Narmer Macehead

The Narmer macehead is an ancient Egyptian decorative stone mace head. It was found in the temple area of the city of Nekhen in Hierakonpolis by James Quibell in 1898. This important object dates back to the time of king Narmer during the Early Dynastic Period around the 31st century BC, and his name is engraved on it.

The macehead is made of limestone and measures about 19.8 centimeters high and 18.7 centimeters wide. It weighs about 8 kilograms and is now kept at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

Motifs

The Narmer macehead is better preserved than the Scorpion Macehead and has many different meanings. Some think it shows the year it was made and given to the temple, like other items found at Hierakonpolis. Earlier scholars, such as Petrie and Walter Emery, believed it might celebrate special events like Narmer's Heb Sed festival or his marriage to a possible Queen Neithhotep.

On one side, a king sits under a canopy on a dais, wearing the Red Crown (deshret) and a long cloth or cloak. He holds a flail, and a vulture, maybe the local goddess Nekhbet, flies above with spread wings. Nekhen, or Hierakonpolis, was an important place in Upper Egypt before it became one country at the end of the Naqada III period. In front of the king is another raised platform, or maybe a litter, with a cloaked person sitting and facing him. This person might be a princess being shown to the king for marriage, the king's child, or a god. Behind this platform are three rows of pictures. In the middle row, people walk or run behind the platform. In the top row, an area shows a cow and a calf, which could mean the area of Theb-ka, or the goddess Hathor and her son Horus, gods linked with kingship from early times. Behind this area, four people carrying flags walk toward the throne. In the bottom row, in front of these flag carriers, are gifts.

In the middle part of the macehead, behind the throne with the seated king, there is a figure like the one from the Narmer palette, with the rosette sign above its head. He is followed by a man carrying a long pole. Above him walk three men, two of them also carrying long poles. The serekh showing the signs for Narmer can be seen above these men.

The top part on the right side of the center shows a building, maybe a shrine, with a heron on its roof. Below this, an area shows three animals, likely antelopes. This might mean the ancient town of Buto, where the events on the macehead may have happened.^{[citation needed]}