Editing Cubit (section)

==Ancient Egyptian royal cubit==
{{main|Ancient Egyptian units of measurement}}
The [[ancient Egyptian]] '''royal cubit''' ({{transliteration|egy|''meh niswt''}}) is the earliest attested standard measure. Cubit rods were used for the [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|measurement of length]]. A number of these rods have survived: two are known from the tomb of [[Maya (Egyptian)|Maya]], the treasurer of the [[18th dynasty]] pharaoh [[Tutankhamun]], in [[Saqqara]]; another was found in the tomb of Kha ([[TT8]]) in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]. Fourteen such rods, including one double cubit rod, were described and compared by Lepsius in 1865.<ref name="lepsius" /> These cubit rods range from {{convert|523.5|to|529.2|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} in length and are divided into seven [[palm (unit)|palms]]; each palm is divided into four [[digit (unit)|fingers]], and the fingers are further subdivided.<ref name="clagett" /><ref name="lepsius" /><ref name="arnold" />
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<small>[[Hieroglyph]] of the royal cubit, {{transliteration|egy|''meh niswt''}}</small>
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[[File:Cubit rod Turin Museum.PNG|thumb|upright=3|center| Cubit rod from the [[Museo Egizio|Egyptian Museum of Turin]]]]
Early evidence for the use of this royal cubit comes from the [[Early Dynastic Period of Egypt|Early Dynastic Period]]: on the [[Palermo Stone]], the flood level of the [[Nile]] river during the reign of the [[Pharaoh]] [[Djer]] is given as measuring 6&nbsp;cubits and 1&nbsp;palm.<ref name="clagett" /> Use of the royal cubit is also known from [[Old Kingdom]] architecture, from at least as early as the construction of the [[Pyramid of Djoser|Step Pyramid of Djoser]] designed by [[Imhotep]] in around 2700&nbsp;BC.<ref name="lauer" />