Originally known as Nekheb, Al Kab was one of the most important and oldest cities of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the vulture goddess Nekhbet. The site is still being excavated and so is off-limits. But the most impressive remains above ground are the mud-brick city walls, which form a square that you can walk around from the outside.
Note how the walls – 11m high, 12m thick and 550m long each side – were built in sections: if the Nile flood was particularly high, there was a chance the walls might fall. Building this way meant that sections could be repaired without rebuilding the entire wall. The oldest of the sandstone temples within the walls, dedicated to the god Thoth, was built by Ramses II (1279–1213 BC) and the adjoining Temple of Nekhbet was built during the Late Period. Both reused blocks from much earlier temples from the Early Dynastic Period (from c 3100 BC) and the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC).
Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt, was one of two deities who protected the pharaoh right back to the Old Kingdom.
Nearby on the waterfront is the picturesque village of Al Kab with old mud-brick houses. Across the river lies Kom Al Ahmar (closed to the public), ancient Nekhen or Hierakonpolis, home of the falcon god Nekheny, an early form of Horus. Although little remains of this important city, recent excavations have revealed a large settlement (with Egypt’s earliest brewery!), a predynastic cemetery dating from around 3400 BC with elephant and cattle burials, together with the site of Egypt’s earliest-known temple, a large timber-framed structure fronted by 12m-high imported wood pillars. A century ago, within this sacred enclosure, archaeologists discovered a range of ritual artefacts, among them two items of huge historical significance: the Narmer Palette and a superb gold falcon head of the god Horus, both now among the highlights of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
