NAQADAH

also spelled Nakada, town, Upper Egypt. It lies on the west bank of the Nile, in the great bend of the river, opposite Qus, in Qina muhafazah (governorate). One of the oldest regions of Egypt, it is the site of a Neolithic town and burial grounds of the Predynastic period (before c. 2925 BC). It was first excavated by the British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, and the cultures found are referred to by scholars as Amratian (Naqadah I) and Gerzean (Naqadah II). There was possibly a nome (province) political organization centred there in predynastic times, with the god Seth as tutelary deity. The modern town is largely Coptic and has pottery and silk industries. Locally grown sugarcane, dates, and cereals are processed in the town. Pop. (1986 est.) 17,200.