The Roman Method for Timekeeping: Examining Ancient Time Management Strategies
In their day-to-day lives, the Ancient Romans didn't fuss about the minute details of time like we do today. Their day was split into twelve daytime hours, each fluctuating in length depending on the season – yep, except for those 45-minute power naps you'd get during midsummer! Nighttime was just as obscure; it too was divided into twelve segments or intervals that mirrored the changing of the guard.
Tracking Time Back in the Day
The Ancient Roman version of swiping open your smartphone was the good ol' sundial, and it reigned supreme as the most popular timekeeping tool. Pliny, the history buff, filled us in that the first of these sun-powered watches made its debut in 263 BC in Rome. A war trophy from the 1st Punic War, it was stationed proudly on the Quirinale hill, the highest of the seven Roman hills. Alas, for a hundred years, this solar observatory provided inaccurate time readings due to geographical latitude differences. A proper clock finally graced the Forum in 164 BC!
What exactly did this ancient watch look like?
Imagine an upright stone against a circular dial – that's a rough depiction of this ancient sun Ray. The circular dial was divided into twelve sectors of varying lengths, and the time was determined based on the shadow cast by the vertical stone (gnomon). Fascinating, ain't it?
A Gigantic Clock for the Emperor Augustus
Augustus, Rome's first emperor, wasn't satisfied with your run-of-the-mill sundial. Nope! He needed something even more grandiose, and so came into existence the Horologium Augusti, the largest sundial of the ancient world. A colossal 30-meter obelisk stolen from Egypt served as the gnomon, while the dial stretched out to a colossal 160 meters in diameter. The Horologium Augusti was unrivaled in its precision and stood on the Champ de Mars – quite the sight to behold! However, the obelisk succumbed to floods and eventually an earthquake, but during the 16th century, it was restored to its former glory from the remains buried underground.
When Rome Didn't Have Clocks – Run, Slave, Run!
Before clocks became a thing, slaves were the human stopwatches who ran to the city center to report the current time to their masters. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?
Quadrants – Roman Pocket Watches
Smaller quadrants, also known as the Roman equivalent of pocket watches, started to pop up, but it made no sense to lug them around outside Rome due to restricted latitude compatibility.
Clepsydrae – The Watery Clocks
Sundials may have ruled the timekeeping roost, but water clocks (clepsydrae) held their own during long speeches, court proceedings, or on cloudy days. The Romans even called out for clepsydrae when requesting extra speaking time – talk about commitment to precision!
Pliny the Younger and the Speech-Fest
Pliny the Younger once gave a four-hour long speech when he was granted 16 clepsydrae to speak his mind! In typical Roman fashion, even the court proceedings had to follow a strict time limit.
Complex Mechanisms for Simplified Timekeeping
Some clepsydrae were fitted with advanced mechanisms that emitted loud sounds or even threw objects to signify the passage of time. Now that's efficiency, folks!
Measuring Time before Time Revealed Itself
The "Law of the Twelve Tables," an ancient legal code, only mentioned sunrise, sunset, and eventually noon – certainly a far cry from our modern time-conscious society.
Messenger on the Rooftops
During the service of consuls, a messenger was assigned to the Senate Curia roof to monitor sun movement and inform the necessary parties about the right time. Now, that sounds like a clandestine timekeeping operation straight out of a spy movie.
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Sources:
• Andrews, E. (2014, January 02). Mystery of Ancient Roman Sundial Deciphered Using Digital Modeling.
• Ker, J. (2009, September). Drinking from the Water-Clock: Time and Speech in Imperial Rome.
• Mons Citorium - Montecitorio. (n.d.).
• Reilly, B., & Chan, D. (2018, July 10). Timekeeping In The Roman Army.
• Theodosiou, E. (2002, December). The Ancient Clepsydra of Athens.
In the realm of archaeology and history, the study of ancient timekeeping methods reveals the ingenuity of the Romans. Arabesque sundials were common, with many containing a stone gnomon and a circular dial, demonstrating the integration of science and technology in their everyday lives (archaeology, history, science, technology).
On a grander scale, Augustus, the first Roman emperor, commissioned the Horologium Augusti, the largest sundial of the ancient world. This colossal structure boasted a 30-meter obelisk as its gnomon and a dial sprawling 160 meters in diameter, showcasing the Romans' ambition to harness these mechanisms for precise timekeeping (archaeology, history, science, technology).
