Scales were known to Babylonians already three thousand years B.C. Egyptians and Greeks had their own systems of weights and measures. The first uniform system of weights and measures was established by the ancient Romans who subjected it to Rome and enforced it in their whole empire.

Metrology was weakly developed in ancient Estonia and natural measures were used most. In Scandinavian countries portable scales for weighing precious metals were introduced in the 9th century and soon they appeared also in Estonia. A wooden steelyard was also known. The nail in the rod indicated the unit of weight - the mark. Little enough is known about measures of length. Obviously the Gotland cubit (about 54 cm) was used in Estonia as well. For dessicated stuff the bushel and the peck were in use. In Old Livonia every bigger town had its own weights and measures dominating in the whole trading territory of the town. The Gotland cubit was used but for measuring fabric a piece of rope 10-10,5 cubits long was adopted. The bushel and the peck were retained as measures of capacity. Wine was generally measured in hogheads. Towns enforced their own laws for weighing goods, i.e. all the imported and exported goods were weighed and taxed. More often than not, the scales showed to the advantage of the town.

In Swedish times two measuring systems were adopted in Estonia: in the province of Estonia the Tallinn system was used, in the province of Livonia the one of Riga was preferred. The Narva system differed from both of them. Some new Swedish measures, unknown in Estonia and Livonia before, such as the Swedish barrel, were introduced.

In Russian times, i.e. in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Riga system of measures prevailed in the province of Livonia and the Tallinn system in the province of Estonia. Officially, however, the Russian system of weights and measures was enforced. On 1 January 1929 the metric system act of the Republic of Estonia was adopted.

The collections of the museum contain numerous different scales and measuring devices from the University of Tartu, the historical examples of which have been gathered to this exhibition. It is also possible see also different etalon measures and -weights belonging to the second half of the 19th century.

The most representative group of the discussed inventaria must be scales. The visitors can see analytical lever scales and torsion scales used in the university laboratories, chemists' scales manufactured in different European workshops, scales for grain and letter-scales and the special so called Westphal scales - the latter for fixing the density of objects in liquid.

The local production of scales is represented by simple production - steelyards and household scales (E. Sattelberg, Tartu).

A central position in the exposition is engaged by etalons of a meter and a kilogram bought for the Physical Cabinet of the university in 1868.

Different measuring devices for liquids were frequently used at the university laboratories but also in everyday life - one can see a vessel for measuring alcohol, different measuring utensils and a two pint vacuum container from the 19th century.

A different group is formed by scales for weighting the grain. The prepared in the beginning of the century in Riga set holds 4 items: lever scales, container for grain, a cylinder for the measurements of grain, a set of weights.

Wooden yard-sticks marked with nails, rules and tapelines were used to measure length. On a tapeline from the end of the 19th century one side possesses measures in Russian, the other in English system.

Weighing would have been impossible without units of weight. Portable shaped weight-sets made in the late 19th and early 20th century were used for weighing smaller objects. Various later-time weights as well as tables of measuring systems used in the 18th and l9th centuries were also exhibited.

Besides, everybody of the visitors can measure and weight oneself and compute subsequently the body-mass index.

Gallery (Illustrations of old measurement units)

Webmaster: T.Pung

Last modified: May 12th ,2000.