A special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library is presenting unique papyri from the Greco-Roman period that document the fascination of the Nile until May 5, 2024.
The Greek historian Herodotus is credited with the statement that Egypt was "a gift from the Nile". He was referring to the annual flooding of the Nile, which submerged a wide strip of land and left behind fertile mud as fertilizer when it receded. These floods shaped the rhythm of life and work, but also the religious beliefs of ancient and medieval Egypt and ensured rich harvests and thus prosperity for the country.
The show presents a multifaceted selection of over one hundred exhibits, many of which are being exhibited publicly for the first time. They shed light on a complex topic that is still of particular importance today: the careful and sustainable use of water as a precious resource. At the time of the pharaohs, just like today, great efforts were made to obtain additional arable land, clean drinking water, sufficient irrigation and the fight against the desert.
View from the banks of the Nile at Schellal, photograph, January 9, 1904 © Austrian National Library
The papyrus collection of the Austrian National Library houses numerous original documents from the Pharaonic, Greek, Roman and early Arabic periods, which can be used to shed light on the many aspects of "water management". The texts report on the state-controlled and monitored use of water and the efforts to maintain the highly developed irrigation system so that the Nile flood could reach as much arable land as possible, but also so that no damage was caused by overwatering.
All Egyptians had to work five days a year to maintain these systems; the sluices were guarded, and pumping wheels and draw wells provided an additional water supply. The Nile and the irrigation system were also used for transportation and travel by water - in the Roman imperial period, bathing culture with heated thermal baths also found its way into Egypt. The papyri from the holdings of the Austrian National Library also document the regulation of water rights, tax concessions during periods of drought and the measures taken by governments against the encroachment of the desert.
Report on the rising of the waters of the Nile (papyrus, Greek, Memphis, August 19, 575 AD) © Austrian National Library
As the Nile water was the only source of water in a country with little rainfall and surrounded by deserts, the harvest depended on the level of the annual flooding. The inhabitants of Egypt therefore tried to use the precious resource of water as efficiently as possible by means of irrigation and drainage systems. The very early organized, targeted use of the Nile water through a complex system of canals, dams and dykes enabled Egypt's rise to become one of the first major agricultural cultures of mankind and is likely to have been a key factor in the development of early social and state structures. The annually recurring floods only came to an end with the opening of the large Aswan Dam in 1970.
The objects on display in the special exhibition open a door to Ancient Egypt and provide a glimpse into people's everyday lives.
June 14, 2023 to May 5, 2024
www.onb.ac.at
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