Pertica (unit)
The pertica (from
perch
.
Ancient Rome
In the
agrimensores (Roman land surveyors) to accommodate the richness of the soil and approximately even the yield per unit area.[6][7] Kidson[8] highlights the near-perfect match between the pertica of 17 pedes and the English version of the perch
.
The same names, pertica and decempeda, were used for the surveyor's tool, a rod of the corresponding length with subdivision into smaller units, similar to the Ancient Greek kalamos.[9]
Italy
The linear unit in Italy was about 3 meters, area unit contained about 600
decare.[3]
The regional area values significantly varied per province (in square meters):[10]
References
- ^ Morwood 2005, pertica.
- ^ Duncan-Jones 1980, p. 127.
- ^ a b Pertica entry (in Italian) in the Enciclopedia italiana
- ^ Walthew 1981, p. 22.
- ^ Walthew 1981, p. 25.
- ^ Kidson 1990, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Duncan-Jones 1980, p. 130, note 19.
- ^ Kidson 1990, p. 75.
- ^ Senseney 2013, p. 154.
- ^ Pertica entry (in Italian) in the Enciclopedia italiana, 1935
Sources
- Morwood, James, ed. (2005). The pocket Oxford Latin dictionary: Latin - English. ISBN 978-0-19-173958-3.
- Walthew, C. V. (1981). "Possible Standard Units of Measurement in Roman Military Planning". Britannia. 12: 15–35. doi:10.2307/526241.
- Kidson, Peter (1990-01-01). "A Metrological Investigation". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 53 (1): 71–97. ISSN 0075-4390.
- Duncan-Jones, R. P. (1980). "Length-Units in Roman Town Planning: The Pes Monetalis and the Pes Drusianus". Britannia. 11: 127. doi:10.2307/525675.
- Senseney, John R. (2013-10-28). "Plans, Measurement Systems, and Surveying: The Roman Technology of Pre‐Building". A Companion to Roman Architecture. Wiley. pp. 140–156. ISBN 978-1-4051-9964-3.