WHAT IS METROLOGY AND HOW DID IT ORIGINATE?
Lead
Metrology is the science of measurement and the application of measurements in all areas of human activity. It encompasses methods and instruments for measuring, systems that ensure accuracy, and institutions that guarantee that measurements are valid and comparable everywhere in the world.
Main text
Human beings have always measured—first using their own bodies and natural objects, and later with increasingly sophisticated instruments.
The earliest units of measure were “natural”: the cubit, the foot, the palm, or a grain of wheat. In ancient Egypt, the “royal cubit” was used—a stone rod with engraved divisions, without which the construction of the pyramids would not have been possible. Failing to perform regular accuracy checks of the rods used in work was punishable—by death.
(Visual 1: The Royal Cubit of Kha, a wooden length measure covered in gold, discovered in the tomb of the royal architect Kha in Deir el-Medina. About 52.5 cm long, divided into 7 palms and 28 fingers, it represents the Egyptian “royal cubit”—one of the oldest known length standards. / Source: Egyptian Museum, Turin, inv. 6347 – Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
In Mesopotamia, the unit of mass was defined using barley grains, and by the time of Greece and Rome, the foot had become a common measure of length. Units such as the foot and the cubit were based on nature (as they still are today), but their exact values differed from place to place.
During the Middle Ages, nearly every city had its own measures. A “foot” in Paris could mean something entirely different from a foot in Lyon. Merchants often took advantage of these differences, which led to misunderstandings and fraud.
(Visual 2: Medieval portable balance scale with weights used for weighing goods and metals, 14th–15th century / Source: Brandeis University, Special Collections – Public Domain)
A similar practice existed in Croatia. In Dubrovnik, as early as the 15th century, Orlando’s Column served as a public standard of length—the Dubrovnik cubit was engraved on the knight’s arm and at the base of the column. Anyone could check whether a merchant was honest, ensuring that measurement was accessible to all citizens.
(Visual 3: Orlando’s Column, Dubrovnik (1418). The statue of the knight Orlando—also known as Roland—was erected in 1418 on Luža Square. The column is a symbol of the freedom of the Dubrovnik Republic, and its base contains the engraved length of the Dubrovnik cubit (about 51.2 cm), which for centuries served as the official measure for trading textiles. / Source: Photo by Mstyslav Chernov, 2011 – Wikimedia Commons)
With the development of science and industry, the need arose for universal and comparable measurements. Without reliable measurements, it is impossible to build bridges, manufacture machinery, treat patients, conduct scientific research, or even trade fairly. From its earliest beginnings to today, metrology has been—and remains—an applied science that forms the foundation of mutual trust in the modern world.
(Photo: Equipment from the Laboratory for Process Measurements, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb / Source: FMENA, Laboratory for Process Measurements)