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Is the nilometer still used today?
The nilometer on Rhoda Island is today housed in a modernized building. The conical roof replaced an older dome that was destroyed in 1825 during the French occupation.
What role did Elephantine Island play in the inundation?
The Nilometer on Elephantine Island (Fig. 9a, b), north of the First Cataract, was one of the most important devices, due to its location where the floods began. This device was located in the Temple of Khnum dedicated to the ram‐headed god of Inundation.
What is a Islamic nilometer?
The Nilometer (Kiosk of the Nile; known in Arabic as al-Miqyas) is considered among the enduring architectural foundations tied to the Egyptian culture and way of life. It is in fact unique in the Islamic world. The Nilometer itself is the equivalent of a well whose walls are built from skilfully hewn stone blocks.
What was the significance of the Nilometer Mark?
While low levels of water were an indication of an approaching famine, high water levels would signal destructive floods. The nilometer had a definite mark indicating what height the floods would reach to provide the fields with good soil.
Why was the Nilometer important to the Roman Catholic Church?
Nilometer. The same skill also played a political and administrative role, since the quality of the year’s flood was used to determine the levels of tax to be paid. This is where the nilometer came into play, with priests monitoring the day-to-day level of the river and announcing the awaited arrival of the summer flood.
When did the use of nilometers end in Egypt?
Egypt’s ancient nilometers continued to be used by later civilizations until the 20th century when the construction of the Aswan dams put an end to the Nile’s annual inundation, rendering the nilometers obsolete. Nilometer on Elephantine Island. View from the top of the steps.
Where can I find an example of A nilometer?
The simplest nilometer design is a vertical column submerged in the waters of the river, with marked intervals indicating the depth of the water. Later these columns began to be housed inside elaborate and ornate stone structure. One such nilometer can still be seen on the island of Rhoda in central Cairo.