Ancient Egyptian Clocks

Science and research continue to achieve wonders and teach us more about our past and ancient civilizations. As more research tools are available, so do the results get better, it’s kinda simple. Now researchers have managed to figure out how Ancient Egypt’s sun clock functioned and how they kept time. So far archaeologists believed that the inhabitants of ancient Egypt divided the day and night in 12 hours and this changed throughout the course of the year after the change in length of day and night.

This is why, when an ancient clock dating back to the thirteenth century before Christ was discovered in the Valley of the Kings, made out of semicircular rustic limestone with markings on top of it, researchers assumed that the clock was horizontal and highly inaccurate and that it was used to calibrate the hour system of day and night.

However after a Russian research team got the opportunity to study this antique clock, they demonstrated that in fact, it was the ancient Egyptians who first calculated that a full day lasts 24 equal hours.

This study also proved that the clock was in fact a vertical type clock, which is proven to be more accurate than the horizontal clock. The Russian research team also demonstrated that this ancient clock had a declining Gnomon (A Gnomon is the part of a sundial that casts the shadow.) that was applied to divide the time in twenty-four equal hours.