Nekhen
Religious and political capital of Upper Egypt in Ancient Egypt / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alternative name | Hierakonpolis (Greek) |
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Location | Aswan Governorate, Egypt |
Coordinates | 25°5′50″N 32°46′46″E |
History | |
Material | Possibly, oldest painted Ancient Egyptian tomb |
Nekhen (/ˈnɛkən/, Ancient Egyptian: nḫn), also known as Hierakonpolis (/ˌhaɪərəˈkɒnpəlɪs/; Greek: Ἱεράκων πόλις, romanized: Hierákōn pólis;[2] either: City of the Hawk,[3] or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus;[4] Egyptian Arabic: الكوم الأحمر, romanized: el-Kōm el-Aḥmar, lit. 'the Red Mound'[5]) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt (c. 3200–3100 BC) and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2686 BC).
The oldest known tomb with painted decoration, a mural on its plaster walls, is located in Nekhen and is thought to date to c. 3500–3200 BC. It shares distinctive imagery with artifacts from the Gerzeh culture.