Ancient Egyptian Units of Measurement - Time

Time

The Egyptians divided their year (rnpt) into 365 days (hrw). The Egyptian calendar had 12 months (abd) of 30 days each, plus 5 epagomenal days.

They divided their year into 3 seasons, named Akhet, Peret and Shemu. Akhet was the season of inundation. Peret was the season which saw the emergence of life after the inundation. The season of Shemu was named after the low water and included harvest time.

Units of time
Name Egyptian name Equivalent Egyptian values
hour
unut		 1 day = 24 hours
day
hrw		 1 day = 1/30 month = 24 hours
month

abd		 1 month = 30 days
Inundation season

akhet		 Akhet = 4 months = 120 days
Emergence season


peret		 Peret = 4 months = 120 days
Harvest season


shemu		 Shemu = 4 months = 120 days
year
renpet		 1 year = 365 days

The introduction of equal length hours occurred in 127 BC. The Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemaeus introduced the division of the hour into 60 minutes in the second century AD.

Read more about this topic:  Ancient Egyptian Units Of Measurement

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