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The pertica (from Latin: pertica, measuring rod [1]) was a pre- metric unit of either length or area, with the values varying by location. For a similar unit in Northern Europe, see perch.
Ancient Rome
In the Ancient Rome, pertica, also called decempeda, [2] was a unit of length, usually equal to 10 Roman feet (pedes), or approximately 2.96 meters. [3] The variants of pertica contained 12 [4] and 15 [5] pedes. Isidore of Seville (per Codex Gudianus) states that sometimes a pertica of 10, 12, 15, or 17 pedes was used by 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 square meters. After switching to the metric system, the unit became equal to 1 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. Oxford University Press. 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. doi: 10.2307/751340. 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. doi: 10.1002/9781118325117.ch8. ISBN 978-1-4051-9964-3.
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