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:''Hieraconpolis redirects here; for the ancient fortress in Egypt called Hieracon, see Hieracon'' Nekhen or Hierakonpolis (; ''hierakōn polis'', "city of hawks",〔Strabo xvii. p. 817〕 (アラビア語:الكوم الأحمر), ''Al-Kom Al-Aħmar'', "red mound") was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period ( 3200 – 3100 BC), and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period ( 3100 – 2686 BC). Some authors suggest occupation dates that should begin thousands of years earlier. ==Horus cult center== Nekhen was the center of the cult of a hawk deity Horus of Nekhen, which raised in this city one of the most ancient temples in Egypt, and it retained its importance as the cult center of this divine patron of the kings long after it had otherwise declined. The original settlement on the Nekhen site dates from the culture known as Naqada I of 4400 BC or the late Badarian culture that may date from 5000 BC. At its height from about 3400 BC, Nekhen had at least 5,000 and possibly as many as 10,000 inhabitants. The ruins of the city originally were excavated toward the end of the nineteenth century by the English archaeologists James E. Quibell and F. W. Green. Quibell and Green discovered the Main Deposit, a foundation deposit beneath the temple,〔Shaw, Ian. ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt''. p197. Oxford University Press, 2000.〕 in 1894.〔Shaw, Ian. ''Exploring Ancient Egypt.'' p.32 Oxford University Press, 2003.〕 Quibell was originally trained under W.M.F. Petrie, the inventor of modern archaeology, however he failed to follow Petrie's methods, and the temple was a difficult site to excavate to begin with, thus his excavation was poorly conducted and poorly documented.〔 Specifically, the situational context of the items therein is poorly recorded and often the reports of Quibell and Green are in contradiction.〔 The most famous artifact commonly associated with the main deposit, the Narmer Palette, is now thought to have probably not been in the main deposit at all. Quibell's report made in 1900 put the palette in the deposit, but Green's report in 1902 put it about one to two yards away.〔Shaw, Ian. ''Exploring Ancient Egypt.'' p.33 Oxford University Press, 2003.〕 Green's version is substantiated by earlier field notes (Quibell kept none), so it is now the accepted record of events.〔 The main deposit was located in an early Old Kingdom period,〔 but the artistic style of the objects in the deposit indicate that they were from Protodynastic times and were moved into the deposit at a later date. The other important item in the deposit clearly dates to late Predynastic times.〔Shaw, Ian. ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt.'' p254. Oxford University Press, 2000.〕 This object, the Scorpion Macehead, depicts a king known only by the ideogram for scorpion, thus known as King Scorpion, participating in what seems to be a ritual irrigation ceremony.〔Gardiner, Alan. ''Egypt of the Pharaohs.'' p. 403. Oxford University Press, 1961〕 Although the Narmer Palette is more famous because it shows the first king to wear both the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Scorpion Macehead also indicates some early military hostility with the north by showing dead lapwing birds, the symbol of the north, hung from standards.〔 More recently, the concession was excavated further by a multinational team of archaeologists, Egyptologists, geologists, and members of other sciences, which was coordinated by Michael Hoffman until his death in 1990, then by Barbara Adams of University College London and Dr. Renee Friedman representing the University of California, Berkeley and the British Museum until Barbara Adams's death in 2001, and by Renee Friedman thereafter. =="Fort"== The structure at Nekhen with the misnomer, "fort",〔() Nekhen "Fort"〕 is a massive mud-brick enclosure, built by King Khasekhemwy of the Second Dynasty. It appears to be similar in structure and purpose as the 'forts' constructed at Abydos, and has no apparent military function. The true function of these structures is unknown, but they seem to be related to the rituals of kingship and the culture.〔Renee Friedman, The "Fort" at Hierakonopolis p.31, Ancient Egypt June/July 2006〕 The ritual structure was built on a Predynastic cemetery. The excavations there, as well as the work of later brick robbers, have seriously undermined the walls and led to the near collapse of the structure. For two years, during 2005 and 2006, the team led by Renee Friedman was attempting to stabilize the existing structure and support the endangered areas of the structure with new mud-bricks.〔The "Fort" at Hierakonopolis p.36, Ancient Egypt June/July 2006〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nekhen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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