05 Fascinating Timekeeping Devices From History

The history of timekeeping goes back to ancient civilizations such as Sumer and Egypt. The Egyptians were the first to divide the day into fixed units of time, which allowed them to develop more advanced methods of measuring time - such as sundials.

From there, China, India, Greece, Babylon, and other civilizations developed their own clocks and calendars, even if most early timekeeping devices were vastly inaccurate compared to modern clocks. It would take many scientific discoveries and remarkable efforts by different thinkers throughout history to arrive at the common, universally accepted standard of time that we all use today.

1. Sundial Cannon

The sundial law gained popularity across Europe in the 17th century, and ancient examples can still be found in museums and private collections around the world. At its simplest, it is a conventional time display device based on a sundial, with a vertical magnifying glass and a fuse cannon. Every day at noon, or some other desirable time of day, sunlight passes through the lens and ignites the charge, firing the cannon.

At that time, sun cannons were widely used throughout Europe to indicate the time of noon, although they were gradually becoming obsolete due to the advent of modern clocks and clocks. By the 19th century, they were only made as small, novelty collectors' items, although some larger ones still exist as tourist attractions, such as in Åtvidaberg, Sweden.

2. Candle Clock

The first candle clock was described by the Chinese poet Yu Jianguo in AD 520, although candles have been used as an early meter for much longer due to their simplicity. The Django clock is made of six candles of the same weight and thickness, enclosed in a glass body to protect the flames. Each candle was made to burn for exactly four hours, with evenly spaced one-inch markings indicating twenty minutes.

While the idea originated in China, engineers quickly adopted and improved candle clocks. It was a simple but effective device for measuring time, although it had its limitations. For one thing, these clocks were more akin to modern alarms or timers than clocks, as they could only be used to measure elapsed time. They may also have been completely inaccurate due to factors such as air quality or wax. However, for normal daily tasks, it still provides an easy way to keep track of time. Candle clocks were in use until the 18th century, before modern clocks and clocks supplanted them.

3. Obelisk

First constructed in ancient Egypt between 3500-2500 BC, the obelisk was one of the oldest timekeeping devices in history. It was built of an oblong rectangular slab of stone, designed to indicate precisely at noon by the length of its shadow. Subsequent notches have been added to further divide the day, with these symbols denoting the longest and shortest days of the year.

Although the earliest examples are now lost to time, obelisks were widely adopted and constructed by other civilizations such as Babylon. In Egypt, they were often placed at the entrances to temples and served a higher purpose than simply telling the time. Egyptian obelisks were closely associated with the worship of the goddess Ra and the sun, especially during the New Kingdom period from 1570-1069 BC.

4. Merkhet

Over time, ancient Egyptian timekeeping devices and methods became more sophisticated, incorporating primitive designs such as the sundial with different methods to produce more complex clocks. However, the problem was that they only work during the day. A reliable method for measuring nighttime would not be developed until late 600 BC, known as the Merkhat.

Commonly used with a sighting device called a gulf, meridians were primarily a tool for determining the north-south axis. By tracking the regular movement of the stars against this axis with devices such as water clocks, Egyptian scientists could use emeralds to accurately determine night time. It also has other uses, such as in architecture—merkhat is probably the reason why many structures in Egypt are perfectly aligned along the north-south and east-west axes.

5. French Decimal Time

In 1793, the newly convened National Convention decided that the old Gregorian system of time did not support the spirit of revolution. It was... very asymmetric, compared to a simple decimal time system comprehensible in factors one and ten.

For about 17 months, French Decimal Time - also known as the Republican Calendar - was adopted across the country. All units of time, including weeks, are now divided into tens and hundreds. This was a new idea, if people didn't already have a time system to follow. Most importantly, the weekly holiday now comes every 10 days instead of seven, with the addition of a half day on the fifth day. While the French government tried to make it work for a while, the idea failed to gain popular support, and it was officially abolished on April 7, 1795.