Weights and Measures

Several balance components have been discovered in Conimbriga, illustrating the two fundamental types used by the Romans: the libra or talentum, of Greek origin, consisting of a horizontal beam divided in the middle by a pointer and holding two pans at the ends; and the statera or trutina, genuinely Roman, formed by a graduated horizontal bar along which a counterweight or cursor moved, with the objects to be weighed attached to the ungraduated end.

In 324, Constantine's monetary reform led to the improvement of the Greco-Roman balance and created new standard weights called exagia, always accompanied by inscriptions or symbols that often used the Greek alphabet.