We have seen that the Northern Egyptian possessed similar
fortress-cities which were captured by Narmer. These were the seats of
the royal residence in various parts of the country. Behind their walls
was the king's house, and no doubt also a town of nobles and retainers,
while the peasants lived on the arable land without.

[Illustration: 089.jpg THE SHUNET EZ-ZEBIB: THE FORTRESS-TOWN, About
3900 B.C.]

The Shûnet ez-Zebîb and its companion fortress were evidently the royal
cities of the 1st and IId Dynasties at Abydos. The former has been
excavated by Mr. E. R. Ayrton for the Egypt Exploration Fund, under the
supervision of Prof. Petrie. He found jar-sealings of Khâsekhemui and
Perabsen. In later times the place was utilized as a burial-place for
ibis-mummies (it had already been abandoned as a city before the time of
the XIIth Dynasty), and from this fact it received the name of _Shenet
deb-hib_, or "Storehouse of Ibis Burials." The Arab invaders adapted
this name to their own language in the nearest form which would have
any meaning, as _Shûnet ez-Zebïb_, "the Storehouse of Dried Grapes."
The Arab word _shûna_ ("Barn" or "Storehouse") was, it should be noted,
taken over from the Coptic _sheune,_ which is the old-Egyptian _shenet_.
The identity of _sheune_ or _shûna_ with the German "Scheune" is a
quaint and curious coincidence. In the illustration of the Shûnet
ez-Zebib the curved line of crenelated wall, following the contour of
the hill, should be noted, as it is a remarkable example of the building
of this early period.

It will have been seen from the foregoing description of what
far-reaching importance the discoveries at Abydos have been. A new
chapter of the history of the human race has been opened, which contains