Cart is empty
Splashing in the source of life: The Nile
The ancient Egyptian civilization would never have developed if it weren’t for the Nile. The Nile was – and still is – the only source of water in this region of north Africa. Without it, no life could be supported. Ancient Egypt is often called the Nile valley.
This collective term refers to the fertile land situated along the banks of the river, covering an area of 34,000 square kilometers. This overall area has not altered much during the last 5,000 years, although the course of the river Nile itself has changed, and with artificial irrigation the fertile land has been increased a little.
In de-Nile: Size and scope
The Nile is the longest river in the world, running 6,741 kilometers from eastern Africa to the Mediterranean. Six cataracts, or rapids, caused by rock outcrops on the riverbed, separate the southern section of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum.
The first cataract at Aswan created a natural boundary for Egypt until the New Kingdom (1550 BC), when the ancient Egyptians began traveling further and further south in the hunt for gold and areas to build up their empire. The Nile flows from south to north – from the interior of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Southern Egypt is called Upper Egypt because it is closest to the source of the Nile, and northern Egypt is called Lower Egypt.
The northern part of the Nile fans out into a series of canals, all leading to the Mediterranean. This area of northern Egypt is known as the Delta and is primarily marshland. The zone is particularly fertile – papyrus (on which many surviving ancient Egyptian records were written) grew in abundance here.
The inundation: Surviving and thriving
Every year for the months between July and October the Nile flooded, covering the land on both banks with as much as 2 feet of water. When the water receded, very fertile black silt covered the land. Because of this, the Egyptians called their country Kemet, which means ‘the black land’.
Through careful crop management and intricate irrigation canals, the Nile valley became a major agricultural area. Although the inundation of the Nile was essential for the agricultural success of the ancient Egyptian civilisation, a risk always existed of the Nile flooding too much or not enough. Either situation resulted in crop failure, famine, and death. Since 1830 AD, a series of dams and sluices at the southern end of the Nile have checked the floods.
In 1960 AD, the Egyptians built the High Dam at Aswan, which has stopped the Nile flooding altogether. Although these new technologies create a more stable environment for the modern Egyptians to farm, the steady nature of the present-day Nile makes imagining the up-and- down aspects of ancient Egyptian life more difficult.
Tags
Papyrus Catalogs