Main deposit (Nekhen)
Encyclopedia
The Main deposit was a foundation deposit of particular note in a temple (presumably of Horus
) in Nekhen
. It was dug during the early Old Kingdom
, and was excavated in 1894. The deposit is famous for having been the site where the Narmer Palette
, Narmer Macehead
, and Scorpion Macehead
were discovered.
The site was first excavated by James Quibell
and Fredrick Green in 1894. 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 considered to have probably not been in the main deposit at all. Quibell's report made in 1900 put the palette in the deposit, however Green's report in 1902 put it about one to two yards away. 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, however 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 the late predynastic times. 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. 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.
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
) in Nekhen
Nekhen
Nekhen was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic period...
. It was dug during the early Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
, and was excavated in 1894. The deposit is famous for having been the site where the Narmer Palette
Narmer Palette
The Narmer Palette, also known as the Great ierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. It is thought by some to depict the unification of...
, Narmer Macehead
Narmer Macehead
The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head. It was found during a dig at Kom al Akhmar, the site of Hierakonpolis It is dated to the reign of king Narmer whose serekh is engraved on it...
, and Scorpion Macehead
Scorpion Macehead
The Scorpion macehead refers to a decorated ancient Egyptian macehead found by British archeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green in what they called the main deposit in the temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis during the dig season of 1897/1898...
were discovered.
The site was first excavated by James Quibell
James E. Quibell
James Edward Quibell was a British Egyptologist, born in Newport, Shropshire.He was educated at Adams' Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford...
and Fredrick Green in 1894. Quibell was originally trained under W.M.F. Petrie
William Matthew Flinders Petrie
William Matthew Flinders Petrie FRS , commonly known as Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and preservation of artifacts...
, the inventor of modern archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, 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 considered to have probably not been in the main deposit at all. Quibell's report made in 1900 put the palette in the deposit, however Green's report in 1902 put it about one to two yards away. 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, however 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 the late predynastic times. This object, the Scorpion Macehead
Scorpion Macehead
The Scorpion macehead refers to a decorated ancient Egyptian macehead found by British archeologists James E. Quibell and Frederick W. Green in what they called the main deposit in the temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis during the dig season of 1897/1898...
, depicts a king known only by the ideogram for scorpion, thus known as King Scorpion
King Scorpion
Scorpion, or Selk, also King Scorpion or Scorpion II refers to the second of two kings so-named of Upper Egypt during the Protodynastic Period. Their names may refer to the scorpion goddess Serket...
, participating in what seems to be a ritual irrigation ceremony. 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.