The Indus Civilization c8.28

c8.28

Mr. A. S. Hemmy, who has examined the weights from Mohenjo-daro and also some from Harappa, states that the system used was binary in the case of the smaller weights and decimal in the case of the larger ones, the succession being in the ratios 1, 2, ⅓ × 8, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 160, 200, 320, 640, 1600, 3200, 6400, 8000, 12,800, and that the unit weight had the calculated value of 0·8565 gramme. The same authority is of the opinion that, with the possible exception of a very few weights, the Indus Valley system bears no relation to that of the Babylonians, and though one group of weights strongly resembles the ancient Egyptian Beqa, he regards them, nevertheless, as quite independent. Very few of the weights from Mohenjo-daro, considering the great number that have been found, were bad or fraudulent, a fact which shows that stringent trading regulations existed in the city.