Farming in ancient Egypt

The first farmers

Picking grapes, 18th Dynasty

There is no evidence for food production on the Nile floodplain before the fifth millennium B.C. Traces of the earliest undisputed farming community in Egypt have been discovered at Merimde Beni Salama, a site on the western fringe of the delta dating to ca. 4750 B:C. the possibility of whether there were earlier farming settlements along the Nile has often been linked to the discovery of ceramics , on the grounds that pottery, like other “ urban “ skills , could not conceivably have arisen before the establishment of settled communities . pottery dating to ca . 5500 B.C.  has been found in the Faiyum , where ceramics and stone tools display stylistic similarities with those of Merimde , suggesting some kind of cultural affiliation between the inhabitants of these sites . pottery dating to ca. 5200 B.C.has also turned up at Eltariff near Luxor in upper Egypt .

But there is no accompanying evidence of food production, and it is now known in any case that the development of ceramic techniques may predate the arrival of farming. The appearance of Saharan pottery , cattle , sheep and goats on the Nile floodplain between ca. 5300 B.C. and ca .4000 B.C , together with wheat and barley from southwestern Asia, coincides with a transition to drier conditions throughout the region and in particular with the second of two spells of extreme drought that occurred ca. 5000 B.C.

Reaping grains , 5th Dynasty

Evidence from Farafra oasis in the western desert suggests that between these two dates the climate fluctuated severely , before the advent of cold and dry conditions ca . 5000 B.C. During this millennium the Saharan lakes dried up and the human presence in the desert became spare and ephemeral . It is highly probable that many inhabitants of the western Desert, the Sinai and the Negev Desert began to trickle toward the Nile during this time of unstable climatic conditions. Some of these former desert-dwellers remained outside the Nile floodplain, becoming nomadic herders who moved between sources of water, or settling at spring-fed oases such as Kharaga and Dakhla .

Winnowing and carrying ears of grains to granary, 18th Dynasty

However, other migrants moved southward up the Nile Valley or settled near the Mediterranean coast . They established themselves along the edge of the floodplain, where they began to raise animals and to cultivate cereal crops. These “ colonists” lived alongside the indigenous hunters, fishers and forgers of the Nile Valley, and the newcomers’ cultural traditions – such as their use of cattle symbolism and their techniques of ceramic and crop productions of the existing inhabitants, a process that can be witnessed in the development of communities such as Hierakonpolis (seep.69). By ca. 4000B.C, farming villages had sprung up all along the banks of the river. The practice of fishing and fowling continued, but hunting as a primary means of obtaining meat was replaced by the raising of sheep, goats, cattle and pigs .

Living of the land

Ancient Egypt was known as land of abundance , and kings sometimes boasted of the good harvests during their reigns. For example, it was said of Amenemhet III (ca. 1818-1772bce) that " he makes the two land verdant green more than a great Nile ... he is life .... the king is food and his mouth is plenty " in an inscription at the temple of Abu Simbel , Ramesses II put the following words into the mouth of the god path: "I give to you (Ramesses II ) constant harvests ... the sheaves are like sand , the granaries approach heaven , and the grain heaps are like mountains "

Plowing,Middle Kingdom

This agricultural prosperity relied on the river Nile , on good land management and , above all ,on hard work . the rich silt from the Nile's annual flood regularly renewed the fertility of Egyptian farmland.

The floodwater irrigated the fields and the depth of the inundation determined how much land could be cultivated . To measure how much the river rose , the Egyptians built flood gauges known as " Nilometers" at various places along the Nile.

The Egyptians built embankments and dykes in order to protect buildings and land during the inundation and to control the flow of water into the fields. They took advantage of  natural depressions in the floodplain, which formed flood basins, Water was allowed to flow from one basin to another following the slope of the land, while artificial channels carried water to the farthest areas if the flood was low. No tools were used for irrigation until the New kingdom, when a method for lifting water was devised , known in Arabia as Shaduf. A post acted as a pivot for a cross-pole, which could swing in all directions and had a container attached to one end and a counterweight on the other . The container was filled by dipping it into the channel, and the counterweight then raised it to the appropriate level so that the water could be emptied out. In post-pharaonic times the Shaduf – which is still in use today in some parts of Egypt – was supplemented by the water-wheel and the Archimedean water-screw.

After the floodwaters receded, much work was required to repair dykes and canals, to re-establish land-markers and to prepare the soil for sowing. Lightweight wooden ploughs were often all that was needed to turn the earth, but sometimes a hoe was used to break up heavy soil. Ploughs were pulled by teams of cows or people, and seed was often scattered in front of the plough. Crops ripened and were harvested before the next flood. In some cases, the use of irrigation extended the cultivable area and enabled two crops per year to be grown.

The harvest was another time of great activity. Cereal crops – barley and wheat – were harvested using wooden sickles with flint teeth, and the green was taken to the village in large baskets. Men  used forks to break up the stalks on the threshing floor and then donkeys or oxen were driven around the floor to trample the grain. After winnowing the harvest was taken to a granary, where it was stored. A scribe recorded the amount of the harvest.

The Egyptians grew a range of vegetables in irrigated plots but the staples of their diet – bread and beer – were made from cereals. The grain was first crushed in large mortars, and then ground to obtain flour using grinding-stones and a quern (hand-mill). Loaves were baked in many different shapes over an open fire, often in conical moulds, people also made cakes flavored with honey from wild or domesticated bees.

Beer was as much a nutritious food as a drink, being produced from fermented barley-bread and often sweetened with honey, dates or spices. This was the Egyptians' principal beverage, but wine was also produced. Vineyard workers picked grapes by hand, they were then trampled in vats by up to six men. The juice underwent primary fermentation in huge vats by up to six men. The juice underwent primary fermentation in large, uncovered pottery jars, and was then left to ferment a second time in stoppered jars on racks. These would be labeled with information such as the year, the place of origin and the winemaker.

Farming also included the rearing of animals, most commonly cattle. Large herds grazed on the rich grass of the Delta. Egyptians generally ate beef only on special occasions or if they belonged to the elite, however, cattle were also kept for their dairy produce and as beasts of burden. The value of an estate was calculated every couple of years according to the size of its herd. People also raised sheep, goats and pigs for meat, while geese and ducks were often reared at home for meat and eggs.