Welcome noble visitors and residents to the Nome of the Shrine, the 3rd Nome of Upper Egypt and once a home to Egypt's most ancient kings!

Located north of Edfu and south of Thebes, the Nome of the Shrine boasts such cities as Nekhen, Nekheb and Esna - each having taken on the role of the capital of the nome through the course of time. It is a nome that offers a study in the earliest history of Egypt with vast Predynastic cemeteries and settlements giving one a glimpse into the lives of those long past. Nekhen, the first capital of the nome, was once also the capital of the Kingdom of Upper Egypt - the residence of such illustrious Predynastic figures as Scorpion II, Iry-Hor, Ka and Narmer.

To the east, and across the Nile, lies Nekhen's sister city of Nekheb which claims the distinction as the capital of the nome from the early 18th Dynasty and is the home of the tutelary vulture goddess, Nekhbet. This city too gave birth to notable figures and the tombs of both Ahmose Pennekhbet and Ahmose, Son of Ebana - both renowned for their biographical texts - can be found to the northeast at Wadi Hellal. To the north of Nekheb, and again on the west bank of the Nile, rests Esna - the last capital of the Nome of the Shrine. Esna or as it was known in ancient Egyptian times, Iunyt, contains temples to Khnum, Heka and Neith and carefully inscribed on the columns is a detailed account of the festivals sacred to Esna.

The Narmer Macehead

The 3rd Nome was not only a religious center for such gods as Khnum, Neith, Nekhbet and Horus - but was also a thriving industrial region and can safely lay claim to the largest brewing facility in Egypt, a brewery that produced up to 300 gallons of beer per day! But the industry did not stop there, craftsmen abounded and skilled workers produced bead-work, fine pottery and stunning pieces of carved ivory. With the fertile Nile banks lying so close, farms abounded and produced grain for bread-making and brewing and the flax needed to weave linen.

Temple of Khnum at Esna

Not far from the walls of the cities lie the cemeteries that house the earliest settlers of the region. To the west of Nekhen lies the famous Decorated Tomb 100, now unfortunately lost, but kept in good company by those tombs of other Great Chiefs. These cemeteries, not restricted solely to Nekhen, tell a story of a people carving out a living on the edge of the desert - governed by a local elite and prospering under their guidance to develop the cities now perched upon the banks of the Nile. The longevity of the area is attested to by the later rock-cut tombs of the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms and in Esna, by the finding of the cartouche of Marcus Aurelius.

Sources:

• Archaic Egypt - WB Emery
  
• The Fort Cemetary at Hierakonpolis - Barbara Adams
  
• Early Dynastic Egypt - Toby A.H. Wilkinson
  
• Egypt Before the Pharaohs - Michael A. Hoffman
  
• Oxford History of Ancient Egypt - (edited by) Ian Shaw
  
• The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt - Richard H. Wilkinson
  
• Egypt Uncovered - Vivian Davies & Renee Friedman
  
• Ancient Nekhen - Barbara Adams
  
• Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt - John Baines & Jarmir Malek
  
• Interactive Dig Hierakonpolis
  
• Thinis.com
  
• Hierakonpolis Online
  

Internal Links:

• Archaic Kemet (group)