Merkhet

[2] It was used to track the alignment of certain stars called decans or "baktiu" in the Ancient Egyptian.

[3] The exact design of the merkhet consists of a horizontal bar, usually carved from wood or bone, with a plumb line hanging from a transverse hole at one raised end of the bar, attached to a controlling wooden handle.

As deduced by texts and engravings on the inner walls of the temples of Dendera and Edfu, the merkhet was typically used in conjunction with a corresponding sighting tool, which the Egyptians called a bay, itself made from a specially cut palm-rib with a sliced "V" shape at one end.

[4] The meridian line was crucial to the Egyptians when they observed the movement of celestial bodies across the night sky.

This particular exhibit dates to 600 BC, and, according to a related inscription, belonged to the son of a priest who hailed from a temple dedicated to the Egyptian god Horus, located close to Edfu in Upper Egypt.