Dave: "Petrie (Medum, 32) states that the sign is 'commonly recognised as a cubit', at first 'plainly the side view', to which the distinguishing bevel of the end view was later added."


Petrie wrote in 1892 that the sign is "commonly recognised as a cubit" - who recognized it was a cubit in 1892, and perhaps more importantly, who today? - it was not recognized as such by Allen (2001) or Gardiner (1957)



Dave: "Also perhaps noting the word for cubit was amha or similar...which is pretty much the same to the word Allen is attributing to Aa11/12."


Cubit is mH, but the phonogram Aa11 / 12 is mAa, so I can't see how they can be pretty much the same.


D42, 'forearm with palm down', is the ideogram for cubit (mH), and is also the determinative in 'cubit', in its fullest form, written with the 'whip' sign, V23 (mH) + det. D42.


Aa11 / 12 is the phonogram mAa - a triliteral sign, not mH (cubit) - a biliteral sign. Aa11 / 12 is also the determinative in TntAt ('platform')


In an inscription from Dyn 3, 200 cubits is written with the 'forearm with palm down' sign, D42 (ideogram for cubit), followed by the number 200. In the Pyramid Texts, 770 cubits is also written with D42 followed by the number 770.


Dave: "could there be a connection between the platform and the cubit as well which meant the signs were associated?"

Can't think of a connection that can be verified by textual evidence.


Dave: "The other argument in favour is that the glyph Aa13 was used as the sign for half.. So there may have been some numerical or length wise association with the cubit glyph? if it were that?"


Aa13 is the phonogram jm and m, and is also a variant of Aa16, the front part of Aa13. Aa16 is the ideogram for gs ('half','side'), and the phonogram gs. I don't see any explicit connection with Aa 11 / 12 ('platform'), especially as the early form, Aa12, is simply a long narrow rectangle with little resemblance to Aa13 or Aa16.


I am still trying to track down the determinative used for 'measuring rod' mentioned in a Dyn 6 tomb (Nekhebu carried the measuring rod (mAt) of a building inspector), as this might shed more light on this issue.


In Faulkner's dictionary, 'measuring rod' (mAwt) is written with the 'sickle' sign U1 (mA) G43 (w) X1 (t) + what may be a vertical variant of Aa11 as determinative. However Faulkner has a question mark after ' measuring rod' so its not certain. The other example given is written mAt: U1 (mA) X1 (t) + what could possibly be a vertical variant of Aa11 but it has an additional two stokes to the side towards the top end.

CT