Reconsideration of the Hierakonpolis Painted Tomb in the light of the author's recent study of the so-called ‘boats’ found on Gerzean pottery. It is argued that the similar representations in the tomb are also incomprehensible as boats but perfectly intelligible as temples. The diagnostic characteristic is an entrance between two huts, but the prototype of the sḥ-ntr naos hieroglyph is also identified. The main difference from the potteryȔthe absence of supporting ‘stilts’Ȕreflects the desert environment of Hierakonpolis. Comparative study suggests that the decorative repertoire of the pots is here enlarged and placed in a human context, in which warfare is a prime element. An association is also postulated between the triple-vaulted hut of the tomb and the wrmt tent used in the funerary rites of Old Kingdom pharaohs under the patronage of Horus and Seth. This and other motifs, such as ‘smiting’, confirm the status of the tomb owner and his links with the later pharaonic tradition.
