Amenemhet (18th Dynasty)

Amenemhet was an ancient Egyptian prince and royal seal administrator under Ahmose and Amenophis I and lived at the beginning of the 18th dynasty (around 1555 to 1505 BC). He is considered to be the inventor of the water clock with an outlet pipe and improved time measurement. The Egyptians divided the night into twelve equal periods, the length of which varied depending on the season. An hour scale was scratched into Amenemhet's water clock, which for the first time took into account the increasing and decreasing length of the night hours.

The invention is described in detail in his grave inscription:

“I… made His Majesty Amenhotep I a water clock that was correct in every season. In summer and winter it showed the hour in its place. Nothing like it has ever been made since prehistoric times. "

- Amenemhet

The Egyptologist and finder of the Nefertiti bust, Ludwig Borchardt, describes this inscription by Amenemhet in his fundamental treatise The Ancient Egyptian Time Measurement (1920) as “the autobiography of the first physicist in the ancient world who can be identified by name” (SB 63). In his biography, however, Amenemhet also refers to the reading of older writings, to which he owes his invention. It therefore remains unclear whether he can be regarded as the inventor of the simple water clock, as there was the model of the inlet water clock in addition to the outlet water clock and Amenemhet pointed to his knowledge of the unequal number of night hours .

Amenemhet took into account that the viscosity of water is higher at night than during the day due to lower temperatures by adjusting the angle of the drainage by 7 °. This makes him the first to deal with rheological issues.

literature

Siegfried Schott : Ancient Egyptian festival dates . Publishing house of the Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz / Wiesbaden 1950.
Daniela Wuensch , Klaus P. Sommer (ed.): The ancient Egyptian time measurement / Ludwig Borchardt. New ed. by Daniela Wuensch & Klaus P. Sommer. (With an introduction by Daniela Wuensch " What the ancient Egyptians knew about clocks and time measurement .") Reprint of the edition from 1920, Termessos, Göttingen 2013, ISBN 978-3-938016-14-5 .

Individual evidence

↑ Deepak Doraiswamy: The Origins of Rheology: A Short Historical Excursion . In: The Society of Rheology (Ed.): Rheology Bulletin . tape 71 , no. 2 , January 2002, p. 2 (English, rheology.org [PDF]).

personal data
SURNAME	Amenemhet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Gaufürst and royal seal administrator under Ahmose and Amenophis I.
DATE OF BIRTH	16th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	16th century BC Chr.

[1] Deepak Doraiswamy: The Origins of Rheology: A Short Historical Excursion . In: The Society of Rheology (Ed.): Rheology Bulletin . tape 71 , no. 2 , January 2002, p. 2 (English, rheology.org [PDF]).