Inancient Egypt, ashen ring was a circle with a linetangent to it, represented inhieroglyphs as a stylised loop of a rope, bound to a stick. The tool was used by builders and architects. Shen rings can most often be seen in the clutches ofHorus. The wordshen itself means "encircling" in ancientEgyptian, while the shen ring itself represents eternal protection. What the French called acartouche is in fact an elongated shen ring encircling a name of apharaoh or god/goddess, thus "eternally protecting" that personage.
InGardiner's sign list, it issign V9.
| ||
| shen šn inhieroglyphs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gardiner: V9 | ||
The shen ring is most often seen carried by the falcon godHorus, but was also carried by the vulture goddessNekhbet. It was used as early as the Third Dynasty where it can be seen in the reliefs fromDjoser's Step Pyramid complex.[1]
The symbol could be stretched to contain other objects, which were then understood as being eternally protected by the shen ring.[citation needed] In its elongated form the shen ring became thecartouche, which enclosed and protected a royal name.[2]
Outside of Egypt, aTartessian archaeological site,Cancho Roano in southern Spain, has a shen ring-shaped altar.
