Tell el-Farkha ("Chicken Hill") is an ancient archaeological site in the eastern Nile Delta lying about 120 kilometers northeast of Cairo. It was occupied from about 3700 BC until about 2600 BC encompassing the Lower Egyptian and Early Naqada cultures and the Protodynastic period.
A notable find at Tell el-Farkha were three serekh inscriptions of the Predynastic ruler Iry-Hor. Two other unknown serekhs were also found. All were found in graves.Jucha, Mariusz A., "New Protodynastic serekhs from the Nile Delta: The Case of Finds from Tell el-Farkha", Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 21, pp. 625–641, 2012 Ciałowicz, Krzysztof Marek, "New discoveries at Tell el-Farkha and the beginnings of the Egyptian state", Études et travaux 30, pp. 231–250, 2017
Archaeology The site of Tell el-Farkha consists of three tells (Western Kom, Central Kom, Eastern Kom) with a total area of about 400 meters by 110 meters (just over 4 hectares) and a height of about 5 meters above the plain. It was first noted in 1987 by Italian Archaeological Mission to the Eastern Nile Delta of the Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue in Venice. Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "The Predynastic/Early Dynastic period at Tell el-Farkha", Before the Pyramids. The Origins of Egyptian Civilization, Oriental Institute Museum Publications 33, Chicago: The Oriental Institute, pp. 55-64, 2011
It was first excavated between 1988 and 1990 by a team from the Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue led by Rodolfo Fattovich and Sandro Salvatori, limited to the Old Kingdom remains.Manzo, A., "Rodolfo Fattovich (1945–2018)", Annali Sezione Orientale, 79(1-2), pp. 355-363, 2019M. Chłodnicki, R. Fattovich, S. Salvatori, "Italian Excavations in the Nile Delta: Fresh Data and New Hypotheses on the 4th Millennium Cultural Development of Egyptian Prehistory", Rivista di Archeologia, vol. 15, pp. 5-33, 1991Chlodnicki, Marek, Rodolfo Fattovich, and Sandro Salvatore, "The Nile Delta in transition: A view from Tell el-Farkha", Nile delta in transition: 4th.-3rd. millennium bc: proceedings of the seminar held in cairo, 21.-24. october 1990, at the netherlands institute of archaeology and arabic studies. ECM van den Brink, 1992 After a hiatus excavation resumed in 1998 by a team under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the Polish Center of Archaeology of Warsaw University under the direction of Marek Chłodnicki and Krzysztof Ciałowicz and continue to the present. Chłodnicki, M. & Ciałowicz, K., "Tell el-Farkha: Explorations. 1998", Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 10, pp. 63–70, 1998 Chłodnicki, M. & Ciałowicz, K. M. et al., "Tell el-Farkha (Ghazala): Season 2001", Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 13, pp. 105–126, 2001 Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "Thirteen Years of Polish Excavations at Tell El-Farkha", Folia Orientalia, pp. 359-370, 2010 Dębowska-Ludwin, Joanna, "A Newly Discovered “Bull Head Amulet” from Tell El-Farkha, Egypt", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 28, pp. 99-114, 2024 Six copper harpoons, in the form of grave goods, were dated by associated pottery to the Naqada III period. Similar harpoons were found at nearby Tell el-Murra. Czarnowicz, Marcin, "Examples of copper harpoons of Naqada culture in the Eastern Nile Delta", Ben-Yosef, Erez, and Benno Rothenberg. Mining for ancient copper: Essays in memory of Beno Rothenberg. Eisenbrauns, pp. 526-538, 2018
During this period an administrative-cultic center developed on Western Kom and a necropolis developed on Eastern Kom. Four of the burials were of higher status and included a number of beer jars. The Central Kom bore a residential-business zone. In Phase 3 (Naqada IIIA1) a large warehouse was constructed and there was widespread trade with the Southern Levant. The warehouse went out of use at the end of Phase 4 and in Phase 5 the warehouse was replaced by residences and all signs of Levantine trade vanished.Nowak, Magdalena Maria, "Results of the preliminary analysis of lower egyptian settlement discovered on the central kom in tell el-farkha", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 15, pp. 49-63, 2011 This activity peaked during Dynasty 0 and gradually faded during the First Dynasty. The administrative-cultic center contained two chapels where many votive objects were found. In one chapel these included figurines of baboons and one figurine of a naked prostrating man. The second chapel included libation jugs and stands and figurines of people and animals, many made of hippopotamus ivory. Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "Votive figurines from Tell el-Farkha and their counterparts", Archéo-Nil 22.1, pp. 73-93, 2012 Błaszczyk, Katarzyna, "The royal figurine (?) from Tell el-Farkha", SAAC 12, pp. 57-61, 2008 Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "The boys from Tell el-Farkha", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 14, pp. 11-21, 2010 Other finds on the Western Kom included "miniature boats of various types, granaries, boxes, mirrors, cylindrical seals, game pieces, and stone vessels".
