Illahun, Lahun, or Kahun, the latter being a neologism coined by archaeologist William Matthew Flinders Petrie) is a town and pyramid complex in Faiyum, Egypt founded by Senusret II.

It was known as Ptolemais Hormos (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῒς ὅρμος, romanized: port of Ptolemy) in Ptolemaic Egypt.

[1] There are multiple areas at El Lahun including the Pyramid of Senwosret II, cemeteries, the Valley temple, and the town of Kahun.

It contains many artifacts of daily life like pottery from the Middle Kingdom and evidence of administrative procedures seen on papyri and seals.

He mapped the town of Kahun, located the pyramid's entrance, and found many objects of daily life and went back in 1920 to continue his work.

[6] Also found in the town were the Kahun papyri, comprising about 1000 fragments, covering legal, medical, religious, and astronomical matters.

[3] Re-excavation of the area in 2009 by Egyptian archaeologists revealed a cache of pharaonic-era mummies in brightly painted wooden coffins in the sand-covered desert rock surrounding the pyramid.

It is located west of the town and the first entrance discovered was found on the south side farther away from the pyramid than expected.

[10] One tomb with a large quantity of grave goods is that of princess Sithathor-yunit, the daughter of the Senwosret II.

[17] The village of el Lahun, also known as Kahun, is believed to have been inhabited by the workers who both constructed the pyramid and then served the funerary cult of the king.

The fourth wall may have collapsed and been washed away during the annual inundation or covered due to the cultivation in the area.

[20] This wall divided about one third of the area of the town and created a western section with rows of back-to-back, side-by-side single room houses.

The mansions are located in the north part of the eastern section and there are seven in total with four along the northern wall and the other three across the street.

[22] These mansions were also separated into smaller units within that may have housed the entire family, the staff, and administrative activities.

The acropolis is roughly the same size as the other mansions at Lahun and is located at the end of the main street to the west.

[26] Petrie was the first to propose that the seals and papyri found in the town of Kahun were for administrative purposes which was later supported by other finds including those in 1899 by Ludwig Borchardt.

[29] The papyrus containing the Sothic date was found by Petrie and has narrowed Lahun's establishment to a fifty year timespan during the 12th Dynasty.

Knowing this date has allowed Egyptologists to organize the Middle Kingdom around Year 7 of Senwosret III's reign.

[38] Jewelry has been found in the town and inside tombs that could have been potentially used by the owners in their daily lives or important objects that they waned in their afterlife.

[39]In 2009, dozens of pharaonic-era mummies were uncovered near the pyramid of Senwosret II by Abdel Rahman El-Aydi and his team.