tour 3 of 13
Time
Part of a water clock
Telling
the time using the things around
you
For
thousands of years, people have been using objects around them to
help them tell the time. One of these objects is sand - if you have
ever used an egg-timer, you will know how this can work. Gravity
makes the sand flow downwards through a small opening, and because
it always takes the same length of time, you know that your egg
will be cooked perfectly when the sand has all passed
through.
Water also flows
downwards in the same way as sand. This picture shows part of an
ancient Egyptian water clock made of a stone called basalt. Click
on the drawing to see what it would have looked like. The clock was
shaped like a large bowl which would be filled up at the start of
the day. As the water dripped out through the bottom and the water
level dropped, the markings on the inside would show how many hours
had passed. The two people that you can see on this part of the
clock are the gods who represent the fourth and fifth Egyptian
months. The Time book
contains instructions on how to make your own water
clock.