Ancient units of measure: list. Vintage length units

In the modern world, special terms are used to measure length, volume, weight. The values of these physical quantities are clearly defined in the established units. Prior to the appearance of regulated standards, ancient units of measure were used to determine the size of objects or distances.

History

People in the process of life, military and commercial activities for a long time had to determine the volumes of goods during the exchange, calculate the area of the land, measure the distances between cities, and use the dimensions in construction. The accuracy of the values obtained with the help of ancient measures could not be guaranteed. The oldest units of measurement are subjective standards, in the opinion of modern man, absolutely absurd in their absurdity.

For example, the Japanese "horse shoe" - the time for which the horse wears a straw horseshoe; Siberian "beech" - a value on which the human eye ceases to distinguish the horns of a bull; The Greek "stages" are the distance traveled by a calm step for the period from the beginning of the sunrise to the full appearance of the sun above the horizon; Persian "farces" - a measure of length that can be traversed in an hour.

Ancient chronicles brought information about what ancient units of measure were used by our ancestors. To determine the values, we used what was always with us and could be taken as a unit of measure. As a measuring device used parts of the human body and its physical capabilities: a step, handful, elbow, span, sazhen, foot, inch.

Ancient Russia

For Ancient Rus characterized by descriptive expressions in determining the distances - "rocking," "flight of the arrow," "day of the road." These figurative meanings were applicable only to the specific source that performed these actions. There were also other primordially Russian ancient units of length measurement. The field - a distance equal to 20 versts - is described by Epiphanius the Wise. A quarter - a half hectare - was used under Ivan the Terrible.

Historical metrology is a science that studies the ancient units of measurement of physical quantities. In the ancient system of measurements, measure units are not necessarily calculated by decimal values. Some values could be compared with each other:

• Sazhen - is equal to 3 arshinam,
• Span - 4 inches,
• Elbow - 2 inches,
• Arshin - 2 cubits,
• Verst - 500 fathoms.

To avoid confusion, there were special lists, in which the ratio of measures was prescribed. However, they could not be accepted as definite values, because even the span could vary in size. The old units of measurement of physical quantities occupy a very voluminous list, difficult for understanding modern man. Ancient counting measures - a dozen barrels (12 units), five forty sables (200 pieces), a mass (144 dozens) - in our time can be represented in the form of the usual decimal system.

Creating Measurement Standards in Russia

The ancient units of measurement in Russia were applied in all spheres of human activity. Since the XVI century, Russia has attempted to define uniform systems of magnitudes. In the XVIII century, in connection with the development of foreign trade, there was a need for precise control measures. It turned out that with the variety of existing units of measures, the creation of standards is not an easy process. By 1736, the government of the Senate formed the Commission of Weights and Measures under the direction of Count Golovkin, where exemplary measures were taken, a draft on the decimal principle of measurement values was created.

At that time, foreign coins and precious metals were weighed when imported at customs and at admission to mints - the masses everywhere turned out different. The model scales of the St. Petersburg customs, transported to the Senate, were taken as a reference sample. The ruler of Peter I was taken as an exemplary measure of length. Chetverik Moscow Customs identified a unit of loose measure.

Unified measurement system in Europe and Russia

Even during the reign of Peter the Great, Russia partially adopted the English metric system. Metrological reform was adopted for the development of international trade and fleet, special application of the feet, yards and inches received in shipbuilding. Under Nicholas I in October 1835, a decree was adopted that determined the Russian system of measures and weights. In late May 1875, representatives of tsarist Russia agreed to the Metric Convention. Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev paid much attention to work on the law on the metric system, which only by 1917 was recognized as mandatory.

On January 1, 1927, the Nuremberg system of weights used by pharmacists was replaced by a metric system.

Ancient measures in folklore and creativity

In the everyday speech of a modern Russian person, the old units of measurement and the words that signify them are preserved in the expressions inherent in oral folklore:

• Arshin letters - to write large,
• Seven spans in the forehead - an indicator of the mind,
• Kolomna verst is a very tall man,
• Oblique sazhen in the shoulders - a man of mighty build,
• From the pot two inches - a small growth.

