Inventions to tell time before clocks

Sundial

The sundial is one of the time-telling instruments of the past.

In 3500 BC, the Egyptians began building large columns, placing them in the sunlight and watching the column's shadow change direction and length to determine morning, noon and evening.

2,000 years later, the Egyptians invented a sundial with a circular disk system divided into 12 equal parts and a hand that caught the sun's shadow.

At noon, people rotate the clock 180 degrees to indicate the afternoon time. Later, many types of sundials were developed that rotated 360 degrees.

However, this type of clock has many limitations such as not working at night or on days without sun. The clock is also not accurate because different angles of sunlight will give different reflections.

Star clock

Merkhet of the ancient Egyptians

It was the Egyptians who invented the method of keeping time at night using astronomical instruments.Merkhetaround 600 BC. This instrument is also known by its popular name, the star clock.

The instrument consists of a straight ruler attached to a plumb line (a string with a heavy object tied to the lower end, used to determine the vertical direction). Astronomers place the plumb line vertically and the ruler pointing toward the North Star to form a North-South line.

Time is kept by watching certain stars move back and forth across this boundary.

Water meter

A late 5th century BC earthenware water clock on display in Athens.

A water meter measures the flow time of a given quantity of liquid, usually water.

The most basic water meter usually consists of a water tank and a receiver.

The Egyptians invented the first water clock to overcome the limitations of the sundial. From Egypt, water clocks spread to Greece and the Arab countries.

Over time, people built more complex clock systems using communicating vessels to indicate the hours.

Candle clock

A German candle clock model.

A candle clock simply works by using a burning candle and a continuously marked scale. The amount of time the candle burns corresponds to the amount of time that passes.

It is not known exactly when and where candle clocks were invented, but scientists believe that this type of clock was popular in Asian countries such as China and Japan from the 6th to the 11th century.

In the 14th century, the Arab king Al-Jazari (1136-1206) invented the most advanced candle clock by designing a precise clock face with a screw joint to hold the candle more tightly.

Hourglass

Ambrogio Lorenzetti's 1338 painting Symbol of Efficient Government features an hourglass.

According to many documents, the hourglass was first widely known by the French monk Luitprand at Chartres Cathedral in the 8th century. At that time, only the rich bought hourglasses, both to tell the time and to decorate their homes.

It was not until the 14th century that hourglasses became popular and were widely used by sailors to tell time while at sea.

Hourglasses are designed primarily to measure different short periods of time: 1 hour, 30 minutes or even a few minutes. Therefore, the hourglass is a symbol of the rapid passage of time, often appearing in the fields of art.

Oil lamp clock

A type of oil lamp clock.

An oil lamp clock is similar to a candle clock. It is designed with a frame containing oil, usually whale oil, which is used to light the lamp. Numbers are written on the frame indicating the elapsed time.

Scientists do not know exactly when and where this type of oil lamp was invented, but they were widely used in the 18th century around the world.

Incense clock

Chinese incense clock.

The Chinese invented the method of measuring time with incense during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and then spread it to neighboring countries such as Japan and Korea.

The common structure of this type of clock consists of metal balls tied along the incense stick at regular intervals by strings. When the incense stick burns out, the strings slip, causing the balls to fall down, creating a time-telling sound.

Another type of incense clock uses incense sticks with different colored or scented segments to mark different periods of time.