Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants

by James Vincent

Capturing this abundance required ingenuity, and Salima is taking me to see one of the tools used for this task: an artefact of ancient measurement that is testimony to metrology’s role as the kindling of civilisation. It is a nilometer: a measuring tool used by the ancient Egyptians to gauge the depths of the Nile’s floodwaters each year. These readings were vital, as the depth of flooding determined whether the year’s harvest would be slim or bountiful, an insight that powered the operations of the state like the mainspring of a clock. If the nilometers said a famine was coming, then food would need to be set aside to sustain the people and stem unrest. If they predicted the harvest would be plentiful, then appropriate taxes could be levied in the form of crops, labour, and land. These resources then supported the business of the nation, contributing towards trade for silver or copper, rations for the army, and construction projects like the society-warping pyramids. Most importantly, the bounty of a good harvest would be used to fill the granaries that would feed the people in leaner years. But for all those decisions to be made, measurements had to be taken.4