Determining the exact time today is not difficult. But in ancient times, until an exact mechanical watch was invented, this was not an easy task. How, for example, did they count time in ancient and medieval Russia?
What watches did you use in Russia in the past
From ancient times, the most common (before the invention and widespread use of mechanical watches) were two main methods of counting time: using the solar device "gnomon" and using the so-called "clepsydra", or water clock. However, due to the fact that in most of Russia at least several months a year there are frosts, it is simply impossible to use water hours outside a heated room.
Therefore, our distant ancestors had to use a gnomon - an ordinary pole dug in the ground, or any other tall object. In clear weather, it casts a shadow. At noon, when the sun is highest above the horizon, the length of the shadow will be minimal, and before sunset or immediately after dawn - the maximum. According to the results of regular measurements of the length of the shadow in different periods of the year and at different times of the day, it is possible to fairly accurately determine the time at any moment of daylight.
However, in cloudy weather, this method, of course, cannot be applied. And in Russia in autumn and winter, cloudy weather is very common. In addition, in the northern regions of the country in late autumn, winter and early spring, the sun rises very low above the horizon, so the shadows from the gnomon are very long, and this makes measurement difficult.
Many inhabitants of Russia, especially in the villages, were not at all familiar with the sundial. And for an approximate determination of time, they used natural signs - the cry of a rooster, the degree of disclosure of flowers, the type and position of the moon in the sky, etc.
