why was the sundial important
The invention of such portable sundials shows how important it was for the ancient Egyptians to keep time. At the same time, sundials were only effective given enough sunlight. To tell time at night the Egyptians invented the water clock. The first water clocks appeared during the reign of Amenhotep I. It was a stone bowl filled with water at precise time of the day. It had slanting sides and a small hole at the bottom trough which water dripped at a constant rate.