I am an engineer, and in a very real sense engineering *is* measurement.
One of my favorite books is _Secrets of the Great Pyramid_ by Peter Tompkins. He's a metrologist, an expert on measurement. He approaches Egyptology from that viewpoint. There were many cubits used in the long history of ancient Egypt, so the artwork on most structures would have at least one image showing which cubit (and the derived units of measure) was used. Primarily you had the "sacred" cubit (used on temples, tombs and such) and the "profane" cubit (used on mundane structures).
I actually came up with my own system of measurements for that fantasy novel I occasionally post excerpts from. The _toise_ is a pre-metric measure of length, as is the mile. Unfortunately, in different times and places they had different lengths. (Napoleon isn't as short as most people think; his height was given in French feet and inches, which are larger than the English versions we use.) In the novel they have the Solar Mile and the Solar Toise.
no subject
One of my favorite books is _Secrets of the Great Pyramid_ by Peter Tompkins. He's a metrologist, an expert on measurement. He approaches Egyptology from that viewpoint. There were many cubits used in the long history of ancient Egypt, so the artwork on most structures would have at least one image showing which cubit (and the derived units of measure) was used. Primarily you had the "sacred" cubit (used on temples, tombs and such) and the "profane" cubit (used on mundane structures).
I actually came up with my own system of measurements for that fantasy novel I occasionally post excerpts from. The _toise_ is a pre-metric measure of length, as is the mile. Unfortunately, in different times and places they had different lengths. (Napoleon isn't as short as most people think; his height was given in French feet and inches, which are larger than the English versions we use.) In the novel they have the Solar Mile and the Solar Toise.