šiqlu

In ancient Mesopotamia, a unit of mass, described by Stefan Karwiese:

The unit of the system is the šiqlu, which was equivalent to 60 or, later, 180 grains. Its name is related etymologically to saqalu(m) “to hang”. So the šiqlu is one of two, or half of a whole. The ur-šiqlu (30 grains) was half a small manû, the small manû consisting of 60 grains, and the šiqlu of 180 grains is actually a half (of 360). The phenomenon of “duplication” reflects the use of the balance; 2 šiqlu (1 + 1) make 1 unit.

Stefan Karwiese.
Šiqlu, Kite und Stater. Der Weg zu einer neuen Metrologie des Altertums. I. Mesopotamien.
in Prix, Salaires, Poids et Mesures.
Res Orientales, volume II.
Rika Gyselen, editor.
Paris, Groupe pour l'Etude de la Civilisation du Moyen-Orient, 1990.

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