and environment would remain an integral part of the new
urban complexes, serving essentially as extensions of the
towns. In fact, many farmers and workers lived within the
villages and settlements and worked in the nearby fi elds.
Th e early development of villages was based on a vari-
ety of factors, including security, economics and trade, ad-
ministrative demands, religious cult infl uences, and political
motives. For example, archaeologists believe that the village
of Maadi was established around 3500 b.c.e. as a trade link
between southern Egypt and the Levant, an ancient and large
geographical region in southwestern Asia. Archaeologists
have found silos and cellars, huts, and various other storage
facilities along with assorted other items.
Most of the early settlements were little more than
small villages or hamlets built on the edge of fl oodplains.
Composed primarily of fragile huts, these hamlets were es-
tablished around every mile along the Nile River, with the
primary considerations for building being nearness to a
waterway and high ground above the fl oodplains. Accord-
ing to historians and archaeologists, two factors led to the
development of urbanization: a reduction of Nile fl ood dis-
charge and an increased demand for trade goods by a grow-
ing population.
In addition to shrines and temples, a common feature
of many Egyptian towns was the enclosure wall. Archaeolo-
gists consider the development of these walls as marking the
separation from a time of scattered farming villages that pre-
dominated in the Predynastic Period (before ca. 3000 b.c.e.)
and the more compact towns that primarily developed dur-
ing the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2920–2575 b.c.e.). Among
the most noted of these towns, both of which began in the
Predynastic Period, are Naqada, which sat on the west bank
of the Nile downstream from ancient Th ebes, and Hierakon-
polis, between the current cities of Cairo and Aswān.
Hierakonpolis is one of the largest Predynastic sites found
by archaeologists and is believed to have been established
around 3500 b.c.e. It included houses, temples, administra-
tive buildings, and artisan areas. Th e houses were interlock-
ing and built along narrow, irregular or seemingly unplanned
streets. To date, archaeologists have discovered that some
planning seems to have gone into the town but that it took
place aft er the initial establishment because the innermost
segments of Hierakonpolis are irregularly laid out. Th is early
“city” also included a religious district and an area where ar-
tisans manufactured linens, stone vessels, baskets, beer, and
other items in demand at the time. A stone wall surrounding
the site was built around 3300 b.c.e. or possibly a bit later.
Hiera konpolis is believed to have been abandoned around t he
time of the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2040–1640 b.c.e.)EARLY TOWN PLANNING
Th e primary urban area in ancient Egypt by around 3000
b.c.e. was the city of Memphis, which had a population at
its peak of 30,000 to 40,000 and served as the capital city
of Egypt aft er administrative districts had been unifi ed un-
der a single theocratic dynasty. Built by the First Dynasty
(2920–2770 b.c.e.) pharaoh Menes near the entrance to El
Faiyûm (an area separated from the Nile Valley by a ridge
and containing a large lake called Birket Qārūn), the city
served as a place of consolidated power for the fi rst kings ofAncient Egyptian city of Sesebi; the buried remains of the city wall and a temple and mounds covering houses are visible. (Courtesy of the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago)
206 cities: Egypt