Ancient definitions can often be found in books describing historical events, in poems and fairy tales.

Length

The ancient units of length used in Russia after the adoption of the Decree in 1835 and before 1917:

• Finger - about 2 centimeters,
• A little more than 1 centimeter,
• Vertosh - about 4.5 centimeters,
• A quarter is 17.8 centimeters,
• Elbow - according to different data from 38 to 47 centimeters,
• Arshin - 71.12 centimeters,
• Foot - about 30.5 centimeters,
• Sazhen - 2.14 meters (it was accepted to divide into an oblique sazhen -2.5 meters and a flywheel - 1.76 meters),
• 1 verst - 1.07 kilometers.

Some units of measures were invented by our ancestors to determine the area. These physical quantities were used to determine the size of land, in construction, play. Also these indicators served as a measure for calculating taxes on land. The most famous measures of the area, names of which can be found in ancient charters, are a square verst, a plow, a quarter, a tenth.

The smallest ancient units of length measurement, used in modern metrology, are lines. Wheat grain is used as the basis of the value. This figure is about 2.5 mm.

Scope

The ancient units of measure for bulk and liquid bodies were called bread and wine measures. In the far XV century, surprising golovazhnya (salt tank), bowl and cleaning (for grain) were used. Depending on the geographical location, the Vyatka bread marten, the Smolensk cask, the Permian Sapa, the Old Russian lub and the goose were different.

In everyday life and trade for measurement used household utensils: boilers, ladles, pitchers, korchagi, tubs, broths, sticks. The capacity of such quantities fluctuated in a significant range: the boiler could be from a half-bucket to 20 buckets.

Weight

The system of measures of Ancient Rus included the ancient units of measurement of mass, without which it was impossible to conduct trade relations. Among them:

1. Gran - 0.062 grams, the pharmacy unit of mass.
2. Zolotnik - 4.266 grams, as a weight unit survived until the twentieth century, was equal to the coin of the same name.
3. Eight - 50 grams, its name took this measure of weight from 1/8 the value of a pound.
4. Lot - 12,797 grams, was equal to three goldsmiths.
5. Pound - 410 grams, originally called the hryvnia. This is the basic unit of mass for retail trade and handicrafts, equaled 96 goldsmiths, it was used to determine the weight of precious metals.
6. Pood - 40 pounds, 16.38 kg. It is known that the application of this weight measure has been in demand since the 12th century. It was abolished only in 1924.
7. Batman - 4,1 kg.
8. Berkovets - 163.8 kg, a large measure of weight for wholesale. Happened from the name of the island Bjerk. It was equivalent to 10 poods. It is well-known to mention this measure in the charter of the 12th century.

Measuring measures that are foreign

In modern life, the basis of the measurement system is kilogram, meter and second. These values are familiar and reliable. However, the old units of measurement in physics are used by some countries so far.

British system:

1. The English pint is about 0.57 liters.
2. Liquid ounce - 30 milliliters.
3. Barrel - for different substances is insignificantly different volume, equal to about 159 liters. Can serve as a measure of the volume of oil, also known as the beer, "French", "English" barrel.
4. Carat - 0.2 grams. It is used to determine the mass of precious stones.
5. Ounce is 28.35 grams. Used to measure the weight of precious metals.
6. The English pound is 0.45 kilograms.

Chinese measures:

1. 1 li - 576 meters.
2. 1 liang - 37.3 grams.
3. 1 fen - 0.32 cm.

For a long time, humanity needed a system of measuring various physical quantities. It was necessary to measure the weight and volume, determine the distance, know the time. The importance of accurate measurements increased with the development of society. In modern life, new terms are used to measure magnitudes, but often in fiction or in everyday speech, ancient measures flash. Knowledge of ancient values, which denote metric data, allows you to save history.