have survived: two are known from the tomb of Maya, the treasurer of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun, in Saqqara; another was found in the tomb of Kha in Thebes.
In Ancient Egypt it was the basic unit of subdivision of the cubit. [1] On surviving Ancient Egyptian cubit-rods, the royal cubit is divided into seven palms of four digits or fingers each. [3] The royal cubit measured approximately 525 mm, [4] so the length of the ancient Egyptian digit was about 19 mm.
The palm was not a major unit in ancient Mesopotamia but appeared in ancient Israel as the tefah, [7] tepah, [8] or topah [8] (Hebrew: טפח, lit. "a spread"). [9] Scholars were long uncertain as to whether this was reckoned using the Egyptian or Babylonian cubit, [7] but now believe it to have approximated the Egyptian "Greek cubit", giving a value for the palm of about 74 mm or 2.9 in. [8]
The Egyptian cubit, the Indus Valley units of length referred to above, and the Mesopotamian cubit were used in the 3rd millennium BC and are the earliest known units used by ancient peoples to measure length. The units of length used in ancient India included the dhanus, or dhanush (bow), the krosa (cry, or cow-call) and the yojana (stage ...
A number of units were used to measure length. One derah baladi was equal to 0.58 m and one kassabah was equal to 3.55 m, according to the metric equivalences defined in 1891. [1] [2] Some other units according to the metric equivalences defined in 1891 are given below: [1] [2] [3] 1 kirat = 1 ⁄ 24 dirra 1 abdat = 1 ⁄ 6 dirra 1 kadam = 1 ...
The Egyptian word 'seked' is thus related [in meaning, not origin] to our modern word 'gradient'. [2] Many of the smaller pyramids in Egypt have varying slopes; however, like the Great Pyramid of Giza, the pyramid at Meidum is thought to have had sides that sloped by [8] 51.842° or 51° 50' 35", which is a seked of 5 + 1 / 2 palms.
The ancient Egyptian units of measurement discussion further shows that the hekat was 1/30 of a royal cubit 3, an analysis that needs to double checked, against the d = 2 suggestion, which means that r = 1, a suggestion that does make sense. One royal cubit of the ancient Egyptian weights and measures = 523.5 millimeters.