{"id":118696,"date":"2023-02-09T13:50:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T12:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/?page_id=118696"},"modified":"2023-02-09T13:55:41","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T12:55:41","slug":"roman-measures","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-economy\/roman-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Chapters<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-economy\/roman-measures\/#measurements-of-length\" >Measurements of length<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-economy\/roman-measures\/#area-measures\" >Area measures<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-economy\/roman-measures\/#capacity-measures\" >Capacity measures<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-economy\/roman-measures\/#measurements-of-mass\" >Measurements of mass<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Roman measurement units were based on Greek and Egyptian standards. They were generally accurate and often used in everyday life. The Romans weighed everything from gold to vegetables using two types of scales: a simple bronze pan scale or a strong horizontal scale on a hook with a sliding weight, intended for weighing, for example, bags of flour.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"measurements-of-length\"><\/span>Measurements of length<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The basic unit of Roman length was the foot (<em>pes<\/em>). The foot was divided into smaller units: <em>dodrans<\/em> (3\/4), <em>bes<\/em> (2\/3), <em>triens<\/em> (1\/3), <em>quadrans<\/em> (1\/4), <em>sextans<\/em> (1\/6), <em>uncia<\/em> (1\/12), <em>semiuncia<\/em> (1 \/24) and <em>sicilius<\/em> (1\/24).<br \/>\nDistances were measured by separate measures: stride (<em>gradus<\/em>), double stride (<em>passus<\/em>), pole (<em>guineafowl<\/em>), length of furrow ploughed by oxen without stopping for rest (<em>actus<\/em>), a thousand paces (<em>miliarium<\/em> or <em>milia passuum<\/em>) and the cubit taken from the Egyptians (<em>cubitus<\/em>).<\/p>\n<table class=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 150px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Measure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 150px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Length<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 150px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Measure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 150px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Length<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Gallic leuga<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">2.22 km<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Cubitus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">444mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Miliarium<\/em> or <em>mille passuum<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">1.48km<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Palmipes<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">370mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Stage<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">185m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Pes<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">296mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Actus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">35.5 meters<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Palmus major<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">222mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Decempeda<\/em> or <em>pertica<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">2.96m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Palmus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">74 mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Passus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">1.48m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Uncia<\/em> or <em>pollex<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">24.6mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Gradus<\/em> or <em>pes sestertius<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.74m<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Digitus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">18.5mm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"area-measures\"><\/span>Area measures<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The most common measure of the area was <em>iugerum<\/em>, which originally meant the area where a pair of oxen (hence the name from <em>jugum<\/em>, meaning &#8220;yoke&#8221;) could plough in a day. It was a field of 35.5 m by 71 m, amounting to 2520.6 m square.<\/p>\n<table class=\"prawo\" width=\"230\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Measure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 130px; background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">in liters [l]<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Quadrant<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">26, 20<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Urn<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">13, 10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Congemus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">3, 27<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Sextaremus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.545<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Lembra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.327<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Hememna<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.274<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Quartaremus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.136<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Acetabulum<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.068<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Cyathus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.0455<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>When there was a need to use larger units, <em>heredium<\/em>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-army\/military-formations-of-ancient-romans\/centuria\/\">centuria<\/a><\/em> and <em>saltus<\/em> were used. In Roman Egypt, <em>arura<\/em> was in common use.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"capacity-measures\"><\/span>Capacity measures<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Measures of capacity are derived from vessels in which both liquid and loose products have been stored. For this purpose, separate series of measures were established for them. For liquids, the Romans took their measures of capacity from the Athenians. The system was established in the 3rd century BCE and did not undergo any major changes in later times. The basic unit for liquids was the <em>sextarius<\/em>. The same measures from the <em>sextarius<\/em> downwards were used to measure powdery substances. For larger quantities of these products, a <em>modius<\/em> of approximately 8 litres and a <em>semimodius<\/em> of 4 litres were used.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"measurements-of-mass\"><\/span>Measurements of mass<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The basic unit of weight was <em>libra<\/em>, also called <em>pondus<\/em>. <em>Libra<\/em> from the 3rd century BCE had a fixed weight, not subject to major fluctuations thereafter.<\/p>\n<p><em>Libra<\/em> was divided into 12 ounces (1 ounce was equal to 27.288 g). Units such as the <em>drachma<\/em> and <em>obolus<\/em> came into use in imperial times. <em>Siliqua<\/em> and <em>lupinus<\/em> did not appear until the time of Constantine and were used to weigh gold. The smallest unit of Roman measurement was <em>siliqua<\/em> &#8211; the weight of a grain of a plant called &#8220;carob&#8221; (<em>Certonia siliqua<\/em>).<\/p>\n<table class=\"center\" width=\"380\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Measure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">in litres [l]<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Measure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">in litres [l]<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Libra<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">327, 45<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>uncia<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">27, 288<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Deunx<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">300, 16<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Semuncia<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">13,664<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Dextans<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">272, 88<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Binale sextulae<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">9,096<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Dodrans<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">245, 59<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Sicilicus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">6,822<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Bes<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">218, 30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Sextula<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">4,548<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Septunx<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">191, 02<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Drachma<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">3,411<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Semis<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">163, 73<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Dimidia sextula<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">2,774<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Quincunx<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">136, 44<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Scripulum<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">1, 137<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Triens<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">109, 15<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Obolus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.568<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Quadrans<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">81, 86<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Lupinus<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.283<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Sextans<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">54, 58<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Siliqua<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">0.189<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\"><em>Sescuncia<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">40, 93<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>There were also units higher than libra:<\/p>\n<table class=\"center\" width=\"380\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Name<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Multiple<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Weight in grams<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"background-color: #f2ebeb;\">\n<p class=\"podtytul\">Weight in ounces<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Dupondius<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">654, 9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">24<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Tressis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">982, 35<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">36<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Nonussis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">2,947.05<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">108<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Vicessis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">20<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">6,549<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">240<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Tricessis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">30<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">9,823.5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">360<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">Centussis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">100<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">32,745<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"male3\">1,200<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roman measurement units were based on Greek and Egyptian standards. They were generally accurate and often used in everyday life. The Romans weighed everything from gold to vegetables using two types of scales: a simple bronze pan scale or a strong horizontal scale on a hook with a sliding weight, intended for weighing, for example, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":60074,"parent":35892,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-118696","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/118696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/118696\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}