| Summary: | Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen and modern Kom el Ahmar) is a major site of the Egyptian Predynastic and Early Dynastic Period, where on‐going excavations are revealing archaeological evidence for the evolution of social complexity and urban society, as well as the practices and manifestations of early royal power, including the maintenance of a menagerie of wild animals. Votive objects, such as the Narmer Palette, and monumental structures, like the enclosure of King Khasekhemwy, attest to the site's intimate relationship to kingship and a spiritual significance which it retained throughout ancient Egyptian history. In the Dynastic period, decorated tombs of periods poorly represented at other sites (Second Intermediate Period, early 18th Dynasty and late 20th Dynasty) provide rare insights into private religion and cult practices. Nubian presence, shown by cemeteries of C‐Group and Pan Grave cultures, illuminate the cultural diversity in this southern region of Upper Egypt.
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