Topic: Hierakonpolis, Egypt

There is nothing more permanent than a posthole: recent excavations at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt, by the University of British Columbia
Speaker: Dr. Thomas Hikade

During the 4th millenium BCE, Egypt saw the rise of regional powers in Upper Egypt, with centers such as Hierakonpolis, Naqada and Abydos showing emerging elites and craft specialization. Their fight for supremacy resulted in the political unification of Egypt. Hierakonpolis, the ancient Nekhen, was once the legendary capital of Upper Egypt. Here excavations have been conducted for more than 100 years, discovering famous finds such as the Narmer Palette, the Burnt House, the earliest temple of Egypt, and cemeteries of the common people as well as the ruling elite, and more recently the remains of monumental architecture. This lecture will present an overview of previous excavation work at Hierakonpolis and the recent results of the UBC expedition from 2005-2008.

Dr. Thomas Hikade, Assistant Professor of Egyptology at the University of British Columbia, is a specialist on stone tools in Egypt and Jordan. He has been engaged in excavations throughout Egypt since 1988, working for the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo, the American Research Centre in Egypt, Macquarie University in Sydney, Yale University, University Museum pf Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Trust Altes Ägypten (Switzerland), and the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. Since 2004 Dr. Hikade has been co-director of the Hierakonpolis Expedition with Dr Renée Friedman from the British Museum at Hierakonpolis. The expedition is funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

• < Previous Event
• Next Event >

Comment

Comment by Jayni Reinhard on January 16, 2009 at 4:28pm

This month's issue of Archaeology Magazine online has a link to their "interactive dig" section, which features Thomas Hikade's site at Hierakonpolis. Those who wish to attend the Hikade lecture on February 16 would benefit from checking out this link ahead of time!
http://www.archaeology.org/interactive/hierakonpolis/