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  How the clock would have looked

 

Length: 35.200 cm (max.)
Width: 27.000 cm (max.)

EA 938

Ancient Egypt and Sudan

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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.