At the necropolis on Eastern Kom 150 graves were excavated so far with dates ranging from Dynasty 0 to early Fourth Dynasty. Dębowska-Ludwin, Joanna, "The catalogue of graves from Tell el-Farkha", Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie 1, pp. 457-486, 2009 The necropolis featured a 16.9 meter by 18.1 meter mmonument, over 300 square meters with 1.50 meter to 2 meter thick walls, building built in Pase 4 (Naqada IIIA2/B1). Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "Phase 5 (Naqada IIIb–IIIc1) in Tell El-Farkha. The Peak of Development or the Beginning of Decline?", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 26, pp. 7-23, 2022 The building, in the north-western part, had a 6.6 meter by 8.1 meter square main chamber with a descending shaft and is interpreted by the excavators as an early form of mastaba tomb better known from the later First Dynasty as are several smaller tombs at the site.Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., and Joanna Dębowska-Ludwin, "The origin of Egyptian mastabas in the light of research at Tell el-Farkha", Études et Travaux 26.1, pp. 153-62, 2013Ciałowicz, Krzysztof M., "The eastern part of the Tell el-Farkha cemetery during the Early Dynastic period", Remove That Pyramid! Studies on the Archaeology and History of Predynastic and Pharaonic Egypt in Honour of Stan Hendrickx, hrsg. v. Wouter Claes, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 305, pp. 175-186, 2021Dębowska-Ludwin, J., "Multiple and Disordered Burials as Special Funerary Practices in Early Egypt: Examples from Tell el-Farkha", Folia Orientalia 47, pp. 371–378, 2010 Dębowska-Ludwin, Joanna, "The necropolis at Tell el-Farkha reconsidered", Recherches Archéologiques Nouvelle Serie 2, pp. 5-20, 2010 Dębowska-Ludwin, Joanna, "Political and economic transformation as reflected by burial rites observed in the Protodynastic part of the cemetery in Tell el-Farkha", Polish archaeology in the Mediterranean XX, pp. 457-466, 2011
Numerous vessels were found at the site with "pot marks", probably used for the marking and inventory of goods, which are sometimes considered as the ancestors of hieroglyphs. Kazimierczak, Magdalena, "Potmarks from Tell el-Murra and Tell el-Farkha cemeteries (seasons 2011–2016)", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 20, pp. 7-26, 2016 Sobas, Magdalena. "Selected potmarks from the settlement at Tell el-Farkha." Folia Orientalia, pp. 405–413, 2010 Names of the rulers of Dynasty 0 also appear on these vessels, such as Iry-Hor, who is otherwise known from the Abydos area. The name of Narmer, the first historical king, also appears on two vessels.
Brewery Notable finds include the earliest (c. 3500 BC) known brewery, on the Western Kom, consisting of a thirteen large circular brick vats in two parallel rows in a space encompassing 6 meters by 3.4 meters. Built on top of earlier Lower Egyptian Culture remains the brewey had three phases. It was first constructed in Naqada IID period then rebuilt in Naqada IIIA1 before being destroyed in the catastrophic fire that destroyed most of the settlement. The brewery was then rebuilt in Tell el-Farkha Phase 4 (Naqada IIIA1/2–IIIB.Chłodnicki, Marek, and Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz, "Tell el-Farkha: archaeological fieldwork 2016–2017", Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 27, p. 123-148, 2019Kubiak-Martens, Lucy, and Jerzy J. Langer, "Predynastic Beer Brewing as Suggested by Botanical and Physicochemical Evidence from Tell el-Farkha, Eastern Delta", in Egypt at Its Origins 2 (Proceedings of the International Conference Origin of the State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, Toulouse, France, 5–8 September 2005), edited by Béatrix Midant-Reynes and Yann Tristant, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 172, Leuven: Peeters, pp. 427–41, 2008Cichowski, Krzysztof, "The Brewery Complex from Tell el-Farkha: Archaeological Aspects of the Discovery", in Egypt at Its Origins 2 (Proceedings of the International Conference Origin of the State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt, Toulouse, France, 5–8 September 2005), edited by Béatrix Midant-Reynes and Yann Tristant. Leuven: Peeters, pp. 33–40, 2008Jucha, Mariusz A., "Naqada IIIB pottery in the Nile Delta: a view from Tell el-Farkha", Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization 16, pp. 61-73, 2012
Microscopic and chemical study of charred crusts adhering to the interiors of the mud-brick brewing vats and associated plant remains indicate that the mash consisted mainly of emmer wheat with a smaller component of barley, prepared in two separately treated grain portions—an uncooked malt and a well-cooked cereal gruel—that were mixed to produce a sugar-rich wort for fermentation. Recent microstructural work on the carbonized cereal products from these vats has identified diagnostic thinning of emmer aleurone cell walls, confirming that deliberate malting formed part of the brewing sequence. Heiss, Andreas G., et al., "Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record", PloS one 15.5, e0231696, 2020
Golden figurines On the Eastern Kom, in addition to the necropolis, there was a small village where a deposit of "gold foil, carnelian and ostrich eggshell beads of a necklace, and two large flint knives " was found. When reconstructed the gold fragments formed two statuettes of nude men with lapis lazuli eyes. The taller is around 60 cm tall, and the shorter about 30 cm. Both figures are depicted as bald and beardless with protruding ears, finely detailed finger- and toenails, and exaggerated phalluses. Each is also equipped with a large phallus sheath. The larger figure also has a beaded necklace. The core of the statuettes, now decomposed, was likely made of wood, which was covered with thin sheets of gold fastened with 140 golden rivets. The lapis lazuli came from what is now modern day Afghanistan.
These characteristics follow the stylistic conventions of Predynastic Egyptian art, similar to the Mahasna statuette (Amratian Period), or the Ashmolean Museum Mac Gregor Man statuette. The golden statuettes most probably depict a Predynastic ruler and his son during the heb-sed festival, and they probably adorned a shrine in the Western Kom area. They are thought to belong to the Naqada IIIB period (c. 3200–3000 BC), or possibly even Naqada IIIA (circa 3300 BC). Together with the figures, two large flint knives were discovered, as well as a necklace of 382 beads (326 ostrich egg shells and 56 carnelian beads), dated to the same period.
History Occupation at the site began in the Lower Egyptian culture which ran from about 3700 BC until 3300 BC. The next phase was part of the Naqada culture which is thought to have originated in the south of Egypt. The site reached its peak in the Protodynastic period, Dynasties 0 and 1, about 3000 BC. After that occupation