1. To solve this problem the Kmtians invented a schematized civil year of 365 days divided into three seasons, each of which consisted of four months of 30 days each. To complete the year, five intercalary days were added at its end, so that the 12 months were equal to 360 days plus five extra days.
2. This civil calendar was derived from the lunar calendar (using months) and the agricultural, or Nile, fluctuations (using seasons); it was, however, no longer directly connected to either and thus was not controlled by them.
3. The civil calendar served government and administration, while the lunar calendar continued to regulate religious affairs and everyday life.
4. In time, the discrepancy between the civil calendar and the older lunar structure became obvious. Because the lunar calendar was controlled by the rising of Sirius, its months would correspond to the same season each year, while the civil calendar would move through the seasons because the civil year was about one-fourth day shorter than the solar year.
5. Hence, every four years it would fall behind the solar year by one day, and after 1,460 years it would again agree with the lunisolar calendar. Such a period of time is called a Sothic cycle.

Because of the discrepancy between these two calendars, the Kmtians established a second lunar calendar based upon the civil year and not, as the older one had been, upon the sighting of Sirius. In order to keep it in general agreement with the civil year, a month was intercalated every time the first day of the lunar year came before the first day of the civil year; later, a 25-year cycle of intercalation was introduced. The original lunar calendar was retained primarily for agriculture because of its agreement with the seasons.

1. The only unit of time that was larger than a year was the reign of a leader. The usual custom of dating by reign was: "year 1, 2, 3 . . . , etc., of King So-and-So," and with each new leader the counting reverted back to year One. King lists recorded consecutive rulers and the total years of their respective reigns.
2. The civil year was divided into three seasons, commonly translated: Inundation, when the Nile overflowed the agricultural land; Going Forth, the time of planting when the Nile returned to its bed; and Deficiency, the time of low water and harvest.
3. The months of the civil calendar were numbered according to their respective seasons and were not listed by any particular name--e.g., third month of Inundation--but for religious purposes the months had names. 
4. The days in the civil calendar were also indicated by number and listed according to their respective months. Thus a full civil date would be: "Regnal year 1, fourth month of Inundation, day 5, under the majesty of King So-and-So." In the lunar calendar, however, each day had a specific name, and from some of these names it can be seen that the four quarters or chief phases of the Moon were recognized, although the Kmtians did not use these quarters to divide the month into smaller segments, such as weeks. Unlike most people who used a lunar calendar, the Kmtians began their day with sunrise instead of sunset because they began their month, and consequently their day, by the disappearance of the old Moon just before dawn.
5. Both water clocks and sundials were constructed with notations to indicate the hours for the different months and seasons of the year.

HISTORY OF ANCIENT KMT CALENDAR

The way in which we divide the day into hours and minutes, as well as the structure and length of the yearly calendar, owes much to pioneering developments in ancient Kmt.

Since Kmtian life and agriculture depended upon the annual flooding of the Nile, it was important to determine when such floods would begin. The early Kmtians noted that the beginning of akhet (inundation) occurred at the helical rising of a star they called Serpet (Sirius). It has been calculated that this sidereal year was only 12 minutes longer than the mean tropical year which influenced the flooding, and this produced a difference of only 25 days over the whole of Ancient Kmt's recorded history!

• 1. Ancient Kmt was run according to three different calendars. The first was a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months, each of which began on the first day in which the old moon crescent was no longer visible in the East at dawn. (This is most unusual since other civilizations of that era are known to have started months with the first siting of the new crescent!) A thirteenth month was intercalated to maintain a link to the helical rising of Serpet. This calendar was used for religious festivals.
• 2. The second calendar, used for administrative purposes, was based on the observation that there was usually 365 days between the helical rising of Serpet. This civil calendar was split into twelve months of 30 days with an additional five epagomenal days attached at the end of the year. These additional five days were considered to be unlucky. Although there is no firm archaeological evidence, a detailed back calculation suggests that the Kmtian civil calendar dates back to c. 4236 BCE.
• 3. This 365 day calendar is also known as a wandering calendar, from the Latin name annus vagus since it slowly gets out of synchronization with the solar year. (Other wandering calendars include the Islamic year.)
• 4. A third calendar, which dates back at least to the fourth century BCE was used to match the lunar cycle to the civil year. It was based on a period of 25 civil years which was approximately equal 309 lunar months.

They eventually had a system of 36 stars to mark out the year and in the end had three different calendars working concurrently for over 2000 years: a stellar calendar for agriculture, a solar year of 365 days (12 months x 30 + 5 extra) and a quasi-lunar calendar for festivals. The later Kmtian calendars developed sophisticated Zodiac systems, as in the stone calendar at right..  The earliest date known in the Kmtian calendar corresponds to 4236 B.C.E. in terms of the Gregorian calendar.

