Nekhen
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Nekhen (Greek: Hierakonpolis, Arabic: Kom El-Ahmar) was the religious capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the pre-dynastic era (ca. 3200- 3100 BC.) and probably also during the Early Dynastic Era (ca. 3100 - 2686 BC). It was the center of the cult of the hawk god Horus, which raised in this city one of the most ancient temples in Egypt.
The ruins of the city were originally excavated in towards the end of the 19th century by the English archeologists James Edward Quibell and F.W. Green. In the "principal deposit" of the Temple of Nekhen, they found important ceremonial artifacts from the period of the beginning of the Pharaonate of Ancient Egypt, such as "Narmer's palette" and the "macehead of King Scorpion".
More recently, the city was further excavated by a team of English and Egyptian archeologists, which was coordinated by Michael Hoffmann (until his death in the 1980s), then by professor Barbara Adams of University College, London (until her death in 2001) and by Renee Friedman from then on.
'Fort'
The 'fort' is a massive mudbrick enclosure, built by king Khasekhemwy of the Second Dynasty. It appears to be similar in structure and purpose as the 'forts' constructed at Abydos.
External link
- Interactive Dig: Hierakonpolis (http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/hierakonpolis/index.html)
- Narmer (http://www.crystalinks.com/narmer.html) – site with photographs of "Narmer's palette" and the "macehead of King Scorpion".
- Hierakonpolis Online (http://www.hierakonpolis.org)