Ancient Near Eastern seals and sealing practices

Last updated December 24, 2024

Two main types of seals were used in the Ancient Near East, the stamp seal and the cylinder seal. Stamp seals first appeared in 'administrative' contexts in central and northern Mesopotamia in the seventh millennium and were used exclusively until the fifth millennium. Cylinder seals appeared first around 3600 BC in southern Mesopotamia and south-western Iran (Middle Uruk Period). They gradually replaced stamp seals, becoming the tool of a rising class of bureaucrats in the early stages of state formation. Even though stamp seals were still produced in the third and second millennia, cylinder seals predominated. In the first millennium, stamp seals made a strong comeback and eventually replaced cylinder seals entirely.

Place names and sites

Eshnunna (T. Asmar),
Shaduppum (T. Harmal),
Mari (Tell Hariri),
Sippar-Yahrurum (T. Abu Habbah),
Sippar-Amnanum (T. ed-Der),
Babylon (near al-Hillah),
Kish (T. Uhaimir),
Nippur (T. Nuffar),
Larsa (T. Senkereh),
Isin (Ishan Bahriyat),
Kisurra (T. Abu Hatab)
Ur (T. el-Muqayyar)
Urkesh (Tell Mozan)

Period/Style	Area	Iconography	Shapes and sizes	Materials and Manufacture	Sealing practices/use	Sites
PPN B	Syria	Geometric patterns	Stamp seals mostly conoid or pyramid shaped, commonly perforated	Baked clay, steatite, jadeite	Impressed multiple times on gypsum slabs; used as amulets	Tell Buqras, Ras Shamra
Hassuna/Samarra	Syria, Iraq, Amuq	Geometric patterns, seldom human figures	Stamp seals mostly conoid or pyramid shaped, tetrahedron form, looped, ridge handled, anthropomorphic, commonly perforated	Baked clay, steatite, jadeite	Impressed, multiple times on gypsum slabs, used as amulets	Tell es-Sawwan, Tell Hassuna, Tell Cudeyde, Yarimtepe I, Ras Shamra
Halaf	Syria, Iraq, Amuq, Turkey	Geometric patterns, Saint Andrews Cross appears, seldom animal figures	Stamp seals mostly conoid or pyramid shaped, double axe or cloverleaf seal, grooved and oval disk seals commonly perforated	Baked clay, steatite, jadeite, chlorite, serpentine, diorite, limestone, rock crystal, sandstone	Container sealings (clay), sealings on gypsum slabs, used as amulets	Tell Halaf, Chagar Bazar, Tell al-Kowm, Tell Sabi Abyad, Arpaciya, Tell Cudeyde, Tepe Gawra
Ubaid	Syria, Iraq	first scenes appear, cultic, erotic, captives, animal and human figures, geometric patterns	stamp seals: tabloid, lentoid and hemispheroid seals, seals with small marginal lug handles, amulet seals with a leaf or wedge, conoid or pyramid shaped, double axe or cloverleaf seals	Baked clay, steatite, jadeite, chlorite, serpentine, diorite, limestone, rock crystal, sandstone	Container and door sealings; used as amulets	Tepe Gawra, Oueili, Eridu, Arpaciya
Early Uruk	Iraq, Syria	Geometric patterns, animal motifs	Circular and rectangular stamp seals; average diameter c. 2.5-3.5 cm, sometimes up to 4 cm	Soft limestones preferred; designs gouged and sometimes drilled	Container sealings (clay)	Uruk, Tepe Gawra, Tell Brak, Susa
Middle Uruk	Iraq, Iran, Syria	Cylinder seals: "baggy style", animal rows, animal combat, daily life scenes, 'nude hero' mastering animals; stamp seals: animals antithetically arranged, geometric designs	Cylinder seals: tall, large diameter; stamp seals: circular, rectangular, zoomorphic, kidney shaped; average diameter c. 3-3.5 cm	Cylinder and stamp seals: soft bright limestones, gypsum. increasing use of the drill, deeply cut designs smoothened with a graver	Container sealings, door sealings, jar stoppers, sealed hollow clay balls; sometimes counter-sealing with stamp seals, sometimes multiple impressions of stamp seals	Uruk, Tello, Nippur, Niniveh, Yorgan Tepe (Nuzi), Tell Brak, Tell Qraya, Tell Hamoukar, Tell Sheikh Hassan, Susa, Sharafabad, Choga Mish
