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 Khasekhemui 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 _Shunet ez-Zebib_, "the Storehouse of Dried Grapes."
The Arab word _shuna_ ("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 _shuna_ with the German "Scheune" is a
quaint and curious coincidence. In the illustration of the Shunet
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
information previously undreamt of, information which Egyptologists
had never dared to hope would be recovered.
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