Egypt as an exceptional civilization was born in the fertile Nile delta valley. Naturally the role of agriculture in the flourishing of this civilization is not really a surprising factor. A study of ancient Egyptian history underscores the origins of its agriculture and horticulture development. The modern world is in debt to this great Nile Valley civilization for its contribution towards many of our basic agricultural innovations: cultivation techniques and irrigation technology and the horticultural arts. Natural river irrigation and its fertile soil shaped the early landscape of ancient Egypt agriculture. Agriculture began in the region as far behind as 8000 BCE, as is evident from the usage of land for agriculture. The Delta region of Northern Egypt and the Faiyum region saw the advent of agriculture in the predynastic period between 6000 and 3150 BCE. In fact, the very soil of Egypt had been formed by the Nile river’s fertile alluvial sediment deposits, which encouraged the Greek historian Herodotus to call Egypt the “gift of the Nile.”

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Crops Grown in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians were cultivating grain crops like wheat- emmer, durum, einkorn, spelt and bread wheats- and barley along with lentils and legumes like lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas. The vegetable crops included radish, onions, garlic, parsley, cucumbers, gourds, melons and watermelons. The fruits of all kinds like famous Sycamore, figs, olives, grapes, pomegranate, carob, pomegranate vines were cultivated. Besides these other crops grown during this period include  Agathe castor, flax and papyrus. There also exists evidence of the transfer to Egypt of different types of trees from Asia and Africa was done. For example, opium grown in Sumeria also formed an important item of trade in Egypt during the New Kingdom, adding greatly to the wealth of the city of Thebes. Herbs and aromatic plants were also grown in Ancient Egypt and were used for culinary, medicinal and embalming processes. Anise, cumin, dill, caper, coriander, fennel, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, fenugreek, etc., were some of the spices, herbs and medicinal plants which were popular in Ancient Egypt.

Horticulture in Ancient Egypt

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Gardening in ancient Egypt was much more labor intensive than agriculture. Gardens, orchards, and vineyards were often situated on high grounds. They were quite a distance from the Nile river. They had to be irrigated by hand with the water drawn from wells or the river. Due to these high grounds, drainage was not required to become livable.

In ancient Egypt, most villagers were farmers. But there were farmers who lived in towns too, along with craft workers, artisans, traders and other workers and their families. The pharaoh got the rich peasants to work as farmers on the rich lands.

Agricultural tools and techniques

The main farming seasons in ancient Egypt were the growing and harvesting season. As the Nile river soil was very fertile, it was ideal to grow many healthy crops. In most of the countries, heavy plows have to be used to turn over the soil, to get enough nutrients for the growing plants. But in Egypt, the Nile flood deposited the nutrients on the top, and the plowing that served was just to break up the top soil before sowing or covering the seed afterward. In the special days of harvest, not only men worked in the field but women also participated side by side their husbands and members of the family. Boys and Girls also took part in the harvesting.

The fertile soil was easy to dig with your tools. Farmers in ancient Egypt used the same soil for every field. They also reused the soil. Every year floods made the water that went over the fields saturate the soil. And after the floods went down, the fresh bunch of mud left was the excellent soil to plant seeds in after it had been plowed by the farmers.

The simple farming tools such as winnowing scoops, Mattocks, flint-bladed sickles, and plows were used in ancient Egypt agriculture practices. The Egyptian plow had a small blade on it and as the soil was fertile,  that didn’t cut very deep which was fine.

Agriculture and its development also had a role in the formation of ethics for the ancient Egyptians. The breach of these ethics is one of the major sins in ancient Egypt. Agriculture thus played a key role in the establishment of this great Egyptian civilization and the stability of its people.