Hi Thadd ...
From this site:
Egypt
The basic unit seems to have been the royal cubit or "meh" estimated at 524 mm.
Another unit was the double remen or the diagonal of a square having sides of 1 cubit.
The remen ( 371 mm) was essentially used for land measure.
The main subdivision was the digit or "zebo" with 28 digits in a cubit and about 40 in a double remen.
This royal cubit is obviously inflated - maybe the work of an obsequious courtier who pretended it was Pharaoh's. (My personal cubit makes 470 mm !) There was indeed another "ordinary" cubit of 450 mm.
For those who still think in inches, 1 royal cubit = 20.62 " ; 1 remen = 14.6 " or about and 1 short cubit = 17.67 "
1 digit or zebo (= 18.7 mm)
4 digits = 1 palm or shep
5 digits = 1 hand
12 digits = 3 palms = 1 small span
14 digits = 1 large span or 1/2 royal cubit
24 digits = 6 palms = 1 ordinary or small cubit (= 450 mm)
28 digits = 7 palms = 1 royal cubit or "meh" (= 524 mm)
100 royal cubits = 1 "khet" (= 52.4 m)
120 khet = 1 "ater" (later called a "skhoinos") ( 6288 m)
From this site:
The basic unit of measurement during the Egyptian times was the royal cubit of "meh" which was about 524 mm. Another important unit of measure was
the double remen or the diagonal of a square having sides of 1 cubit. The remen was used for land measure. the main subdivision of measurement was the digit or "zebo" with 28 digits in a cubit and about 40 in a double remen.
And finally
from this site:
Unit Measures
Egyptian measures are systematic to this standard but
on actual measuring rods and artifacts may vary ≈+/- 1 mm per cubit
1 finger, db = 18¾ mm
1 palm, Å¡sp = 4 db = 75 mm
1 hand, drt = 5 db = 93¾ mm
1 fist, amm = 6 db = 112½ mm
1 span, spd = 12 db = 225 mm
1 foot, bw = 16 db = 300 mm
1 remen, rmn = 20 db = 375 mm
1 ordinary cubit, mh = 6 Å¡sp = 450 mm
1 royal cubit, mh = 7 Å¡sp = 525 mm
1 nibw = 8 Å¡sp = 600 mm
1 double remen = 2 rmn = 750 mm
1 rod, h3yt = 10 mh (royal) = 5.25 m
1 ht, ht n nhw = 10 h3yt = 52.5 m
1 minute of march = 350 mh (royal) = 183.75 m
1 hour of march, atur, itrw = 21,000 mh (royal) ≈11 km
Best
Don Barone
" If everything is simply a coincidence what then is the point of studying or measuring or analyzing anything in the ancient world ?" db