Sirius

Early Kmtians depended on the Nile's annual rising and flooding. Each year as that great river flooded it brought down mountain soil to the Kmtian plain. This enriched the fields and enabled creation of an agricultural system that supported a large civilization.

Shortly after Sirius first reappeared in the east, the Nile would have its annual life-giving flood. Because of the Nile's flooding at this time, the fixing of the new year could well be said to have been based on a geophysical as well as an astronomical event. Although many other stars may be used to fix the beginning of a sidereal year, the Kmtians made an excellent choice for this purpose. Sirius -- Kmtians called it Sothis -- not only signaled the approaching Nile flood, but is the brightest "fixed" star in the heavens.

In Kmt at the present time, Sirius rises just before the sun late in July, but usually can't be seen until early August. This is because as sunrise approaches, stars fade from view and the light of dawn obliterates starlight. At the time Sirius is about to reappear, the constellation Orion is fully visible in the lower eastern sky. With the bright star Betelguese on its shoulder, anyone familiar with constellations would find Orion hard to miss. Sirius can be seen in the next constellation to rise (Canis Major). The Ancient Kmtian calendar followed the Sothic year.

1. The Ancient Kmtians knew that the year was slightly over 365¼ days. The earth takes 365.25636 days to complete one revolution around the sun.
2. It should be noted that the chronology of 3,000 years of Ancient Kmtian history, by modern Kmtologists, was made possible only because the Ancient Kmtians followed the Sothic Year of slightly over 365¼ days, i.e. 365.25636 days. 
3. The Ancient Kmtians were able to construct a monument with perfect precision, to match their perfect calendrical calculations. At the Abu Simbel Temple of Ramses II, is a statue of Ramses II, located among other statues at the back of its sanctuary, 180ft (55m) away from the only opening to the temple.
4. The rays of the sun have illuminated his statue, next to Amen-Ra's statue, on 22 February of each year for more than 3,200 years.

The difference between 365.25 days and 365.25636 days, over a span of 3200 years, is 20 days. If such a minute difference of 0.00636 days per year was not accounted for, the date of illumination of the statue would have changed from its original date many years ago.

The long duration of the shrine illumination is only possible because of the accuracy of the Ancient Kmtian Sothic calendar that followed the heliacal rising of Sabt (Sirius)-the Dog Star.

The practical Ancient Kmtians used a calendar consisting of 12 months, each equal to 30 days.

Kmtian months, grouped into the Ancient Kmtian's three seasons

The adjustments needed to make a complete year, i.e. the difference between 365.25636 days and the 360 (30 x 12) days, were made as follows:

1. The difference of 5.25 days comes at the end of the Kmtian year, by adding 5 days every year and an additional day every 4 years. The Ancient Kmtian Year currently begins (in 2008) on 13 September. The 5/6 extra days begin on 6 September.
2. The difference of 0.00636 day (365.25636 - 365¼ days) for each year requires adding another day every (1/0.00636) 157¼ years, which the Kmtians continued to do until our present times. This is accomplished by adding an extra day every 157, 314, 471, and 629 year cycles.

In their attempts to have a different looking calendar than the Kmtian system, both the Julian and the Gregorian calendars fell short of the exact system, as developed by the Kmtians.

The calendar system of ancient Kmt is unique to both the cosmology of the Kmtians and their religion. Unlike the modern Julian calendar system, with it's 365 days to a year, the Kmtians followed a calendar system of 360 days, with three seasons, each made up of 4 months, with thirty days in each month. The seasons of the Kmtians corresponded with the cycles of the Nile, and were known as Inundation (pronounced akhet which lasted from June 21st to October 21st), Emergence (pronounced proyet which lasted from October 21st to February 21st), and Summer (pronounced shomu which lasted from February 21st to June 21st).

The beginning of the year, also called "the opening of the year", was marked by the emergence of the star Sirius, in the constellation of Canis Major. The constellation emerged roughly on June 21st., and was called "the going up of the Great Ancestor". The star was visible just before sunrise, and is still one of the brightest stars in the sky, located to the lower left of Orion and taking the form of the dogs nose in the constellation Canis Major.

Though the Kmtians did have a 360 day calendar, in a literal sense they did have a 365 day calendar system. The beginning of the year was marked by the addition of five additional days, known as "the yearly five days." These additional five days, were times of great feasting and celebration for the Kmtians, and it was not uncommon for the Kmtians to rituals, and other celebratory dealings on these days. The Kmtian calendar also took on other important functions within Kmtian life specifically in dealing with the astrology of the people.