T he aerial shots in Mysteries of Egypt capture the beauty of the Nile Valley. The majestic Nile River flows north from the headwaters in Burundi to the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of 6, kilometres. This makes it the longest river in the world! T he shape of the Nile River Valley resembles a lotus flower, the ancient Egyptian symbol for the regeneration of life. The long, narrow river valley is the stem, the delta that spreads out in the shape of a triangle is the flower, and Fayyum Region is a bud.
F or centuries, the Nile River flooded the valley , enriching the land with a thick layer of alluvial soil. Flooding occurred from July to September as the result of the tropical rains in the Ethiopian tableland. The river attained its highest level in October, then began to recede to its lowest point sometime between April and June.
S ome degree of flood control has been practised since early times. River banks were raised and canals dug to funnel the water over the land. Elaborate precautions were taken to prevent overflooding, but, at times, excessive flooding caused destruction and a loss of property and life.
The land has not experienced flooding since the construction of the Aswan Dam , however. The dam was built in and raised to its current height sixty years later. T he flooding of the Nile rendered the narrow strip of land on either side of the river extremely fertile.
Intensive agriculture was practised by the majority of the peasant population. As the flood waters receded, sowing and ploughing began, using primitive wooden ploughs. The fully grown crops had to be cut down harvested and removed before the Nile flooded again. It was also the time to repair the canals ready for the next flood.
In the growing season all the crops were planted. The harvest season was the time when crops were cut and gathered. Reapers cut the ripe corn with wooden sickles edged with sharp flints. Women and children followed behind the reapers to collect any fallen ears of corn.
Cattle were used to trampled over the cut corn to remove the grain from the ears. Then the grain was tossed into the air so the breeze blew the light useless chaff away.
Every June, the Nile flooded. This was known as the flooding season. During this time the farmers would mend tools or make new ones. People would go fishing for food or extra money. Ancient Egyptians had simple farming tools such as winnowing scoops, hoes, rakes, flint-bladed sickles and ploughs. They had both hand ploughs and ones pulled by oxen. The ploughs were used to turn the soil.
Wall painting of a hand plough. The majority of the tools were made entirely out of wood, or a combination of wood and stone, however, some copper tools have also been found, indiscating that they had some metal tools too. Once the floods receded and the fields dried, the plants would wither and die. The mud that the Nile left behind needed lots of watering in the hot sun. The ancient Egyptians tried to trap as much flood water as possible, so they did not have to constantly get water from the river.
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. 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 counter weight at the other.
By pulling the rope it lowered the bucket into the canal. The farmer then raised the bucket of water by pulling down on the weight. He then swung the pole around and emptied the bucket onto the field.
Wall painting of a shaduff. Animals were very important to Egyptian farmers. Animals helped them with jobs like trampling in the seeds, pulling the plough, eating unwanted grain or wheat and providing the Egyptians with food and drink. They kept animals such as cattle, goats, pigs, ducks, cows, and geese. Follow me on Twitter mbarrow.
I teach computers at The Granville School and St. John's Primary School in Sevenoaks Kent. This site uses cookies. See our Cookie Policy for information. You may not redistribute, sell or place the content of this page on any other website or blog without written permission from the author Mandy Barrow.
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