Did he use the metre as the base to compare all of the various old measures
or did he use the then present English system?
Dan
In the late 19th century, a metrologist, William Matthew Flinders Petrie
(known as Flinders Petrie or W. M. F. P) measured the lengths of fathoms,
rods, chains, and miles all over England and Europe carefully checking
their
lengths. He found that the length of the official armstretch or fathom was
exactly the same in England, as it was in Scandinavia, early Holland, and
Germany. These official fathoms were all very close to 2 metres in length.
Maybe when the French invented the metric system, they were aware of the
pre-Roman English units and how superior they were to the Roman that they
based their new system on something ancient. Maybe metric isn't really new
at all, just a resurrection of a more superior older system.
Apparently, it wasn't until the introduction of the French foot (the
foot
that is still used in England) in about 1066 that the measurement methods
of
England fell into almost complete disarray.
