The elliptical outline represents a length of knotted rope. Certain elements of the Egyptian royal titulary were surrounded within the oval. The line was drawn around the king's "throne name" (nesw-bity) and "birth name" (sa Ra) from the 4th dynasty (2613-2494 BC)onwards. The image above comes from the walls of the Red chapel of Hatshepsut now standing within the Open air museum at Karnak. It reads Maat-ka-re" - Truth is the soul of Re.