The remains of the gardens that existed in Ancient Egypt, are priceless sources that tell the story of the development of the ancient world, for modern mankind. First of all, these are paintings and inscriptions found during archaeological excavations .
Researchers found many frescoes belonging to the New Kingdom (2 thousand years BC), depicting Egyptian peasants extracting water from the Nile using a mechanism called “shaduf”. In ancient Egypt, he played an important role in the development of gardening in such incredibly difficult arid climatic conditions.
Egyptian Gardens: Research Results
Numerous archaeological finds tell us about the layout of cities and structures of ancient times, as well as irrigation facilities. In this issue, special attention is paid to the study of the location of pits with nutrient land, which allows us to draw important conclusions about the vegetation of those times.
The construction of gardens reached its widest scope during the heyday of the ancient capital of Upper Egypt - the city of Thebes (today Luxor). At that time, there were built and created rich luxury villas with magnificent palaces, fabulous ponds and
paradise gardens, surrounded by high walls.
All these studies provide important materials that give a general idea of Egyptian gardens and methods of watering vegetation. Below we consider the meaning of the word shaduf. In ancient Egypt, this mechanism played a rather important role in human life.
Climate of Egypt
The climate in the territory of Ancient Egypt has always been unfavorable for horticulture and agriculture. It is characterized by the absence of precipitation, burning wind, bearing spiky sand. In this regard, life was possible only in the Nile Valley. And yet this was not enough, additional artificial watering was needed.
For these purposes, wells were built, from which water was extracted by a crane system (lever), and special channels for irrigation were built.
What is Shaduf in Ancient Egypt: Definition
The importance of gardens in ancient Egypt was great. They were needed especially in the hot summer months, as they created a saving shadow. Even such records have survived in ancient scriptures about the disasters of the population, such as: "He is poor - he has no shadow."
The building material for the construction of the shadufs was the widespread sandstones and limestones in these territories, as well as pink granite, jasper, diorite and porphyry.
Shaduf in Ancient Egypt - one of the most important inventions during the New Kingdom in this state. This is a water-lifting structure similar to a well with a crane.
This device consisted of a lever, which was fixed between 2 vertical posts. A load was attached to its short end, and a container (tub) made of palm leaves was installed on the long end. From there, water was transported in buckets on the rocker arms or in wineskins made of sheep skin.
Irrigation of fields and gardens
The only and most important mechanism privately owned by the peasants of those times is shaduf. In ancient Egypt, many similar structures were installed along the Nile River. However, if the water level in the river dropped, there were some difficulties with raising the water. A later similar, but improved invention for lifting water into the fields - “Archimedes screw” (installation of equipment at different levels) made this process easier. The invention was acquired for collective use (one in two or three villages).
To facilitate irrigation, planting gardens were laid near ditches, often specially created for this purpose. Water from these ditches filled ponds intended for watering trees and flowers. Just for scooping this water the device created by the person - shaduf also served.
Ancient Egypt is famous for its magnificent gardens. They were popular and widespread in the country. The gardens, supposedly from watered gardens, with the growth of Egypt's well-being, have turned into luxurious green complexes with amazing ponds, beautiful flowers, statues, fabulous alleys of fruit trees and a wide variety of plants. These magnificent sites were broken up near and around temples, magnificent palaces and mansions of the richest Egyptians.