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Evidence for septarian numbers along the Atlantic facade
Working paper   Open access

Evidence for septarian numbers along the Atlantic facade

Roslyn M Frank
Iowa Research Online
04/03/2026
DOI: 10.17077/pp.006805
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R.M. Frank .Evidence for Septarian Numbers along the Atlantic facade677.15 kBDownloadView
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Abstract

Until now the pre-decimal metric units of linear measure employed traditionally in the Basque Country have not been compared to similar ones documented along the Atlantic façade, most particularly in former and current Celtic-speaking zones. These base units are distinctive in that they are septenary in nature, consisting of units of seven and multiples of it. In this brief study several of the remarkable correspondences that characterize these traditional linear measures are discussed. First, we briefly explore their use in laying out land holdings in the Basque Country, circular sites called saroiak and then move on to examine the base-twenty counting system that is an intrinsic element of Euskara (the Basque language). Remarkably, elements from this vigesimal counting system are encountered across the Atlantic façade. And as will be suggested, these elements may derive from what is the same much older shared ethnocultural and metrological substrate. The implications that can be drawn from the wide geographical reach of the system are significant. The fact that evidence for the use of these septenary units is encountered not only in Euskal Herria but also all along the Atlantic façade calls for an explanation and a revision of how we currently view the Basque language and culture themselves. The ethnomathematical evidence presented in this study contradicts the traditional view, the one that portrays the Basque language is an isolate and consequently states that it should have no connections to the equally unique septenary counting and metrological practices found outside the geographic zone in which the Basque language is spoken today. The presence of this shared evidence throughout the Atlantic façade also raises questions concerning the time-depth that should be assigned to the septenary system itself.
 Celtic Studies Basque Historical Linguistics European Ethnography Ethnomathematics Ethno- and Archaeoastronomy counting systems vigesimal counting systems septarian numbers metrological sprachbund

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