Identification
| ID in this catalogue | WCO 2 |
| Type | Outflow water clock |
| Current Location | Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Room 34 (as of 2024) |
| Catalogue Number(s) | JE 67096 |
| Provenance | Tanis |
| Date | Necho II, 26th Dynasty, Late Period, based on the appearance of the prenomen wHm-ib-ra |
| Dimensions |
The dimensions of this fragment remain unpublished, however Neugebauer and Parker (EAT 3) provide an estimation of the complete vessel to be: height: 37 cm; upper diameter 57 cm; lower diameter 52 cm. |
| Material | ?Limestone |
|
Condition |
Incomplete. Four remaining and adjacent fragments have been joined. |
| Publications |
Content
| External registers | A unique arrangement such that 4 distinct bands or subregisters are visible. |
| External upper band of text | Unknown. Top preserved register contains lunar months. |
| External lower band(s) of text | Unknown. Lowest preserved register contains hours of the night. |
| Exterior Astronomical Diagram | Yes. See here. |
| Rim | Not preserved. |
| Interior markings | According to Montet (1946), the interior is divided by bands of regular dots which end with the was sceptre or ankh sign. |
| Other features | The outflow hole of this vessel is on one of the remaining fragments and is located between the legs of a seated baboon. |
Notes
This water clock is the only known example to contain (at least) four registers. The first contains the names of the lunar months. The second register contains the names of decans with their associated deities in a subregister below. A vignette of the pharaoh and Amun spans some of the second and third registers, while the remaining portion of the third contains a line of a text. The fourth register seems to have contained the hours of the day and night.
See also the entry in: Schomberg, A., Berlin Waterclock Project, ID 2 Necho, 2019, Edition Topoi, DOI: 10.17171/2-10-12
Schematic
Details of the exterior decoration can be found in the Astronomical Respresentations section of this database here.
Images
Montet (1946) has a line drawing. Figure 9 in Egyptian Astronomical Texts vol 3 reproduces Montet's drawing.