Lothal graduated ivory scale
Regla graduada de Lothal
- Date
- c. 2300 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Lothal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
- Credited to
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
Ivory fragment with regular divisions of about 1.7 mm, alongside another shell scale from Mohenjo-daro with 6.7 mm intervals. They are among the oldest known graduated rulers and match the precision of Harappan town planning and standardised brick.
There are even older rulers in Mesopotamia (the Nippur cubit); the Lothal ruler stands out for the fineness of its graduation.
What it led to
- uniform linear measurements in construction and craftwork
- city planning with repeatable dimensions