Water Clocks
There is also evidence for the use of water clocks in anciet Egypt. An early Egyptian water clock dating to about 1500 BC was found among other items in the tomb of the pharaoh Amenhotep I; their creation is attributed to an inventor named Amenemhat. Early water clocks were usually bowl-shaped with a small hole at the bottom and markings on the inside at even intervals. The bowl was floated on water and allowed to fill such that the rising water indicated the passage of a set number of hours. Water clocks were useful for priests as they could accurately measure time in all seasons and independently of the sun, which was important for determining when to perform religious ceremonies and rituals.
Read more about this topic: History Of Timekeeping Devices In Egypt
Famous quotes containing the words water and/or clocks:
“Here is no water but only rock”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day? Unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the
tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping-houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-colored
taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous
to demand the time of the day.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)