Predynastic Graywacke palette, described as being in the form of a scorpion from Hierakonpolis.

Hierakonpolis is one of the most important archaeological sites for understanding the foundations of ancient Egyptian society. Best known as the home of the exquisite ceremonial Palette of Narmer, so-called the first political document in history, and attributed to the first king of the first dynasty at about 3000BC, it contains far more. Well before the construction of the pyramids, Hierakonpolis was one of the largest urban centres along the Nile - a vibrant, bustling city containing many of the features that would later come to typify Dynastic Egyptian civilization. Stretching for over 3 miles along the edge of the Nile flood plain, already by 3500 BC it was a city of many neighbourhoods and quarters.