El Kab - Ancient Nekheb

Ancient Nekheb

The walled Pharaonic settlement of Nekheb was one of the first urban centres of the Early Dynastic period, and for a short time in the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BC) it eclipsed in the city of Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) on the opposite bank, becoming the capital of the third nome of Upper Egypt. Its massive mud-brick walls, dating to the Late Period (747-332 BC) and still largely preserved, enclosed an area of about 25,000 sq. m. Near the centre of the town are the remains of sand-stone temples dedicated to the deities Nekhbet and Thoth, which date primarily to the 18th to 30th Dynasties (1550-343 BC), but the original foundation of the temple of Nekhbet almost certainly dates back to the late fourth millennium BC.

It is the site of the ancient city Nekheb, the companion city to Nekhen. The city is surrounded by a massive mud-brick wall, thought to have been built by Nectanebo II as a defensive measure.