Wikipedia

Measuring rod

Not to be confused withRanging rod.

Ameasuring rodis a tool used to physicallymeasure lengthsandsurveyareas of various sizes. Most measuring rods are round or square sectioned; however, they can also be flat boards. Some have markings at regular intervals. It is likely that the measuring rod was used before the line, chain or steel tapes used in modern measurement.[1]

Graeco-Egyptian God Serapis with measuring rod
Gudeaof Lagash with measuring rod and surveyors' tools

History

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Ancient Sumer

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The oldest preserved measuring rod is acopper-alloybar which was found by theGermanAssyriologistEckhard Ungerwhile excavating atNippur(pictured below). The bar dates from c. 2650 BC. and Unger claimed it was used as a measurement standard. This irregularly formed and irregularly markedgraduated rulesupposedly defined theSumerian cubitas about 518.5 mm (20.4 in), although this does not agree with other evidence from the statues ofGudeafrom the same region, five centuries later.[2]

Nippur cubit, graduated specimen of an ancient measure from Nippur, Mesopotamia (3rd millennium B.C.) – displayed in the Archeological Museum of Istanbul (Turkey)

Ancient India

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Rulers made from ivory were in use by the Indus Valley Civilization in what today is Pakistan, and in some parts of Western India prior to 1500 BCE. Excavations at Lothal dating to 2400 BCE have yielded one such ruler calibrated to about1⁄16inch (1.6 mm)[3]Ian Whitelaw (2007) holds that 'The Mohenjo-Daro ruler is divided into units corresponding to 1.32 inches (34 mm) and these are marked out in decimal subdivisions with remarkable accuracy—to within 0.005 inches (0.13 mm). Ancient bricks found throughout the region have dimensions that correspond to these units.'[4] The sum total of ten graduations from Lothal is approximate to the angula in the Arthashastra.[5]

Ancient East Asia

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Measuring rods for different purposes and sizes (construction, tailoring and land survey) have been found from China and elsewhere dating to the early 2nd millennium B.C.E.[6]

Ancient Egypt

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Cubit rod ofMayadefining the cubit as 52.3 cm, 1336–1327 BC (Eighteenth Dynasty)
Main article:Ancient Egyptian units of measurement

Cubit-rods of wood or stone were used in Ancient Egypt. Fourteen of these were described and compared by Lepsius in 1865.[7]Flinders Petriereported on a rod that shows a length of 520.5 mm, a few millimetres less than the Egyptiancubit.[8]A slate measuring rod was also found, divided into fractions of a Royal Cubit and dating to the time ofAkhenaten.[9]

Further cubit rods have been found in the tombs of officials. Two examples are known from the tomb ofMaya—the treasurer of the18th dynastypharaohTutankhamun—inSaqqara.Another was found in the tomb of Kha (TT8) inThebes.These cubits are ca 52.5 cm (20.7 in) long and are divided into seven palms, each palm is divided into four fingers and the fingers are further subdivided.[10]Another wooden cubit rod was found in Theban tombTT40(Huy) bearing the throne name of Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure).[11]

Cubit rod from the Turin Museum

Egyptian measuring rods also had marks for theRemenmeasurement of approximately 370 mm (15 in), used in construction of thePyramids.[12][13]

Ancient Europe

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Anoakrod from theIron Agefortified settlement atBorre FeninDenmarkmeasured 53.15 inches (135.0 cm), with marks dividing it up into eight parts of 6.64 inches (16.9 cm), corresponding quite closely to half aDoricPous(a Greek foot).[14]Ahazelmeasuring rod recovered from aBronze Ageburial mound inBorum Eshøj,East Jutland byP. V. Globin 1875 measured 30.9 inches (78 cm) corresponding remarkably well to the traditional Danish foot.[15]Themegalithicstructures ofGreat Britainhas been hypothesized to have been built by a "Megalithic Yard",though some authorities believe these structures have been measured out by pacing.[16][17][18]Several tentativeBronze Agebone fragments have been suggested as being parts of a measuring rod for this hypothetical measurement.[16]

Roman Empire

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Fragment of a Roman measuring rod, from Musée romain de Lausanne-Vidy

Large public works and imperial expansion, particularly the large network ofRoman roadsand the manymilecastles,made the measuring rod an indispensable part of both the military and civilian aspects of Roman life.Republican Romeused several measures, including the various Greek feet measurements and the Oscan foot of 27.5 cm. Standardisation was introduced byAgrippain 29 BC, replacing all previous measurements by aRoman footof 29.6 cm, which became the foot ofImperial Rome.[19]

