* * *
Analysis of the specimen :
At the first regard, the graduation seems to be worked out without great precision.
• The smallest digit length ( 56 ) is 16.75 mm only one.
• Whereas the largest digit length ( 12 ) is 17.67 mm.
• In the head of the specimen ( 01 ) lacks about 3.2 mm.
• The tail of the specimen ( 67 ) is about 1.6 mm too long.
But actually, the very first preserved, more than 4500 years old, graduated rule
is – really and certainly – rather good, thousands of years before lazer steering.
• The over-all length of 1103.5 mm gives a mean digit of at least 17.24 millimetres.
• That first mean value is confirmed by the 14-digit measure, that gives 17.25 mm.
• If all the three small measures ( 12, 45 and 56 ) are too small by about 1 to 2 mm,
in addition, palm ( 12 ) and 12-digit-span ( 23 ), the foot - digit measures 17.28 mm.
• The first 30-digit Nippur cubit measure ( 14 ) gives a mean digit of 17.27 mm.
• The second 30-digit Nippur cubit measure ( 25 ) gives one digit of 17.28 mm.
* * *
Thus, – also confirmed by the Rottländer statistical researches with 872 different ancient
graduated rule-sticks, about it eighteen other Nippur cubit rules – one may certainly say:
Scientifically, the Nippur cubit – as a general measure – is 518.5 millimetres ± 1 mm.
However, since the value 5185 tenths of millimetre contains the unpractical primary factor 1037 as 5 × 1037 = 5185, the
International Bureau for hexadecimal metrology ( BI-SMH )
defines the
so-called « raw Nippur cubit » of exact 518.4 mm, by a 3 - smooth number : 5184 = 2 6 × 3 4. |