336 FISHERIES— PRICE OF FISH— SPAWNING 



Nile from the sea was known and noted by ancient authorities. 

 Strabo, after stating that it, the Dolphin, and the Shad were 

 the onl}'- fish so to do, informs us that the Mullet in his upward 

 journey carefully consorted with the Schalls, or Catfi'sh, whose 

 strong spikes afforded it protection against the crocodiles, i 



We find at the end of the XXth Dynasty, say 1200 B.C., that 

 300 of Ireth fish, 100 of Shefia', and 800 'Ad (each lot) fetched 

 I kite of silver — the kite being ^q of a deben of 91 grammes. 

 Although in the XVII Ith Dynasty gold had been just twice as 

 valuable as silver, at this time silver stood to gold in a ratio of 

 If to I. 



Thus 100 Shena', 300 Ireth (both of which are as yet un- 

 identified) and 800 'Ad fish were (each lot) worth i^xf, i.e. 

 5 "46 grammes of gold. 



Now one sovereign weighs 123 "27447 grains, and as \^ of 

 this is gold it contains 113-0016 grains of gold. As a gramme 

 equals 15 "432 grains, the value of 5 "46 grammes of gold thus 

 works out at about 14 shillings and 11 pence to the nearest 

 farthing. The whole calculation, however, depends on the 

 assumption that the kite is known to be exactly g'l grammes. 



This, the latest estimate of its probable weight, can only be 

 an estimate, for the Egyptians of the XVIIIth Dynasty, at 

 any rate, did not make weights to a minute fraction of a 

 gramme. A calculation therefore to the nearest farthing is 

 somewhat meaningless, unless the weight of the kite is deter- 

 mined to be 9 '10, and not 9 09 or 9"ii grammes. Since the 

 weight is certainly not known to two places of decimals, it is 

 doubtful if it can be regarded as correct to the first place. 

 Hence 14s. iid. is not absolutely a more accurate estimate 

 than 15/-. 2 



Assuming for convenience that the kite was worth 15/-, 

 we could have purchased at the end of the XXth Dynasty 



X c y TO Q 



800 'Ad fish for this sum. One fish would thus cost -^ = — 



800 40 



of a penny : but since the Egyptian Mugil capita, as sold in 



^ Cuvier and Valenciennes, Op. cit., XI. p. 62. 



" In Ridgeway, The Origin of Metallic Currency, etc. (Cambridge, 1892), 

 p. 240, is illustrated a fine Kite weight from which one Kite would equal about 

 140 grains, corresponding to 908 grammes. 



