Shunet El Zebib

[2][3] The inner area consists of a largely empty court; it is unknown if there were some substructures and/or larger buildings (such as a shrine or temple).

Such a place was named "house of the Ka" or "Ka-house" by the Egyptians and it was some kind of forerunner to the later mortuary temples known from the Old Kingdom period.

Because of its thick and interlaced walls, it was long time thought that Shunet El Zebib was a military fortress, which led to its alternative designation as "Middle Fort".

But archaeological findings provide only cultic and religious activities and a location so close to cemeteries speaks rather against any military use.

The Institute of Fine Arts at New York City led and promoted several preservation campaigns between 2002 and 2007, mostly focused on the enclosure walls.

Most damage comes, beside natural aging due to neglect after abandonment, from local hornets of the species Vespa orientalis.

[2] Under the guidance of Matthew Douglas Adams and David O'Connor, preservation works still focus on the filling of gaps and holes in the enclosure walls, approximately 250,000 new mud bricks were already created.