Hierakonpolis lies approximately 650km south of Cairo and 113 km north of Aswan between the modern towns of Esna and Edfu. The classical name Hierakonpolis, or "City of the Hawk", is derived from the ancient association of the town with the hawk-headed god Horus, the god of Egyptian kingship. In ancient times it was called Nekhen, a name the true meaning of which is still a question.

Hierakonpolis is the largest site of the Predynastic period (4000-3100BC) still extant and accessible anywhere in Egypt. In its prime at 3500BC, it must have been the largest city along the Nile, justifying the ancient belief that it was one of Egypt’s first capital cities. More significantly, it is the only major site of this formative time still preserved as a unit, containing all the component parts which made up an ancient city: houses, cemeteries, temples, industrial zones, administrative buildings, trash mounds, etc. With these riches, it is no surprise that research at Hierakonpolis is continually providing exciting new glimpses into this pivotal and surprisingly sophisticated age.

But Hierakonpolis contains much more with a wide variety of site ranging from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Roman period. The compilation and analysis of all the evidence Hierakonpolis has to offer can provide an unparalleled look at the rise and fall of a once pre-eminent city as well as insight into how the ancient Egyptians themselves viewed their own past and coped with their own historic monuments.

In all periods, Hierakonpolis was a complex and fascinating site. Come and explore it with Hierakonpolis Online.