Farm scenes depicted on the walls of Old and Middle Kingdom tomb chapels showed the whole process of agriculture, from ploughing to depositing the harvest in silos. Techniques of agriculture and [V 004 / animal husbandry]
were simple but effective and still continue even today.
Mud walls a few inches high divided fields into small squares. They were primarily cultivated with plough and hoe. A watercourse between every two squares distributed the water from canals or the river. Each square could be watered by damming the runnel and making an opening in the mud wall. These irrigation techniques often produced as many as three crops of either cereals, wheat or barley per year. Ease of cultivation allowed Egyptians to explore more advanced horticulture, achieving good quality garden produce and [V 008 / viticulture].
All agriculture ceased during the inundation. When the waters subsided in November or December, ploughing began. Sowing immediately followed and the seed was trodden into the soft mud by animals. By March or April the crop was ready to harvest. Unless the field was near a source of water, it quickly dried up and lay fallow until the next flood.
Antelope, cattle, goats, pigs and sheep were common farm animals in ancient Egypt. Cattle were mostly raised and pastured in the delta region. Improvements were made to animal stocks from selective breeding for temple herds. Also, geese, cranes, pigeons and different varieties of ducks were fattened for the table by forcing food down their throats.
