Is it not the case that Metric is a relatively new system of measurement?
There was the 'Parisien pied', also Dom Bedos worked in Pied du Roi with duodecimal division into pouce. The pied du Roi was 32.48cm compared to 30.48cm per English foot I think.
Sorge in the 'Secretly Kept Art of Organ Pipe Scaling' worked in 'fuss' albit divided into 1000 scruples!
David Wallace