The Roman measuring rod was 10 Roman feet long, and hence called adecempeda,Latinfor 'ten-footer'. It was usually of square section capped at both ends by a metal shoe, and painted in alternating colours. Together with thegromaanddioptra,thedecempedaformed the basic kit for theRoman surveyors.[20]The measuring rod is frequently found depicted in Roman art showing the surveyors at work. A shorter foldingyardstickone Roman foot long is known from excavations of a Roman fort inNiederburg,Germany.[21]

Middle Ages

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In theMiddle Ages,bars were used as standards of length whensurveyingland.[22] These bars often used a unit of measure called arod,oflengthequal to 5.5yards,5.0292metres,16.5feet,or1⁄320of astatute mile.[23]A rod is the same length as aperchor apole.[24]In Old English, the termlugis also used. The length is equal to the standardized length of theox goadused for teams of eight oxen bymedievalEnglish ploughmen.[25]The lengths of the perch (one rod unit) andchain(four rods) were standardized in 1607 byEdmund Gunter.[26]The rod unit was still in use as a common unit of measurement in the mid-19th century, whenHenry David Thoreauused it frequently when describing distances in his workWalden.

In culture

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Iconography

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Measuring rod and coiled rope depicted in the Code of Hammurabi

Two statues ofGudea of Lagashin theLouvredepict him sitting with a tablet on his lap, upon which are placed surveyors tools including a measuring rod.[27]

Seal 154 recovered fromAlalakh,now in theBiblioteque Nationaleshow a seated figure with a wedge shaped measuring rod.[28]

TheTablet of Shamashrecovered from the ancientBabyloniancity ofSipparand dated to the 9th century BC showsShamash,the Sun God awarding the measuring rod and coiled rope to newly trainedsurveyors.[29][30]

A similar scene with measuring rod and coiled rope is shown on the top part of thedioritesteleabove theCode of Hammurabiin theLouvre,Paris, dating to ca. 1700 BC.[31]

The "measuring rod" ortally stickis common in theiconographyofGreekGoddessNemesis.[32]

The Graeco-Egyptian GodSerapisis also depicted in images and on coins with a measuring rod in hand and a vessel on his head.[33][34]

The most elaborate depiction is found on theUr-Nammu-stela, where the winding of the cords has been detailed by the sculptor. This has also been described as a "staff and a chaplet of beads".[35]

Mythology

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The myth ofInanna's descent to the nether world describes how the goddess dresses and prepares herself:

She held thelapis-lazulimeasuring rod and measuring line in her hand.[36]

LachesisinGreek mythologywas one of the threeMoirai(or Fates) and "allotter" (or drawer of lots). She measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Her Roman equivalent wasDecima(the 'Tenth').[37]

Varunain theRigveda,is described as using theSunas a measuring rod to lay out space in acreation myth.[38][39]W. R. Lethaby has commented on how the measurers were seen assolar deitiesand noted howVishnu"measured the regions of the Earth".[40]

Bible

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Measuring rods or reeds are mentioned many times in theBible.

A measuring rod and line are seen in a vision ofYahwehinEzekiel40:2-3:

In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.[41]

Another example isRevelation11:1:

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there".[41]

The measuring rod also appears in connection withfoundation stonerites inRevelation21:14-15:

