[8] Naqada stands near the site of a prehistoric Egyptian necropolis: The town, called Ombos, was the centre of the cult of Set and large tombs were built there c. 3500 BCE.

[citation needed] Petrie's initial findings during his excavations lead him to incorrectly believe he had found a new race of people who had invaded Egypt during the First Intermediate Period.

This level of monetary stability is thought to have come from the region having an established gold trade as reveled by seals found in cemeteries.

[13] A survey of the area in the years between 1978 and 1981, led by Fekri Hassan, working with the Washington State University in a project titled Predynastic of Naqada was done in an attempt to find more cemetery sites.

[10] In the Stargate franchise, alien civilizations make extensive use of a mineral, naquada, named after the archaeological site.