Classes 6 & 7 – Forest School – Shadufs

Following on from our history lesson on Ancient Egyptian farming and learning all about irrigation systems and land use, we had to create our very own shadufs. These are hand operated devices used for lifting water out of a well or reservoir. It was invented by the Ancient Egyptians and is still used today, in Egypt, India and other countries. The device is extremely efficient and easy to use and it’s estimated that it can easily, and with little effort, lift more than 2,500 litres per day. The shaduf (or shadoof) consisted of a long wooden pole balanced on a beam. The pole had a bucket attached by a rope to one end and a heavy weight acting as a counterweight on the other end. We thoroughly enjoyed cutting wood to size, using string to tie it together and operating the device to lift water out of the River Nile. 

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