Water clocks were once the primary method of timekeeping before electronic devices. These devices consisted of containers with lines and small drainage holes, which allowed people to measure time by the amount of water that flowed out or in. However, these water clocks had limitations and required constant maintenance and calibration due to changing day lengths with the seasons.
In ancient times, sundials were commonly used as a time-telling tool, but they only worked when there was sunlight and could not maintain continuous divisions of time. To compensate for these shortcomings, water clocks were invented. There are two types of water clocks: outflow and inflow. Outflow water clocks have measuring lines inside the container and work by filling the tank with water that leaks out at a steady rate. Inflow water clocks operate on the same principle but have measuring lines in a second container.
The oldest known water clock dates back to around 1417 – 1379 BC during the reign of pharaoh Amenhotep III in Egypt. This water clock, found broken into pieces at the temple of Amen-Re in Karnak, was made of plaster and had drawn columns and lines to symbolize the hours of the night. Despite their disadvantages, such as requiring constant water pressure and regular calibration due to changing day lengths with the seasons, water clocks represented an important development in time-telling technology before electronic devices became widely available.
Today, keeping track of time is as easy as glancing at a watch or cell phone, but it was not always so simple. Before battery-powered devices, people relied on various methods such as sundials and water clocks to tell time accurately. While these methods had their limitations and required careful maintenance and calibration, they represented an important milestone in human history’s progress towards accurate timekeeping.
