Nekhen
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- Hieraconpolis redirects here; for the ancient fortress in Egypt called Hieracon, see Hieracon
Nekhen (Greek: Ἱεράκων πόλις, Strabo xvii. p. 817, transliterated as Hierakonpolis, Hieraconpolis or Hieracompolis, Arabic: الكوم الأحمر Kom El-Ahmar) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period (ca. 3200 – 3100 BC.) and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 3100 – 2686 BC). It was the center of the cult of the hawk god Horus of Nekhen, which raised in this city one of the most ancient temples in Egypt, and it retained its importance as the cult center of the divine patron of the kings long after it had otherwise declined. The original settlement on the site dates from Naqada I or the late Badarian. At its height from about 3400 BC it had at least 5,000 and possibly as many as 10,000 inhabitants.
The ruins of the city were originally excavated towards the end of the 19th century by the English archeologists James E. Quibell and F.W. Green. In the "principal deposit" of the temple of Nekhen they found important ceremonial Protodynastic artifacts such as the Narmer Palette[1] and the famous macehead bearing the name of King Scorpion.
More recently, the concession was further excavated by a multinational team of archaeologists, egyptologists, geologists, and other sciences, which was coordinated by Michael Hoffman until his death in 1990, and then by Barbara Adams of University College, London and Dr. Renee Friedman University of California, Berkeley/British Museum until Barbara Adams's death in 2001, and by Renee Friedman from then on.
[edit] "Fort"
The "fort"[2] 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, and has no military function. The true function of these structures is unknown, but seems to be related to the rituals of kingship[3].
The structure was built on a pre-dynasty cemetery and excavations there, as well as later brick robbers, have seriously underminded the walls and lead to the near collapse of the structure. For the last 2 years (2005/2006) the team lead by Renee Friedman have been trying to stabilse the existing structure and support the dangerous areas of the fort with new mudbricks[4].
