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Egyptian measuring rods also had marks for the [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|Remen]] measurement of approximately 370mm. John Michell noted the relationship between the Egyptian [[Cubit]], [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|Remen]] and [[Megalithic Yard]], stating that geometrically, if a square has a side that is the Remen then the diagonal will be the Royal [[Cubit]]. Furthermore he noted that if a rectangle measures two by one Remens then the diagonal will be the Megalithic Yard.<ref name="Michell1978">{{cite book|author=John Michell|title=City of Revelation: On the Proportion and Symbolic Numbers of the Cosmic Temple|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MHfubwAACAAJ|accessdate=22 April 2011|year=1978|publisher=Abacus|isbn=9780349123219}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cosmic-mindreach.com/Egypt_Part3.html Campbell, Robert., Ancient Egypt’s Theory of Everything, Part 3 - Mathematics & Measurement, 2009.]</ref><ref>0.37 x √2 = 0.523, 0.37 x √5 = 0.827</ref>
Egyptian measuring rods also had marks for the [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|Remen]] measurement of approximately 370mm.


==Other regions==
==Other regions==

Revision as of 13:29, 22 April 2011

Graeco-Egyptian God Serapis with measuring rod

A measuring rod is a type of ruler or measuring-stick. Measuring rods for different purposes and sizes (construction, tailoring and land survey) have been found from China and elsewhere dating to the early 2nd millenium B.C.E.[1] It is likely that the measuring rod was used before the line, chain or steel tapes used in modern measurement.[2]

Ancient Egypt

Flinders Petrie reported on a rod that shows a length of 520.54 mm, the approximate quantum of the Egyptian Royal Cubit.[3] A slate measuring rod was also found, divided into fractions of a Royal Cubit and dating to the time of Akhenaten.[4]

Further cubit rods have been found in the tombs of officials. Two examples are known from the tomb of Maya—the treasurer of Tutankhamun—in Saqqara. Another was found in the tomb of Kha (TT8) in Thebes. These cubits are ca 52.5 cm long and are divided into seven palms, each palm is divided into four fingers and the fingers are further subdivided.[5] Another wooden cubit rod was found in Theban tomb number fourty (Huya) bearing the throne name of Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure).[6]


Cubit rod from the Turin Museum.


Egyptian measuring rods also had marks for the Remen measurement of approximately 370mm. John Michell noted the relationship between the Egyptian Cubit, Remen and Megalithic Yard, stating that geometrically, if a square has a side that is the Remen then the diagonal will be the Royal Cubit. Furthermore he noted that if a rectangle measures two by one Remens then the diagonal will be the Megalithic Yard.[7][8][9]

Other regions

The sun-god Shamash holding a ring of coiled rope and a rod [10]
Measuring rod and coiled rope depicted in the Code of Hammarubi

Sun Gods, Pharaohs and Kings have been depicted with a measuring rod and line as a symbol of divine authority and legitimacy.[11]

The Tablet of Shamash recovered from the ancient Babylonian city of Sippar and dated to the 9th century BC shows Shamash, the Sun God awarding the measuring rod and coiled rope to newly trained surveyors.[12][13]

A similar scene with measuring rod and coiled rope is shown on the top part of the diorite stele above the Code of Hammurabi in the Louvre, Paris, dating to ca. 1700 BC.[14]

The "measuring rod" or tally stick is common in the iconography of Greek Goddess Nemesis.[15]

Margaret Ponting and Dr. P. J. Scott suggest that artifacts such as the Dalmore Bone found in Callanish and beads found at Patrickholme, Lanarkshire in Scotland have shown some evidence of being measuring rods based on the Megalithic Yard in Britain.[16]

Surveying with rod and line

Bible

Measuring rods or reeds are mentioned many times in the Bible.

A measuring rod and line are seen in a vision of Yahweh in Ezekiel 40:2-3:

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.[17]

Another example is Revelation 11:1:

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".[17]

The measuring rod also appears in connection with foundation stone rites in Revelation 20:14-15:

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.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Gang Zhao (1986). Man and land in Chinese history: an economic analysis, p. 65. Stanford University Press. pp. 65–. ISBN 9780804712712. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  2. ^ American Society of Civil Engineers (1891). Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers. American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  3. ^ Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie; Ethnologie und Urgeschichte; Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (Berlin (1976). Acta praehistorica et archaeologica. B.Hessling. Retrieved 6 April 2011. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Broadman & Holman Publishers (15 September 2006). Holman Illustrated Study Bible-HCSB. B&H Publishing Group. pp. 1413–. ISBN 9781586402754. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  5. ^ Marshall Clagett, Ancient Egyptian Science, A Source Book. Volume Three: Ancient Egyptian Mathematics,American Philosophical Society, 1999
  6. ^ Frances Welsh (4 March 2008). Tutankhamun's Egypt. Osprey Publishing. pp. 7–. ISBN 9780747806653. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  7. ^ John Michell (1978). City of Revelation: On the Proportion and Symbolic Numbers of the Cosmic Temple. Abacus. ISBN 9780349123219. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  8. ^ Campbell, Robert., Ancient Egypt’s Theory of Everything, Part 3 - Mathematics & Measurement, 2009.
  9. ^ 0.37 x √2 = 0.523, 0.37 x √5 = 0.827
  10. ^ Judith Resnik, Dennis Curtis, Representing Justice: Invention, Controversy, and Rights in City-States and Democratic Courtrooms, Yale University Press, 2011
  11. ^ Jacquetta Hawkes; Sir Leonard Woolley (1963). Prehistory and the beginnings of civilization. Harper & Row. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  12. ^ The British Museum - Tablet of Shamash
  13. ^ William Rainey Harper; Ernest De Witt Burton; Shailer Mathews (1905). The Biblical world p. 120. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  14. ^ Amélie Kuhrt (1995). The ancient Near East, c. 3000-330 BC. Routledge. pp. 111–. ISBN 9780415167635. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  15. ^ Lucinda Dirven (1999). The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: a study of religious interaction in Roman Syria p. 329. BRILL. pp. 329–. ISBN 9789004115897. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  16. ^ Clive Ruggles, ed. (13 February 2003). Records in Stone: Papers in Memory of Alexander Thom. Cambridge University Press. pp. 147–. ISBN 9780521531306. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  17. ^ a b BIBLE: New International Version. 1984. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  18. ^ Foundation Publication Inc (1 March 1997). New American Standard Bible. Foundation Publications, publisher for the Lockman Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2011.

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