Nowhere is the power of the early king more evident than in the center of this vast town, where in 1985 Egypt's earliest temple began to emerge from beneath the sand. Although little remains above ground to attest to its former importance, both the scale and the nature of the finds indicate that the complex was an early ceremonial center, the focal point of which was a three room shrine, its facade made up of four huge timber pillars. Lavishly appointed with colored mats for walls, the shrine must have dominated the temple complex and the town of Hierakonpolis as a whole. Destined to become the prototype for later Egyptian temple architecture, it was a potent symbol to the power of the king and Horus, the patron god of Egyptian kingship for the next 3000 years.

The discovery of the temple was completely unexpected as the primary objective of the 1985 season to find a mid Predynastic (Nagada II/Gerzean) house! To this end, excavations under the direction of the late Dr. Michael Hoffman were undertaken at a portion of the site designated as Locality HK29A, in the midst of one of the densest accumulations of cultural material in the Predynastic town.

At the end of the initial season of excavation in 1985, we thought we had been successful in our primary goal of uncovering a domestic structure. Architectural remains in the 5x5 meter test square included part of a prepared mud floor which extended to a low mudbrick wall. Parallel to this mudbrick wall was a large trench, made to support a wall of posts which appeared to be associated with a much denuded area that we assumed to be the remains of animal pens.

Returning to the site the following season, however, we found that the physical extent of these architectural features to be far greater than expected. Both the paved floor of the court and the large wall trench continued until monumental proportions had been attained. In fact, we have yet to find the northern end of the floor!

Wide area clearance has now revealed the true nature of the site. At the center of the complex was a large, oval courtyard, over 32 meters long and 13 m wide, which had been paved several times with mud plaster. The floor slopes up rather steeply (9* angle) toward the south where a large hole, 80cm deep, was dug. It contained two worked stones apparently intended to hold a tall solitary pole supporting the cultic emblem, perhaps a figure of the falcon god Horus.

A series of post-built and mud-brick walls surrounded the court. Along the river side of the court was a large trench over 35m long up to 44cm deep, dug to support a substantial wall of posts, perhaps 2-3m high based on modern examples. Well preserved wooden posts with sharpened ends were recovered, however, the action of insects left only the fragile silica skeleton of the wood, and as a result they disintegrated upon exposure to light. This wall was pierced by a gateway once flanked by two large posts, possibly flagpoles.

Parallel to the post wall is another made of mud bricks. It may have been built to screen a corridor running from the entrance to the elevated end of the floor and buildings situated at the apex, but there is no evidence that it was built to retain a mound of sand (as mistakenly reported in R. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt.2000, p. 17-18).

Directly across the court from the gate are four enormous postholes, which once held the columns forming a facade of the main shrine, at least 13m wide. Shallow furrows in the soil indicate that the rear part of the building had three chambers composed of mat-work and poles. The postholes of the facade were over one meter in diameter and some 1.60m deep. They must have been dug to hold something very large.

In fact, organic remains found in them have been clearly identified as wood, not bundled reeds or the like. Given their size, this wood could be cedar, a tree that can grow over 12m high, but it would have had to have been imported from the Lebanon and then floated down the Nile.

Other features of the complex include the remnants of small square robing? room and mud brick platform near the entrance to the court from which perhaps the king viewed the processions and bounty being presented. While around the courtyard, in little workshops of reeds and posts, trained craftsmen transformed raw materials gathered from the far reaches of the realm into luxury goods for their royal patrons and their gods.

The preserved remains accord well with Early Dynastic representations of the archetypal shrine of Upper Egypt, which portray a vaulted structure composed of posts and lattice work shaped in the silhouette of a crouching animal complete with tail and horns. The home of the great shrine of the Upper Egypt crown called the per wer, or 'Great House' has long been thought to be a Hierakonpolis and it is possible that the remnants at HK29A may indeed be this very shrine. This structure was later destined to be recreated in stone at the Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara in the so-called House of the South. The reconstruction of this building is remarkably similar in proportions to the remains at Hierakonpolis with a facade some 13 m across, pillars 12m high, matwork curtain wall, and a slightly off center door.

An even more intriguing representation of an early shrine with which to compare the remains at Hierakonpolis was found only 600 meters away within the Main Deposit at Nekhen. This is the votive macehead of King Narmer. Of particular interest is the small building surrounded by a low courtyard wall. Within the court stands a pole supporting an image now lost and a jar on a pot stand. In the scene immediately below, horned animals cavort within a double walled oval courtyard, perhaps a view into the court shown immediately above it. In several details it is striking similar to the remains at Hierakonpolis, so similar in fact, it is tempting to suggest that the structure on the Narmer macehead actually is a representation of this ceremonial complex. Evidence for Narmer's presence at the site was found during excavations made in 1989. While trying to find the northern end of the court we found an intentionally buried deposit of pottery dating to the time of Narmer. Festivities at that time may have possibly marked the last use of the complex before it was intentionally demolished and its furnishings removed to the new temple being constructed on that mound in the village.

The identification of the complex as a temple is based not only on its impressive architecture. Finds from the complex leave little doubt that something very special was taking place here. Together the material found in the temple (the majority of which comes from the filling of the wall trench, apparently material swept up off the floor and thrown over the wall, later to fill the trench when the wall collapsed), dates the main activity at the site to the Nagada IIcd/ Gerzean phase of the Predynastic, c. 3400BC.

The study of the mammalian fauna shows that a substantial number of newborn or very young sheep or goat was being offered here. This is clearly not an effective use of the food supply and bespeaks unusual circumstances. Butchery was done at the site. This is made clear by the recovery of all portions of the skeleton (cattle and sheep/goat), and the hugh (80%) percentage of the flint debris which is debitage from the manufacture and sharpening of special ripple flaked knives used for ritual butchery.

Aquatic fauna are also repesented. Notable were the skeletal remains of Lates niloticus, or the Nile perch, indicating that some specimens were originally over 2m in length and weighed over 175 kg!. To land such creatures required not only specialized fishing techniques but also a big boat. The transport of such a catch must have called for special measures too. Further, there were also substantial amounts of turtle and crocodile, both dangerous aquatic fauna.

Aside from the debris from the manufacture or sharpening of knives, the lithic assemblage reveals a very activity specific bent. Microdrill bladelets for the production of beads were common and crescent drills for the manufacture of stone vessels were also noted. Beads of carnelian, obsidian, and quartz crystal, as well as several fragments of fine stone vessels in a variety of hard stone were recovered. The association of craftsmen with a temples is certainly a regular part of the dynastic economy, which may have begun already in Predynastic times.

The pottery contemporary with the main use of the site also shows certain aspects that have no counterpart in the domestic assemblages. Two shapes, a red washed jar and the fine black polished ovoid pots were the most frequent fine ware forms. These distinctive shapes have not been encountered in any other locality at Hierakonpolis and are unknown or rare elsewhere in Egypt. In addition pottery from Canaan and the Delta were also found.

There is no doubt that this was a very special place indeed.

For more information:

Friedman, R., 1996. "The Ceremonial Centre at Hierakonpolis, Locality HK29A", Aspects of Early Egypt, ed. by A.J. Spencer, British Museum Press: London: 16-35.

Holmes, D.L., 1992. "Chipped Stone-working Craftsmen, Hierakonpolis and the Rise of Civilization in Egypt", in R. Friedman and B. Adams (eds.), The Followers of Horus. Oxford: 37-44

McArdle, J., 1992. "Preliminary Observations on the Mammalian Fauna from Predynastic Localities at Hierakonpolis", in R. Friedman and B. Adams (eds.), The Followers of Horus. Oxford: 53-56.



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