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MATHEMATICAL ASPECTS OF EARTH-MOVING LINKED TO HYDRAULIC WORKS IN UR III UMMA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2018

Sergio Alivernini
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Abstract

This paper studies mathematical aspects of earthwork projects in the Ur III city of Umma, c.2053–2032 b.c. The main purpose of this paper is to describe the practical procedures involved in moving earth for hydraulic works around Umma. It also shows how Old Babylonian pedagogical “mathematical texts” about earthworks, from the early second millennium b.c., are indebted to the practical procedures adopted by Ur III officials.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 80 , December 2018 , pp. 15 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2018 

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