Settlement - Ancient History: Egypt

Towns built during this time were organized into a grid system, dividing land into square blocks for buildings etc.

The city of Lahun is an important archaeological site dating from the Middle Kingdom period. It is one of many cities that was most likely built to house workers who were building the great pyramids of the Old and Middle Kingdom rulers. Most historians believe that the city of Lahun was founded to house workers who were building a pyramid for the permanent repose of Senusret II.

Buhen was one of many fortresses built during the Middle Kingdom period to defend against Nubian invasion. Most of these fortresses were built during the noteworthy reigns of Senusret I - III.

The concept of a “divine middleman” was unique to Memphian cosmology. Ptah was the God of creation in the theology of Memphis. According to Memphian tradition, the Gods give commands and Ptah puts their wishes into reality. The theologians of Memphis understood Ptah to be a sort of “divine middleman” who would carry out the actions of the Gods.

Heracleopolis was the capital of Lower Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. This was a period of time when the Egyptian state was not unified. The Ninth and Tenth dynasties ruled Lower Egypt from Heracleopolis, whilst their rivals ruled a separate government in Upper Egypt (from their capital, Thebes).

The ancient city of Elephantine was located on an island in the middle of the Nile River. It was situated right at the border between Egypt and Nubia and so was an important center of trade, as well as a notable Egyptian military fortification.

Memphis was the capital city of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Memphis was founded, according to classical era historians, by the original Pharaoh Menes. Menes is generally credited with uniting Lower and Upper Egypt and forming the first Egyptian ruling dynasty.

The Great Sphinx can be found in close proximity to the Pyramids of Giza. Much of our understanding of the Sphinx is surrounded in myth and legend, but it is generally believed to have been built during the Old Kingdom, as part of the mortuary complex of a powerful Pharaoh (Khafre, Khufu, and Sneferu are most often claimed to have been associated with the construction of the Sphinx).

Hermopolis is the Greek name for the ancient Egyptian city of Khmun (although it is much more common, even in the exclusive study of Egyptian history, to use the Greek name). Hermopolis was also the origin of the Ogdoad theory of creation and the associated eight Gods of creation. As a result, Hermopolis was often called “eight-town” during the Old Kingdom period.

The second Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, Sneferu's son Khufu, built the Great Pyramid of Giza as his tomb. The Fourth Dynasty featured the prolific building of pyramids and other grand monuments, as Sneferu was responsible for the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, both at Dahshur. The Giza Sphinx is traditionally believed to have been built by Khafra, though some alternatively hold that it was constructed by his brother Djedefra (while there are also separate pyramids for both pharaohs), and Shepseskaf's tomb is the Mastabat al-Fir'aun at Saqqara.

Abusir and Saqqara are both necropolises. They were both used during the Old Kingdom period by the rulers of Memphis for their interment. Notable pyramids can be found at both locations and they are two of the most important modern archaeological sites for informing our understanding of Egyptian history.

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, powerful or wealthy rulers (and often upper class elites and government officials) were buried in elaborate monuments, like the Pyramids of Giza or the Valley of Kings. During the Old Kingdom, many rulers were buried at sites along the westbank of the Nile near the capital city of Memphis. Such necropolis sites include Saqqara, Abusir, Giza, Meidum, Dahshur, and Abu Rawash. Faiyum, however, is the name of an oasis located further to the south and was only used as the site of a necropolis beginning in the Middle Kingdom.

El-Amarna (often called Akhetaten) is the best preserved town that modern archaeologists have to work with. El-Amarna was built during the reign of Akhenaten, to serve as his new capital. The reign of Akhenaten was defined by his unusual religious reforms and El-Amarna was only inhabited briefly. As such, Egyptologists have to be skeptical about any conclusions they draw about Egyptian society based on evidence found at El-Amarna.

The Abu Simbel temples were built during the reign of Ramesses II, during the nineteenth dynasty. The Abu Simbel temples were built in Nubia to commemorate the reign of Ramesses II and for the worship of his divinity.

Deir el-Medina is an important archaeological site. It was discovered in the early twentieth century by Jaroslav Cerny. Most archaeologists agree that Deir el-Medina was established as a planned settlement for people working on the monuments in the Valley of the Kings.

The North Riverside Palace is part of the archaeological record found at El-Amarna. It was most likely built to house Akhenaten and his family during the turbulent “Amarna Period.”

The Abu Simbel temples were built in Lower Nubia during the reign of Ramesses II. They were constructed partially to commemorate Ramesses’ great victory over the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh.

Heracleopolis was the capital of Lower Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. This was a period of time when the Egyptian state was not unified. The Ninth and Tenth dynasties ruled Lower Egypt from Heracleopolis, whilst their rivals ruled a separate government in Upper Egypt (from their capital, Thebes).

The ancient city of Elephantine was located on an island in the middle of the Nile River. It was situated right at the border between Egypt and Nubia and so was an important center of trade, as well as a notable Egyptian military fortification.