Khasekhemwy at Hierakonpolis

Edfu, Kom el Ahmar, Egypt
28th century B.C

King Khasekhemwy, the last ruler of Dynasty II, chose Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt's predynastic capital, as a site for a massive ceremonial structure. The resulting building--some 67 meters by 57 meters, with walls 11 meters high and 5 meters thick--remains the oldest freestanding, unfired mudbrick structure in Egypt, if not the world. Although known as the "Fort," the building never had any military role, but instead was used as a repository by mortuary cults of Egypt's early kings at Abydos. These massive enclosures are regarded as the direct predecessors of the great stone pyramids of Egypt, the first oneof which was built by Khasekhemwy's son, Djoser. Archaeologists have been investigating the site for more than 100 years--and, ironically, these excavations pose the greatest threats. Overall structural integrity has been compromised by the diggings below the Fort's walls, and wind and sand erosion continue to enlarge these openings. In addition, infrequent, but torrential, rains have created vertical gullies along the sides of walls and have washed away decorative brick niches. A systematic conservation program, which is needed to save the site, would include mending walls with original mudbrick and creating drainage channels to divert water.