Elkab
ⲛ̀ⲭⲁⲃ الكاب | |
|---|---|
 View of the site of Nekheb (modern Elkab) | |
  Elkab Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates: 25°7′8″N 32°47′52″E / 25.11889°N 32.79778°E | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | Aswan |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
Elkab, also spelled El-Kab or El Kab, is an Upper Egyptian site on the east bank of the Nile at the mouth of the Wadi Hillal about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Luxor (ancient Thebes). Elkab was called Nekheb in the Egyptian language (Coptic: ⲛ̀ⲭⲁⲃ enkhab, Late Coptic: [ənˈkɑb]), a name that refers to Nekhbet, the goddess depicted as a white vulture.[1] In Greek it was called Eileithyias polis, "city of the goddess Eileithyia".
Elkab consists of prehistoric and ancient Egyptian settlements, rock-cut tombs of the early Eighteenth Dynasty (1550–1295 BC), remains of temples dating from the Early Dynastic period (3100–2686 BC) to the Ptolemaic Kingdom (332–30 BC), as well as part of the walls of a Coptic monastery. This site was first scientifically excavated by James Quibell at the end of the nineteenth century, but other archaeologists have spent time at this site include Frederick William Green, Archibald Henry Sayce, Joseph John Tylor, and Somers Clarke. However, Belgian archaeologists took over the project in 1937, and it has remained in their hands since then. Much of the research done at this site took place within the town enclosure of Elkab. However, since the 1980s the work has shifted more to the north and north east of the town.[2]
- ^ Limme, Luc. "Elkab, 1937–2007: Seventy Years of Belgian Archaeological Research." British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan (2008): 15-50. The British Museum. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/Limme.pdf>.
- ^ Limme, Luc. "Elkab, 1937–2007: Seventy Years of Belgian Archaeological Research." British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan (2008): 15-50. The British Museum. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/Limme.pdf>. page 19