Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Hermann Hunger and David Pingree on the Use of "Cubit" as a Measurement in Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia

The following comes from:

 

Hermann Hunger and David Pingree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (Handbook of Oriental Studies; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 160, 177

 

 

BM 34758 (LBAT 1057) for 194 SE (= -117/6) on pp. 100-105 (transliteration) and 112 (computation), and Tafel VI (copy); Kugler had only two of the three fragments of this tablet. The Diary for -117 agrees in some particulars, disagrees in others:

 

Diary

Normal Star Almanac

XII 5 or 6. Φ of Saturn 4 ½ cubits below a Gem.

XII 5 or 6. Φ of Saturn 4Yz cubits below α Gem.

 

XII 10. Φ of Saturn in Gemini

XII [10. Venus] 4Y2 cubits [below a] Arietis

XII [9]. Venus 4 ½  cubits [below α] Arietis

XII 29. Solar eclipse (after) 5 months; omitted

Xll19. 54o (= 3;36 h) after sunset, solar eclipse.

 

. . .

 

Jupiter

 

 



 

 

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