Builders' rod (pige)

It is now commonly accepted that the pige was also a standardised rod one inch thick and one cubit long, subdivided by notches marking five anthropic units: palm, palma, span, foot and cubit
This rod of the medieval builders, also called a virga, is thought to have been one of the typical measuring instruments of the master builder, along with the thirteen-knot rope.

The measures used on the medieval pige are thought to have been anthropomorphic units based on the human body, which varied with each architect:

• The inch: approx. 2.5 cm
• the palm (width of the hand): approx. 7.5 cm
• the palma (distance between the outstretched index and little fingers): approx. 12.5 cm
• the span (between the little finger and the thumb): approx. 20 cm
• the foot: approx. 32.5 cm
• the cubit (length of the forearm): approx. 52.5 cm

These rods are made of oak, treated with linseed oil and fitted with a hemp cord for attaching them.