Representing a round settlement, walled and divided by crossroads. Similar settlements are archaeologically attested in Upper Egypt since the earliest periods of urbanization, and this hieroglyph is also attested very early. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms the streets are occasionally found in a different orientation
, horizontal and vertical instead of diagonal; this is even more frequent in inscriptions of the Heracleopolitan Period and 11th dynasty. Compare the Chinese character 囗.
Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 498
Henry George Fischer (1988) Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Hieroglyphs, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, →ISBN, page 37
Betrò, Maria Carmela (1995) Geroglifici: 580 Segni per Capire l'Antico Egitto, Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., →ISBN