Length
Smallest unit of length is the she (barleycorn), of about 1/360 meter.
6 she = 1 shu-si (finger)
30 shu-si = 1 kush (cubit - about 1/2 m.)
6 kush = 1 gi / qanu (reed)
12 kush = 1 nindan/ GAR (rod - 6 m.)
10 nindan = 1 eshe (rope)
60 nindan = 1 USH (360 m.)
30 USH = 1 beru (10.8 km.)
length conversion calculator
Area
The basic area unit is the sar, an area of 1 sq. nindan, or about 36 sq. m. The area she and gin are used as generalized fractions of this basic unit.
180 she = 1 gin
60 gin = 1 sar (garden plot 1 sq. nindan - 36 sq. m.)
50 sar = 1 ubu
100 sar = 1 iku (1 sq. eshe - 0.9 acre, 0.36 ha.)
6 iku = 1 eshe
18 iku = 1 bur
1 bur is an area 1 beru long by 1 nindan wide. area conversion calculator
Volume
Volume units are the same as the area units and follows the relationship that
1 volume-unit = 1 area-unit x 1 kush.
For example, a volume-sar is the volume of the solid with base 1 area-sar and height 1 kush (cubit).
Bricks are considered to be rectangular solids such that 720 bricks make one brick-sar. There are numerous (fairly standard) sizes of bricks in use in Old Babylonian mathematics texts.
Capacity: used for measuring volumes of grain, oil, beer, etc. The basic unit is the sila, about 1 liter. The semi-standard Old Babylonian system used in mathematical texts is derived from the ferociously complex mensuration systems used in the Sumerian period.
180 she = 1 gin
60 gin = 1 sila - 1 liter
10 sila = 1 ban
6 ban = 1 bariga
5 bariga = 1 gur
volume conversion calculator
Weight
The basic unit of weight is the mana, about 1/2 kilogram.
180 she = 1 gin/ shiqlu (shekel)
60 gin = 1 mana (mina - 500 gm.)
60 mana = 1 gu/ biltu (talent, load - 30 kg.)
http://it.stlawu.edu/~dmelvill/mesomath/obmetrology.html
:’) Thanks, I needed something like that for my computer wallpaper, for when I program in B. ;’)
That really cleared the whole thing up for me. Thank you, bhf!
Hmm. It still doesn’t seem to follow.
The only thing I can figure is that there was an expectation that such a worker would dig 2.5 cubic ninda-se per gin-day, something unknown to us moderns.