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