Identification
| ID in this catalogue | WCI 1 |
| Type | Inflow water clock |
| Current Location | Egyptian Museum, Cairo |
| Catalogue Numbers | TR 2.12.26.16 |
| Provenance | Edfu |
| Date | 100 CE (per Borchardt) |
| Dimensions | Roughly 30 cm diameter and 40 cm tall, although internal measurements are much smaller (about 17 cm diameter by 32 cm deep) |
| Material | Stone of some type |
|
Condition |
Almost complete |
| Publications |
Daressy (1915); Borchardt (1920); Sloley (1924, 1931); Cotterell, Dickson & Kamminga (1989); Clagett (1995) |
Content
| External Registers | None |
| External Upper band of text | None |
| External Lower band(s) of text | None |
| Exterior Astronomical Diagram | None |
| Rim | |
| Interior markings | Very similar to outflow water clocks: twelve vertical lines for the months, joined by lines which increase in inclination nearer the bottom of the vessel. |
| Other Features | Exterior baboon sitting on top of an outflow or emptying spout. |
Notes
This is the only "full sized" inflow water clock know from ancient Egypt, although several small votive offerings could represent inflow clocks. The scales on the interior are, suprisingly, the same way up as outflow clocks where one would expect the inverse - water flows in to a common starting level for each month scale. Instead, the starting level varies from month to month, requiring a quantity of water to be added to the vessel before timekeeping could start. This may indicate that this vessel was not a functional clock.
Images
See Borchardt or Clagett for photos and drawings.