The distinctive point
Mesopotamian shekel: a value with room for evidence
The distinctive point is the uncertainty, not just the headline magnitude. The matrix carries ± 0.34 g and names the basis as artefact-mean. That keeps comparison possible without pretending that every specimen, survey, or period produced one perfect constant.
Basis: artefact-mean. Check the record source.
- smallerMesopotamian grain180.26 × Mesopotamian grain
- largerMesopotamian mina1/60 of Mesopotamian mina
What this unit was
Mesopotamian shekel is modelled here as a weight standard of the Mesopotamian tradition, associated with Southern Mesopotamia during Ur III to Old Babylonian representative. The converter represents one šiqlu as 8.4 g; its basis is artefact-mean. The matrix carries an indicative uncertainty of ± 0.34 g.
Within that setting, the unit belonged to a working system for trade, craft production, taxation, bullion, and sometimes coin accounting. It should be read with its period, locality, and evidential basis attached, not as a universal value shared by every culture using a similar name. Coin mass is not a monetary exchange rate.
Evidence of use and sources
The working value is traceable to British Museum Mesopotamian weight. Its record is classified as high confidence and uses the stated basis rather than an assumed culture-wide constant.
Local-library boundary. The supplied local library has no directly pertinent quotation for this tradition. The linked record source supports the stated conversion; three relevant local quotations require a dedicated source acquisition.
Working definition
Mesopotamian shekel is represented as a Mesopotamian standard associated with Southern Mesopotamia during Ur III to Old Babylonian representative.
The converter uses 8.4 g per unit with indicative matrix uncertainty ± 0.34 g.
How to use it
Basis: artefact-mean; confidence: high. A shared historical name does not make this value portable to another period or polity.
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