Ancient Nilometer on Elephantine Island. Near Aswan, Egypt

"A flight of steps constructed of regular-shaped stone leads down from river bank. The Nilometer appears to be a Late Period construction, the high levels being registered in demotic and Greek on the western wall. Repairs were carried out in roman times after the initial reforms of augustus, who set his army the task of repairing and deepening the irrigation canals. The Nilometer was rediscovered in 1822, and after centuries of neglect it was brought back into use in 1870 by an eminent astronomer, Mahmud Bey. The marble slabs date to this time and a new scale was established. Khedive Ismail recorded the repairs in French and Arabic on the eastern wall of the stairway." [Kamil Jill, 1993: Aswan and Abu Simbel, History and Guide. The American University in Cairo Press]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa from March 14, 1961 to March 31, 1961, visiting Egypt.