American Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
By Hunter Sakowsky
General view Test Unit I and NW end of NE wall (2000-01-25) by Richard BarnesAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
5,000 years old Shunet El Zebib
This is Shunet el Zebib, built by the Egyptians around 2700 BCE, making it about 5,000 years old. King Khasekhemwy, from the 2nd Dynasty, commissioned Shunet el Zebib to be built as a funerary structure. It is located in Abydos in Upper Egypt.
Clay jar sealing impressed faintly with name of KhasekhemwyThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
Khasekhemwy was the last pharaoh of the 2nd Dynasty. He ruled during the time of the Early Dynastic Period. While previous kings were associated mainly with the god Horus, Khasekhemwy took a name referencing the "two powers", the god Horus, as well as his counterpart, Seth.
His name also appears with symbols of both the Horus falcon and the Seth animal. There is little information about this king, but there are inscriptions on some of his statues and artifacts, like clay jars, that inform us of his exploits. Khasekhemwy’s choice to take a dual name may refer to his successful reunification of Upper and Lower Egypt, represented by Seth and Horus, respectively.
ANC #4640, 4446, 4448, ibis jars (2001-03-07) by Kanani Paraso | Robert FletcherAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Burial Goods
The interior rooms of Shunet el Zebib housed the king’s burial goods such as golden pots. They also held food such as grain, fruit, and bread for Khasekhemwy to use in the afterlife. Archaeologists also found artifacts such as pots buried within the structure.
NE wall, main enclosure, exterior side, lower part of wall in perimeter corridor, looking SW (2000-01-25) by Richard BarnesAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Exterior Design
During this time, the kings of Egypt had not yet built any of the pyramids that they are famous for. Instead, they created another type of funerary structure known as mastabas.
One of these innovations of this new style of architecture was the placement of the mud bricks used in the wall's construction. The bricks along the wall were arranged in a purposeful design, made to resemble the exterior walls of a palace due to the repeating series of niches and pilasters.
NE wall, main enclosure, exterior side, lower part of wall in perimeter corridor, looking SW (2000-01-25) by Richard BarnesAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
This “palace façade” motif is also visible at Shunet el Zebib.
General view of Shuneh from N to S (2000-01-25) by Richard BarnesAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Measurements of Enclosure
Shunet el Zebib is a large rectangular structure measuring about 450 by 250 feet. It is made of mud bricks and has both exterior and interior walls. However, today it is mostly the large interior walls that remain.
These walls are up to 17 feet thick and 35 feet high in some places; that’s huge! This is one of the reasons that many first believed the structure to be a fort.
W gate, final closing (2006-04-05) by Jason GoodmanAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Use of Mud Bricks
In order to create this massive funerary enclosure, the Egyptians had to use approximately 9 million mud bricks. This is interesting as the Egyptians built many mud brick structures, but this is the only one of this scale to have survived to modern day.
A project to restore parts of the monument to prevent it from disappearing completely began in 1999. The work was funded by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) and carried out by New York University’s North Abydos Project, directed by David O’Connor and Matthew Douglas Adams.
Re-building of the end of the N wall in mud-bricks (2004-04-15) by Robert K. Vincent Jr.American Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
The Rebuild
As major part of the project to conserve the structure included forming and adding new mud bricks to the structure to stabilize the structure and prevent further collapse.
A team of local workers created 150,000 mudbricks in the same size, shape as the original. These new bricks replaced missing sections of the wall and filled in holes in other spots. The mud mortar was made up of a mixture of mud, sand, and water, just as it was in ancient Egypt.
W gate exterior, final closing (2006-04-05) by Jason GoodmanAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Impact on Future Funerary Monuments
Shunet el Zebib also represents an essential step in the evolution of pyramids as funerary monuments. This progression is apparent with Khasekhemwy’s successors in the 3rd Dynasty, the Pharaoh Djoser, who built the first step pyramid at Saqqara.
View looking up interior passage showing ribbing (2000-01-18) by Richard BarnesAmerican Research Center In Egypt (ARCE)
Borrowed Design
Djoser clearly drew inspiration from Khasekhemwy’s earlier funerary monument. In addition to the monumental size of the complex, the enclosure walls at Saqqara use a similar palace façade design to what we see at Abydos.
This story was created as part of ARCE's Archive Digitization & Publication Project, funded by the US Department of Education. Text and story by Hunter Sakowsky, a student the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, in the course History 329 - Ancient Egyptian Civilization, taught by Dr. Danielle Candelora
The conservation and documentation of King Khasekhemwy’s Funerary Monument at Abydos was implemented by the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University’s North Abydos Project, directed by David O’Connor and Matthew Douglas Adams. Fieldwork was directed by Matthew Adams, and the implementation of conservation solutions was supervised by Anthony Crosby. The conservation program at the Shuneh was made possible by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Supreme Council of Antiquities).
