Having thus irrigated the district, the waters flow out again; those nearest the Nile returning by the same way that they flowed in, while the rest form a series of lakes, the largest of which is known as the Birket el Kurun.

If we are to believe Herodotus, the work was not so simply done.

A king, named Moeris, desired to create a reservoir in the Fayum which should neutralise the evil effects of insufficient or superabundant inundations.

This reservoir was named, after him, Lake Moeris.

If the supply fell below the average, then the stored waters were let loose, and Lower Egypt and the Western Delta were flooded to the needful height.