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Ancient Egypt Magazine

Volume 6 issue 2 October/November 2005

THE ARCHAIC PERIOD: Dynasties One and Two (c.3100-2686 BC)

ANCIENTEGYPT explores the WORLD WIDE WEB ...

It is apparent that during the late Pre-Dynastic Period (prior to c.3100 BC) the kings of the South (Upper Egypt) made repeated attempts to conquer the Northern Kingdom of the Delta (Lower Egypt). Eventually, they were successful and their conquest, around 3100 BC, marks the beginnings of a united country, the ‘Two Lands’ as the Egyptians were to later call them. This conquest is accredited to a mythical king called Menes

(refer: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menes1.htm),

although the earliest archaeological evidence for a king wearing both the white crown (of Upper Egypt) and the red crown (of Lower Egypt) is of a king Narmer – who is generally accepted as being the first king of this newly united country

(see: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/narmer.htm).

The earliest period of Egyptian history, the Archaic Period, is therefore of great importance, because it was in this period that the country defined its borders and relationships with foreign powers, established its system of centralised government, based on the concept of a single all powerful ‘god-king’, developed a new capital city at Memphis, and began to exploit its vast stone and mineral resources

(refer: www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/archaicegypt/info.html).

Indeed it was the Archaic Period that was to lay the foundations for Egypt’s later glories in the Old Kingdom. Excavations at Hierakonpolis (capital of the Southern Kingdom) have revealed the famous Narmer Palette

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/palettes/narmerp.htm

and ceremonial mace-heads of both Narmer

(http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/egypt/Narmer_macehead.jpg)

& the Scorpion King

(http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/egypt/Scorpion_macehead.jpg).

(Website editor's note: you might have to press the "F5" key to relaod and view these last 2 images).

These items provide a great deal of information about the foundation of the new country and are fully discussed in the important article by Professor N. B. Millett at:

www.antiquityofman.com/millet_narmer_macehead.html.

A general overview of the archaeology of the period can be found at the University College London web-site at

www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/archaicegypt/index.html

while the actual historical discovery of the period is discussed at

www.touregypt.net/hdyn1.htm.

Unfortunately, relatively little is know about the detailed history of this period, although the order of the kings is now generally agreed upon,

refer: www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5630/Dynasty1/Dynasty1.html for Dynasty One & www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5630/Dynasty2/Dynasty2.html for Dynasty Two.

It has been a source of conjecture as to whether the kings of this period were buried at Abydos or Saqqara, as both sites exhibit very large mastaba tombs dating from these reigns. Academic opinion now seems to hold the view that ‘the kings’ were buried at Abydos during Dynasty One, when only high ranking officials were buried at Saqqara, although in Dynasty Two it is possible that at least some of the kings’ tombs were built at Saqqara, as only the tombs for the last kings of the Dynasty, Peribsen & Khasekhemwy have been discovered at Abydos.

(Refer: www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/abydos/abydoskingstombs.html).

Much of what we know of the period has had to be reconstructed from the inscriptions of the Fifth Dynasty Palermo Stone

www.touregypt.net/featurestories/palermo.htm,

ivory labels (discovered in the tombs)

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/tagcorpus.htm

and other archaeological finds. Pottery, as ever, has been an important indicator of social development and examples of the pottery of the Period can be seen at

www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/pottery/useearly.html and

www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/pottery/archaicpottery.html,

although for royal use stone vessels were still very much in demand as funerary items of high intrinsic value

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/aufgefasse.htm.

The end of the Second Dynasty is marked by unrest between Upper Egypt and the conquered Delta region. King Sekhemib appears to have tried to appease the citizens of Lower Egypt by adopting their deity, the Seth animal, on his serekh (the forerunner of the cartouche) in place of the hawk deity of Upper Egypt. He even changed his name from Sekhemib ("Powerful in heart") to Seth-Peribsen ("Hope of all hearts") in the hope that these changes would include and satisfy his subject in the Delta.

(Refer: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/peribsen.htm)

The period of calm was not to last, however, and in the reign of the last king of the Archaic Period unrest resurfaced once again. During this reign, an army from the North marched southwards and attacked the southern capital city of Nekheb (modern El Kab). The battle was an extensive and violent one with 47,209 northerners being killed as they attacked the city. King Khasekhem was victorious but appears magnanimous in victory, as he adopted, on his serekh, the Hawk & the Seth animals of each of his lands. He also appears to have changed his name from Khasekhem to Khasekhemwy ("The Two Powerful Ones Appear") – an obvious reference to both the gods of ‘The Two Lands’.

(Refer: www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khasekhem.htm &

http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/Khasekhemwy.htm)

The country was unified once again and under a strong king was ready for the stability and progress of the Old Kingdom.

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