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Another source of UNCERTAINTY regarding EXACT DATING OF DAYS at this time
derives from changes made by Augustus to the lengths of the months. According to some accounts,
the month of February originally had 29 days, and in leap years 30 days (unlike 28 and 29 today).
It LOST A DAY because at some point in time the fifth and sixth months of the old Roman calendar
were renamed as Julius and Augustus respectively in honor of their namesakes. The number of
days in August -- previously 30 -- now became 31 (the same as the number of days in July), so that
Augustus Caesar would not be regarded as inferior to Julius Caesar! Therefore, the extra day
needed for August was taken from the end of February. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty
regarding these matters -- so all dates prior to 4 A.D. (when the calendar finally became stabi-
lized) are UNCERTAIN.
According to Moustafa Gadalla, "in their attempts to have a different looking calendar than
the Egyptian system [Aristarchus' calendar of 239 B.C.], both the Julian and the Gregorian calen-
dars fell short of the [more] precise/accurate system, as developed by the Egyptians. Additionally,
we end up with twelve months, but with a totally confused, illogical, and haphazard numeration
of the different months."
Not only that, but the Julian Calendar still had the trappings of the old Roman calendar --
including the EIGHT-DAY WEEK! We are told by the Encyclopedia Britannica that the old Ro-
man calendar had become HOPELESSLY CONFUSED by the time of Julius Caesar. Notes the
Encyclopedia Britannica --
The working of the Roman calendar was in the hands of the pontifices, who every month
used to watch for the new moon, and, when it was seen, proclaimed from the Capitol the
number of days, five or seven, to the Nones...
Independent of the months were the EIGHT-DAY "WEEKS" called nundinae; these had
no individual names, WERE NOT CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH ANY RELIGIOUS
PRACTICES OF IMPORTANCE, and were simply THE SPACE FROM ONE
MARKET-DAY TO ANOTHER. They are marked on the surviving calendars with the
letters A-H...
The encyclopedia goes on to say --
Owing to the clumsiness of the pontifices, and still more to political maneuvers, by which
intercalation was made or omitted recklessly to affect a magistrate's year of office, the
calendar got into HOPELESS CONFUSION by the end of the republic, and Julius Caesar
undertook its reformation. In 46 B.C. he intercalated, and furthermore added 67 days be-
tween November and December, making a year of 445 days, and so bringing the civil
abreast of the natural year. Then began the new, Julian calendar, which with small modi-
fications, lasted until the Gregorian reforms (volume 4, 1943. Article "Calendar").
The Eight-Day Week
We should notice here that the old Roman calendar was based on the moon and had an
EIGHT-DAY WEEK that was simply the PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN MARKET DAYS! This
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