One of the oldest cities in Egypt and the largest site from the Pre and Protodynastic period, Nekhen is a city that plays an important role in understanding the foundations of Egyptian civilization during the transition from prehistory to history. It was home to the earliest kings and chiefs of Upper Egypt and during its height, around 3500 bce, would have been a vibrant, bustling city that stretched for over three miles on the west bank of the Nile. A center of religious, political and industrial growth and development, Nekhen served as the focal point of the kingdom of Upper Egypt.

Nekhen brewery

During the First Dynasty, the original desert settlement was replaced with an irregularly shaped walled city that could boast a population of approximately 5,000 citizens. In the south corner of the city stood the large temple enclosure dedicated to the falcon god of Nekhen, Nekheny or The Nekhenite. Along the northern side of the town stretched a large industrial zone which at one time boasted huge pottery vats for brewing wheat-based beer - quite possibly 300 gallons of beer a day. Surrounding all of this area was a great wall, no less than 9.5 meters thick in places and consisting of a double skin of mud-brick, with a void between them. To venture forth in or out of the city, one must pass through a grand gateway built for both defensives purposes and as a symbol of the city's wealth and prestige.

Oldest house in Egypt

During these early days of Egypt's history the kingship, and the land, was still divided - there stood two independent kingdoms and through the course of time, perserverence, military tactics and political manuevering the kings of Upper Egypt achieved unification with their northern counterparts. Such men as Scorpion I, Iry-Hor, Ka, Scorpion II and Narmer advanced their culture through this unification by bringing together the diversified people of the two lands, expanding the boundaries and trade routes of Egypt and maintaining a balanced economy that allowed Egypt to prosper and lay the foundations of the great nation it soon became. Through the following dynasties Nekhen might have lost its status as the capital of the Nome of the Shrine, but it never lost its prestige or its eternal place in the history of Ancient Egypt.