Sextarius

Ancient RomanHistorical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

One 48th of an amphora, about 0.55 L. The standard Roman liquid measure, a little under an imperial pint.

1 sextarius = 0.5458333333 liters (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the sextarius varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the sextarius

Literally a sixth, the sextarius was one sixth of a congius and one forty-eighth of an amphora quadrantal, which means one forty-eighth of a cubic Roman foot. It was the working core of Roman capacity measure, since both the liquid and the dry tables were built on it.

Its size is more contested than most. Wikipedia's text calculates about 540.3 mL from the cubic foot, its table gives 546 mL, which is the figure used here, and archaeological vessels fall between 500 and 580 mL, with no two surviving examples exactly alike. Wikipedia compares it to about 95 percent of an imperial pint, which is why it is often called a Roman pint. Smaller units were fractions of it, such as the cyathus at one twelfth, while the modius was 16 sextarii.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ancient Roman units of measurement

Sextarius conversion chart

1 sextarius expressed in every other volume unit:

More Ancient Roman units

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• congius (volume)
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• amphora (volume)
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