The cobra is contained within a rectangular sign representing a building (probably the royal residence) depicted according to the conventions of Egyptian drawing that remained in use until the end of the Roman Period. The outside, a decorated wall, and the inside (featuring the royal name) are visible. The rectangle is topped by a falcon, sacred to the god Horus whom the pharaoh incarnated on earth. The inscription thus reads “Horus Cobra”, naming the king, a successor of Horus in the royal palace. The names of most of the first Egyptian kings have been found in this form. The Horus name was to continue as the first of the king’s five official names, two of which were later surrounded by the characteristic oval of the cartouche.