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Why may the name White Walls have referred to a king’s palace?
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Memphis
Colossal statue of Ramses II, carved from limestone, that once adorned the great temple of Ptah in Memphis, Egypt.
The name "White Walls" for the ancient city of Memphis likely originated from the appearance of the king’s palace, which was constructed using whitewashed brick.1
Throughout the Dynastic period in ancient Egypt, mud brick and wood served as the standard building materials for both houses and palaces. The use of whitewash on these structures would have given the royal residence a distinctively bright, white exterior, leading to the name that eventually identified the city itself.21