On the east bank of the Nile at the edge of the eastern desert between Akhmim and Asyut, are a series of cemeteries which were investigated by Petrie between 1922 and 1931. These ancient burial grounds stretch from Qaw el-Kebir in the south to Matmar in the
north and served as burial grounds for the inhabitants of this
region of Middle Egypt from Predynastic times right through to the
Roman era. The whole area is generally known as the el-Badari
region and encompasses cemeteries at el-Hammamiya, el-Badari,
Mostagedda, Deir Tasa and Matmar.
Many of the sites were excavated during the early part of the 20th
century by Petrie, Guy Brunton, Gertrude Caton-Thompson and
others under Petrie's direction. The region's main importance was
that the finds from these areas form the original basis for dating the Badarian Period (c5500 to c4000BC) which at the time
constituted the earliest phase of Egyptian Predynastic history.
The area covers 35km from south to north at the edge of the valley
plain and includes around 7000 recorded tombs. Artefacts
found during excavations were varied. A distinctive pottery type
was identified - especially black-topped, polished red vessels which
Petrie named Badarian ware. Terracotta vessels and stone vases,
ivory figurines, slate palettes and large quantities of flint tools were
also found around many of the graves.

From these excavated objects archaeologists have gained much information about the Badarian Culture. The people were early
farmers in the Nile Valley, possibly originating from an area of Upper
Sudan (suggested by pottery styles). Skeletal remains suggest that
they were a tall people who wore their hair in plaits and garments
woven from flax or grass fibres and animal skins. They were also
hunters and fishermen, herded sheep and cattle and cultivated
cereals such as emmer and barley as well as lentils and tubers to
supplement their diet.

Although we do not have any remains of dwellings, post holes, pits and ash hearths have been found at the edge of the valley. They stored their food in large upright bins or jars placed in holes in the ground. The Badarian people were the first in Egypt to
manufacture metal objects in the form of copper beads and pins but they used flint and stone tools to create the beautiful
pottery we see today in museums. The best known pottery of this
period is the black-topped and burnished wares which was carried
on into the Naqada Periods. They were influenced by the world around them, producing textured pottery in the form of baskets and
gourds and vessels in animal form.