Editing Water clock (section)

===Egypt===
The oldest water clock of which there is physical evidence dates to c. 1417–1379 BC in the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]], during the reign of the pharaoh [[Amenhotep III]], where it was used in the [[Precinct of Amun-Re]] at [[Karnak]].{{sfn |Cotterell |Kamminga |1990 |pp=59–61}} The oldest documentation of the water clock is the tomb inscription of the 16th century BC Egyptian court official Amenemhet, which identifies him as its inventor.{{sfn |Cotterell |Kamminga |1990 |pp=59–61}}<ref>{{cite book | last = Berlev | first = Oleg | editor = Donadoni, Sergio | others = Trans. Bianchi, Robert ''et al.'' | title = The Egyptians | year = 1997 | publisher = The University of Chicago Press | location = Chicago | isbn = 0-226-15555-2 | page = 118 | chapter = Bureaucrats}}</ref> These simple water clocks, which were of the outflow type, were [[Stone vessels in Ancient Egypt|stone vessels]] with sloping sides that allowed water to drip at a nearly constant rate from a small hole near the bottom. There were twelve separate columns with consistently spaced markings on the inside to measure the passage of "hours" as the water level reached them. The columns were for each of the twelve [[month]]s to allow for the variations of the seasonal hours. Priests used these clocks to determine the time at night so that the temple rites and sacrifices could be performed at the correct hour.<ref>{{Harvnb|Cotterell|Kamminga|1990|p.=59}}</ref>