Storiascopio · Era 3 of 12 · primary year 4
The Egyptian calendar
about 2800 BC · Memphis, Egypt
In short
The Egyptians divided the year into 365 days: 12 months of 30 days plus 5 feast days at the end. The year also had three seasons linked to the Nile: the flood, the growing of the crops and the harvest. Astronomers noticed that the river's flood came more or less when the star Sirius became visible again at dawn. But there was no extra day for leap years, so the calendar slowly drifted out of step with the seasons.
Why it matters Julius Caesar drew on this calendar, and the one we use today comes from his.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Egyptian calendar”
Where we are in the era “River civilisations”
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about 4000 BCEvent 6 of 25about 1200 BC
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-egyptian-calendar/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class