The Gebel el-Arak Knife is a 25.50 cm long knife dating from circa 3300 to 3200 BCE, the late pre-dynastic period in Egypt, which when it was purchased in Cairo[1] was said to have been found at the site of Gebel el-Arak, south of Abydos.
The blade is made of ripple-flaked flintstone and the handle of the ivory of a hippopotamus canine tooth. The handle is richly carved in low relief with a scene of a battle on the side that would have faced a right-handed user and with mythological themes on the other surface.
The opposite side of the handle shows Mesopotamian influence[2] featuring the god El, wearing Mesopotamian clothing, flanked by two upright lions symbolizing the Morning and Evening Stars (now both identified with the planet Venus).[3] Grimal refrains from speculating on the identity of the ambiguous figure, referring to it as a "warrior".[4] This side of the handle also contains a "knob", a perforated suspension lug that would have supported the knife handle, keeping it level while resting on a level surface and also could have been used to thread a cord to hang it from the body as an ornament.
The knife is on display at the Musée du Louvre, (Accession number E 11517). Another knife of similar materials but worn and battered, is conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[5]