Naqada نقادة | |
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Coordinates: 25°54′N 32°43′E / 25.900°N 32.717°E | |
Country | Egypt |
Governorate | Qena |
Area | |
• Total | 35.94 sq mi (93.08 km2) |
Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 188,984 |
• Density | 5,300/sq mi (2,000/km2) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 |
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nbyt[2][3] in hieroglyphs | |||||
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Era: Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) | |||||
Naqada (Egyptian Arabic: نقادة Naqāda; Coptic language: ⲛⲉⲕⲁⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ Nekatērion;[4] Ancient Greek: Παμπανις Pampanis,[3] Ancient Egyptian: Nbyt) is a town on the west bank of the Nile in Qena Governorate, Egypt, situated ca. 20 km north of Luxor. It includes the villages of Tukh, Khatara, Danfiq, and Zawayda. According to the 1960 census, it is one of the most uninhabited areas and had only 3,000 inhabitants, mostly of Christian faith[5] who preserved elements of the Coptic language up until the 1930s.[6]
The ancient town contained a cemetery that held approximately 2,000 graves.[7] The first person to excavate the site was archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1894. Petrie was working for the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society) when he excavated the site. Some of the findings during the excavation included artifacts from the Amratian (Naqada I) and the Gerzeh (Naqada II).[8]