The nilometer was used to predict harvest (and taxes) linked to the rise and fall of the Nile River. American and Egyptian archaeologists have discovered a rare structure called a nilometer in the ruins of the ancient city of Thmuis in Egypt's Delta region.

What is a nilometer and why is it important?

A nilometer was a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and water level during the annual flood season. ... The akhet, or Season of the Inundation, was one of the three seasons into which the ancient Egyptians divided their year. The annual flood was of great importance to Egyptian civilization.

What is a nilometer And why did the Egyptians need to use it?

A nilometer was a device used by the ancient Egyptians to calculate the water level of the Nile River during its annual flood, and therefore predict the success of the harvest and compute the tax rate for the year.

Why is Rhoda Island nilometer important?

The Roda Island Nilometer was built to measure water levels in the River Nile, which were necessary for a good agricultural season. The measurement taken was used as a basis for the taxes that the Egyptian province had to pay to the Caliphate.

What was Kemet known for?

Egypt is a country in North Africa, on the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to one of the oldest civilizations on earth. ... To the ancient Egyptians themselves, their country was simply known as Kemet, which means 'Black Land', so named for the rich, dark soil along the Nile River where the first settlements began.

What is NILOMETER? What does NILOMETER mean? NILOMETER meaning, definition & explanation

17 related questions found

Who is the God of Kemet?

AUSAR~AUSET~HERU ~ Eldest of four offspring from the sky god (Geb) and the earth goddess (Nut), AUSAR (Greek “Osiris”) became wise lord and king of Kemet where he ruled successfully with AUSET (Greek “Isis”) as his wife.

What Kemet means?

The Egyptians called their country Kemet, literally the "Black Land" (kem meant "black" in ancient Egyptian). The name derived from the colour of the rich and fertile black soil which was due to the annually occurring Nile inundation. So Kemet was the cultivated area along the Nile valley.

Is the nilometer still used today?

The nilometer on Rhoda Island is today housed in a modernized building. The conical roof replaced an older dome that was destroyed in 1825 during the French occupation.

What is a nilometer describe how early Egyptians used it in agriculture?

A nilometer was used to predict flood levels. This instrument was a method of marking the height of the Nile over the years. Nilometers were spaced along the Nile River.

Why was a government necessary for ancient Egypt?

The government of ancient Egypt was a theocratic monarchy as the king ruled by a mandate from the gods, initially was seen as an intermediary between human beings and the divine, and was supposed to represent the gods' will through the laws passed and policies approved.

For what different purposes were boats used?

Boats also served a ceremonial purpose. They were used to move images of gods from temple to temple, and to transport the mummified bodies of royals and nobles across the Nile to their tombs on the west bank. Even the sun god travelled by boat (the solar bark) on his daily journey across the sky.

How was water used in ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptians dug canals to direct water to places far from the banks of the Nile and used the shadouf (Fig. 7), a counterbalanced sweep, to bring water from the Nile or a canal to higher fields. ... Water was also transported in jugs that were carried with a yoke, which is illustrated in some scenes of daily life.

Why were canals important in ancient Egypt?

Canals allowed people to direct water greater distances away from the Nile River so that they could produce more food to sustain a greater population. With an abundance of food, not everyone needed to farm which led to craft specialization.

Who was the role of scribes in Egypt?

A scribe recorded in writing the everyday life and extraordinary happenings in ancient Egypt. Their jobs were varied and included: writing letters for fellow villagers who couldn't write. recording the amount of crops harvested.

How were Shadufs used in ancient Egypt?

To lift the water from the canal, they used a Shaduf. ... A Shaduf is a large pole balanced on a crossbeam, a rope and bucket on one end and a heavy counterweight at the other. When the rope was pulled, it lowered the bucket into the canal.

What is an Islamic nilometer?

Description: The Nilometer (Kiosk of the Nile; known in Arabic as al-Miqyas) is considered among the enduring architectural foundations tied to the Egyptian culture and way of life. It is in fact unique in the Islamic world.

How did the river Nile help ancient Egyptian farmers?

The river Nile, the longest river in the world, provided Egyptians with black, fertile land that was ideal for growing an abundance of healthy crops. Egyptians farmers planted their crops all along the riverbank of the Nile, so their food would absorb the nutrients and grow big and strong.

How did Egyptian farmers irrigate their crops?

How did the Egyptian Farmers water their crops? ... They built mud-brick reservoirs to trap and hold the water. They also had a network of irrigation canals that filled with water during the flood and were refilled from the reservoirs.

What solutions did the Egyptians come up with to deal with the flooding of the Nile?

What solutions did the Egyptians come up with to deal with the flooding of the Nile? They created a calendar so they would know when the Nile would flood. They figured out the Nile would flood between May and September. They also used irrigation canals.

How did the Egyptians view the Nile?

The Nile Valley as Part of Identity

The Nile influenced how Egyptians thought of the land in which they lived, according to Haney. They divided their world into Kemet, the "black land" of the Nile Valley, where there was enough water and food for cities to thrive.

How many Sphinx are in Egypt?

In ancient Egypt there are three distinct types of sphinx: The Androsphinx, with the body of a lion and head of person; a Criosphinx, body of a lion with the head of ram; and Hierocosphinx, that had a body of a lion with a head of a falcon or hawk.

What happened when the Nile was too low?

The amount of silt left behind due to the height of the Nile determined the amount of crops that the Egyptians could grow - if the inundation was too low, it would be a year of famine. ... It was the home-place of Khnum, the ram-headed god of Inundation.

What is Osiris the god of?

Osiris, also called Usir, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. ... This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld; and the dead king's son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky.

Why did Egyptians use Kemet?

A number of names were used for Egypt in ancient times. A popular ancient name for Egypt was "Kemet," which means the "black land." Scholars generally believe that this name derives from the fertile soil that is left over when the Nile flood recedes in August.

Who built the pyramids?

It was the Egyptians who built the pyramids. The Great Pyramid is dated with all the evidence, I'm telling you now to 4,600 years, the reign of Khufu. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is one of 104 pyramids in Egypt with superstructure. And there are 54 pyramids with substructure.