How does the Narmer Palette identify the king?
Mia Smith
Published Feb 23, 2026
How does the Narmer Palette identify the king?
The tablet is thought by some to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the king Narmer. On one side, the king is depicted with the bulbed White Crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, and the other side depicts the king wearing the level Red Crown of Lower (northern) Egypt.
What was the Narmer Palette made of?
siltstone
The beautifully carved palette, 63.5 cm (more than 2 feet) in height and made of smooth greyish-green siltstone, is decorated on both faces with detailed low relief.
What was found in Narmer’s tomb?
Flint knives and a fragment of an ebony chair leg were also discovered in Narmer’s tomb, all of which might be part of the original funerary assemblage.
When was King Narmer born?
3124 BC
Born 3124 BC Narmer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor to the Protodynastic king Ka. Many scholars consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt.
What story does the palette of Narmer tell?
The Narmer Palette is intricately carved to tell the story of King Narmer’s victory in battle and the approval of the gods at the unification of Egypt.
What are two of the important features of the palette of Narmer?
The “Main Deposit” at Hierakonpolis, where the Narmer Palette was discovered, contained many hundreds of objects, including a number of large relief-covered ceremonial mace-heads, ivory statuettes, carved knife handles, figurines of scorpions and other animals, stone vessels, and a second elaborately decorated palette …
Was narmer from Upper or Lower Egypt?
Narmer (Mernar) was a ruler of Ancient Egypt at the end of the Predynastic Period and the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period. He is often credited with uniting Egypt and becoming the first king of Upper and Lower Egypt. There is some direct evidence for this from near contemporary sources.
How long did King Narmer live?
3150 – 2613 BCE). He has also, however, been cited as the last king of the Predynastic Period (c. 6000 – 3150 BCE) before the rise of a king named Menes who unified the country through conquest. In the early days of Egyptology these kings were considered to be two different men.
Why is narmer important?