Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World

With the invention of the Nilometer the Egyptians could

record the river levels and attempt to predict their crop yields.

A Nilometer consisted of a series of steps that were used to

mark the height of the Nile inundation as well as regular wa-

ter levels. Surviving Nilometers exist at the sites of Philae,

Idfu, Isna, Kom Ombo, Dendera, and Aswān. In Cairo there

is also an Islamic Nilometer from about 705–715 c.e., which

may have been built on the site of a Pharaonic Nilometer.

LOWER EGYPT

Th e ancient capital of Memphis (modern Cairo) sits at the

apex of the Nile Delta. Th e delta, or Lower Egypt, is wide and

As the Sahara dried out between 3000 and 2000 b.c.e., the Nile River valley became a center for human civilizations, including those in
ancient Nubia.

climate and geography: Egypt 241