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Anatolian Weights and Measures

Anatolian Weights and Measures Collection is one of the three main collection fields of Suna and Inan Kıraç Foundation. The collection includes all the foremost weights and measurement instruments used in Anatolia for nearly four thousand years since the second millennium BC, and is regarded as one on the leading collections of the field. Among the objects of the collection are weighing and measuring tools used in a variety of fields ranging from land measurement to commerce, and by various professionals including architects, moneychangers, mariners and pharmacists. The collection is a scientific resource that illustrates the systematic relations between periods and cultures, as well as transformations and continuities.

A broad selection from the collection is exhibited in chronological order, shedding light on this exciting aspect of the history of science and culture in Anatolia and offering a fresh look at the long history of commercial practices based on weights and measures used.

3D Virtual Tour

Exhibition Catalogue

Anatolian Weights and Measures

Anatolian Weights and Measures

The Anatolian weights and measures collection is comprised of over ten thousand pieces and is now one of the most remarkable collections of its kind in Turkey.

"And The Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight" <br> Trade and Weight Measurement System in Kültepe <br> Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu

"And The Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight"
Trade and Weight Measurement System in Kültepe
Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu

The speech will explore how developed the trade system in Kültepe-Kanesh was and the importance of standardization in international trade from antiquity onwards.

"And The Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight" <br> Measures and Measurement in the Hittites <br> Prof. Dr. İlknur Taş

"And The Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight"
Measures and Measurement in the Hittites
Prof. Dr. İlknur Taş

In the second speech of the series, Prof. İlknur Taş will explain, to the extent allowed by the modern concepts we use to perceive our world, the measures and measurements used by the Hittite State and the mathematical concepts that ultimately emerged.

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Weight” <br> Roman Merchants and Bankers in Anatolia <br> Yavuz Selim Güler

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Weight”
Roman Merchants and Bankers in Anatolia
Yavuz Selim Güler

The third talk of the series will explore Roman merchants and bankers’ commercial and financial activities, organizations, and relations with local communities in the province of Asia during the Late Republic and Roman Empire, in light of historical, epigraphical and archeological sources.

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Weight” <br> State, Arts and Weighing Instruments in Byzantium<br>Brigitte Pitarakis

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Weight”
State, Arts and Weighing Instruments in Byzantium
Brigitte Pitarakis

Based on the relationship between money and weight measures in Byzantium, this talk aims to examine the weighing devices produced in the 4th-7th century from the perspective of imperial ideology and the state control mechanism, in order to place them within the context of their use.  

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight” <br>A Chat in Ancient Marketplaces<br> Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tekin

“And the Stone Fell by Reason of Its Great Weight”
A Chat in Ancient Marketplaces
Prof. Dr. Oğuz Tekin

The discussions focus on the marketplaces in the city-states of Anatolia, which were the prominent locations of trade or daily shopping during the Classical, Hellenistic and the Roman Imperial period, and offer a closer look at the goods, scales, weights and coins used in these marketplaces.

Late Roman and Byzantine Coins

Late Roman and Byzantine Coins

In collaboration with the Koç University Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Center for Mediterranean Civilizations (AKMED) and the Istanbul Research Institute, the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum presents the Late Roman and Byzantine Coins Seminar for undergraduate and graduate students as part of its Anatolian Weights and Measures Collection. The interdisciplinary seminar aims to equip young researchers working on the history and culture of the Late Roman and Byzantine periods with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge of numismatics.

Epigraphy of Weights Workshop II

Epigraphy of Weights Workshop II

The program, which embraces an interdisciplinary perspective to explore the topics of weights and measures often overlooked in the studies on epigraphy, is designed to provide young researchers working on Ancient History and archaeology with the necessary theoretical and practical foundation.

Late Antique and Byzantine Weights and Measures Seminar

Late Antique and Byzantine Weights and Measures Seminar

The seminar seeks to provide young researchers engaged in the study of Late Antique and Byzantine economy, trade, and culture with a novel approach to the prevalent commerce and trade practices of the era.

Late Roman and Byzantine Coins Seminar II

Late Roman and Byzantine Coins Seminar II

The seminar, which adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the science of numismatics, aims to provide theoretical and practical skills for young researchers working on the archaeology, history, art, and culture of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods.

Seeds and Metaphors <br>The Art of Weights and Measures Exhibition Tour

Seeds and Metaphors
The Art of Weights and Measures Exhibition Tour

The guided exhibition tour explores the four-thousand-year social and economic history of Anatolia, focusing on metaphors shaped around the concepts of weight and measurement.

Travel in Anatolia during the Roman Period

Travel in Anatolia during the Roman Period

In the panel, travel in Anatolia during the Roman Period will be examined in light of roads, harbors, routes, maps, and epigraphic data.

Video

The adventure of the Big ‘K’

The adventure of the Big ‘K’

In a bid to review the International System of Units (SI), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures gathered at the 26th General Conference on Weights and Measures on November 16, 2018. Sixty member states have voted for changing four out of seven basic units of measurement. The kilogram is among the modified. Before describing the key points, let us have a closer look into the kilogram and its history.

Midnight Horror Stories: The Last Ferry <br> Galip Dursun

Midnight Horror Stories: The Last Ferry
Galip Dursun

I remembered a game as I was waiting in the passenger lounge for the ferry to arrive just a few minutes ago. A game we used to play at home when I was young, in my country that is very far away from here, a relic from the distant past; I don’t even remember how we used to play it. The kind of game that makes me feel a thousand times lonelier than I already am among the crowd waiting to get on the ferry.

Paula Rego in Istanbul!

Paula Rego in Istanbul!

We, by which I mean some of my classmates and I, knew about Paula Rego. I’ll have to admit, I didn’t know where Rego was from or even where in Europe Portugal was. I thought she was English. Let me tell you how I first heard the very un-English sounding name “Paula Rego”