1 Royal cubit = 52.4cm (Meh Nesut)
1 palm = 7.48cm (Shesep or Shep)
1 finger = 1.87cm (Yeba or Zebo)The hieroglyph of a finger is also used for the number 10'000
1 Short Cubit = 45.0 cm
The ancient Egyptians used cubits, palms and fingers as measuring units. The cubit was divided into 7 palms and a palm into 4 fingers which resulted in 28 fingers for one cubit.
Most of the different standards of measure were based on hand, forearm, or foot length.
The Egyptians used the Royal Cubit to help them in building the pyramids.
It was the standard length used to measure building dimensions, land holdings, grain quantities, etc.
A smaller unit of measure was the “short cubit”.
It was a length of 450 millimeters and was divided into six palm widths.
References;
http://www.cheops-pyramide.ch/khufu-pyramid/pyramid-alignment.html
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/horses/facts/info_handf2.gif
http://education.uncc.edu/cmste/summer/2005%20Applications%20in%20Stat/egypt%20math.doc
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/specialPlaces/special_places_st2/africa/pyramid3.jpg
