Three Seasons in the Ancient Kemet Calendar

▪ Akhet:

Also called the Season of the Inundation. Heavy summer rain in the highlands of Ethiopia each year would cause the Nile to flood as it flowed through Egypt. Farmland could be covered by up to two metres of water.

▪ Peret:

Also called the Season of the Emergence. As the floodwaters went down, the land beside the Nile was left covered in thick dark mud which was very fertile. Farmers used this season to plant grain, barley and other fruits and vegetables.

▪ Shemu:

Also called the Season of the Harvest. Egyptians harvested the food they had planted, collected seeds to plant the following year and stored grain in large silos.

African History