And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall.[42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^American Society of Civil Engineers (1891).Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers.American Society of Civil Engineers.
  2. ^Scandinavian Archaeometry Center (1993).Archaeology and natural science, p. 118.P. Åströms.ISBN9789170810824.Retrieved9 June2011.
  3. ^Whitelaw, page 14
  4. ^Whitelaw, page 15
  5. ^S. R. Rao (1985). Lothal. Archaeological Survey of India. pp. 39–40.
  6. ^Gang Zhao (1986).Man and land in Chinese history: an economic analysis, p. 65.Stanford University Press. p. 65.ISBN978-0-8047-1271-2.
  7. ^Lepsius, Richard (1865).Die altaegyptische Elle und ihre Eintheilung(in German). Berlin: Dümmler.
  8. ^Acta praehistorica et archaeologica.B.Hessling. 1976.
  9. ^Broadman & Holman Publishers (15 September 2006).Holman Illustrated Study Bible-HCSB.B&H Publishing Group. p. 1413.ISBN978-1-58640-275-4.Retrieved8 April2011.
  10. ^Marshall Clagett, Ancient Egyptian Science, A Source Book. Volume Three: Ancient Egyptian Mathematics, American Philosophical Society, 1999
  11. ^Frances Welsh (2008).Tutankhamun's Egypt.Osprey Publishing. p. 7.ISBN978-0-7478-0665-3.
  12. ^Acta archaeologica.Levin & Munksgaard. 1969.Retrieved22 April2011.
  13. ^Martin Brennan (1980).The Boyne Valley vision.Dolmen Press.ISBN978-0-85105-362-2.
  14. ^Tauber, H. (1964): Copenhagen radiocarbon dates VI,Radiocarbonno. 6, pp 215-25.
  15. ^Boye, V. (1896): Fund av Egekister fra Bronzealderen i Danmark. Et monografisk Bidrag til Belysning af Bronzealderens Kultur. Kopenhagen.
  16. ^abMargaret Ponting (2003)."Megalithic Callanish".In Clive Ruggles (ed.).Records in Stone: Papers in Memory of Alexander Thom.Cambridge University Press. pp. 423–441.ISBN978-0-521-53130-6.
  17. ^Heggie, Douglas C. (1981).Megalithic Science: Ancient Mathematics and Astronomy in North-west Europe.Thames and Hudson. p. 58.ISBN0-500-05036-8.
  18. ^David George Kendall; F. R. Hodson; Royal Society (Great Britain); British Academy (1974).The Place of astronomy in the ancient world: a joint symposium of the Royal Society and the British Academy, Hunting Quanta, p. 258.Oxford University Press for the British Academy.ISBN978-0-19-725944-3.
  19. ^Soren, D. & Soren, N. (1999): A Roman villa and a late Roman infant cemetery: excavation at Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina. Bibliotheca archaeologica (Rome, Italy), no. 23. L'Erma di Bretschneider, Romep 184fromGoogle books
  20. ^Shuttleworth, M."Building Roman roads".Experiment-resources. Archived fromthe originalon 21 April 2011.Retrieved2 May2011.
  21. ^Main Limes Museum:Measuring rod
  22. ^Charles Blaney Breed; George Leonard Hosmer (1977).The principles and practice of surveying.Wiley.
  23. ^Rowlett, Russ (25 April 2002)."rod (rd) [1]".How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement.University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Retrieved1 November2010.
  24. ^Bonten, JHM (19 January 2007)."Anglo-Saxon and Biblical to Metrics Conversions".Surveyor + Chain + British-Nautical.Retrieved1 November2010.
  25. ^Rowlett, Russ (15 December 2008)."lug".How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement.University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2013.Retrieved1 November2010.
  26. ^"Rod, unit of measure".UnitConversion.org.Retrieved1 November2010.
  27. ^Donald Preziosi (1983).Minoan architectural design: formation and signification, p. 498.Mouton.ISBN978-90-279-3409-3.
  28. ^Dominique Collon (1975).The seal impressions from Tell Atchana/Alalakh.Butzon & Bercker.ISBN978-3-7887-0469-8.
  29. ^The British Museum - Tablet of Shamash
  30. ^William Rainey Harper; Ernest De Witt Burton; Shailer Mathews (1905).The Biblical world p. 120.University of Chicago Press.
  31. ^Amélie Kuhrt (1995).The ancient Near East, c. 3000-330 BC.Routledge. p. 111.ISBN978-0-415-16763-5.
  32. ^Lucinda Dirven (1999).The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: a study of religious interaction in Roman Syria p. 329.BRILL. p. 329.ISBN978-90-04-11589-7.
  33. ^Johann Joachim Eschenburg (1836).Manual of classical literature.Key and Biddle. pp.343–.Retrieved22 April2011.
  34. ^Maarten Jozef Vermaseren; International Association for the History of Religions. Dutch Section (1979).Studies in Hellenistic religions.Brill Archive. p. 199.ISBN978-90-04-05885-9.
  35. ^Jeremy Black, Anthony Green,Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia,Rod and Ring, p 156.
  36. ^cf.Inana's descent to the nether worldline 25. The Sumerian has: gi-diš-nindaneš2-gana2za-gin3šu ba-ni-in-du8i.e. taken literally the rod would have the length of onenindan(6 cubit = 5.94m) and the eš2-gana2the surveyor's line - would be tennindanin length.
  37. ^Robert Graves (1957).The Greek myths, p. 30.G. Braziller.
  38. ^Rig Veda, Book 5, Hymn 85, Verse 5 tr. by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896], at sacred-texts
  39. ^Edward Washburn Hopkins (2007).The Religions of India.Echo Library. p. 52.ISBN978-1-4068-1329-6.
  40. ^W. R. Lethaby (December 2005).Architecture, Mysticism and Myth.Cosimo, Inc. p. 16.ISBN978-1-59605-380-9.Retrieved24 April2011.
  41. ^abBIBLE: New International Version.1984.
  42. ^Foundation Publication Inc (1 March 1997).New American Standard Bible.Foundation Publications, publisher for the Lockman Foundation.ISBN9781885217684.Retrieved8 April2011.
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