Late Uruk	Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey	Cylinder seals: Geometric designs, files of animals, ladder-pattern, "master of the animals", monsters, intertwined snakes, pigtailed figures, architecture, heraldic scenes; activities, (captives & violence; hunting; herding; procession & cultic scenes; depictions of the 'priest king'); stamp seals: geometric designs, animals	Cylinder seals: tall and large (two groups; one with heights ranging from 4–6 cm, diameters between 3–5 cm; the other with average height and diameter c. 2 cm); stamp seals: circular, zoomorphic, kidney shaped; average diameter 2.5 cm	Soft, bright limestones, gypsum, steatite, rarely lapis lazuli, shell and ivory; designs cut and drilled; images rather plastic, naturalistic, deeply cut designs; sometimes axial perforation of the cylinders occurs; sometimes cylinder seals are provided with a loop, either cut in one piece with the cylinder or attached to it	Container sealings, door sealings, jar stoppers; sealings on tablets, hollow clay balls, bullae, labels, disks. Stamp seals sometimes impressed multiple times; Cylinder Seal rolled across the tablets and their edges first, then inscribed; when applied on hollow clay balls, sometimes the whole surface is covered with different sealings	Uruk, Ur, Jemdet Nasr, Habuba Kabira-South, Tall Qannas, Jebel Aruda, Tall Sheikh Hassan, Tall Brak, Tall Hamoukar, Hacınebi Tepe, Hassek Höyük?, Arslantepe, Hassek Höyük, Susa, Choga Mish, Tepe Sharafabad, Godin Tepe, Tal-i Malyan
Jemdet Nasr	Iraq, Iran, Syria	Cylinder seals: daily life, production processes (weaving), pig-tailed figures, schematic designs (files of animals, e.g. spiders and scorpions, eye pattern, fish pattern)	Example	Colored limestones and dark, hard stones preferred; steatite, serpentine, schist; extensive use of the drill	Container sealings; sealings on tablets, bullae	Jemdet Nasr, Uruk, Ur,
Proto-Elamite	Iran	Cylinder seals: 'animals acting as humans', Rearing animals, animal files, floral designs, monsters	Tall, large cylinders	darker stones preferred; limestones, steatite, chlorite, schist, bituminous stone & figures heavily proportioned, internal surfaces cut with a pointed graver	Container sealings, jar stoppers, door sealings; sealing of tablets, hollow clay balls, bullae	Susa, Tal-i Malyan, Tepe Giyan, Tepe Sialk, Godin Tepe, Tal-i Ghazir
Early Dynastic I	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Early Dynastic II	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Early Dynastic IIIa	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Early Dynastic IIIb	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Akkadian	Iraq, Syria	Contest scenes, mythological scenes (Sun God and Water God), worship scenes, banquet scenes, introduction scenes, procession scenes	Cylinder seals with concave sides (flared ends). Large (3–4 cm tall)	Majority serpentine; also diorite, greenstone, jasper, lapis lazuli and rock crystal	Container sealings, (new package sealings), door sealings, bulla-labels	Tell Brak, Nippur, Tell Asmar, Ur, Khafaje, Tello (Girsu), Tell Mozan
Ur III	Iraq	Predominantly presentation scenes in many variations; some contest, procession and ritual scenes	Small cylinder seals rarely more than 2.8 cm tall	Majority chlorite; also serpentine, steatite, limestone, hematite and lapis lazuli	Majority tablet sealings; door sealings and container sealings still occur	Tello (Girsu), Nippur, Tell Asmar (Eshnunna), Ur, Lagash, Umma, Drehem
Isin-Larsa	Iraq, Syria	Contest scenes, procession scenes. Presentation scenes; libation or animal offerings. New motifs include male or deity holding a mace, deity with scimitar, and nude female. Commonly mixture of elements from different scenes.	Cylinder seals: straight. Average height: 2.5-3.0 cm; "burgul" seals with no iconography used alongside common cylinder seals at certain sites (Eshnunna, Kish, Marad, Nippur, Isin, Kisurra, and Ur).	Dark hard stones preferred, mainly haematite; also Goethite, serpentine, jasper, agate, rock crystal, lapis lazuli (often reused seals and scrap material), soft limestones and chlorite, and terracotta. More seldom shell, gypsum, "greenstone", obsidian, carnelian, mudstone, and basalt. Drilling and filing with hand-held tools. Use of emery as abrasive. Tool traces are masked by further engraving, micro-chipping and polishing.	Container sealings and door sealings. Also tablet and envelope sealings (letters, legal and administrative documents) and occasionally bullae; multiple impressions of the same or different seals	Eshnunna, Shaduppum, Sippar-Yahrurum, Sippar-Amnanum, Kish, Nippur, Larsa, Isin, Kisurra, and Ur, Mari (T. Hariri)
Old Babylonian	Iraq	Contest scenes, presentation scenes, figure holding a mace, deity with scimitar, and nude female. Less introduction scenes. Commonly mixture of elements from different scenes. Two figures flanking the inscription on Late Old Babylonian seals.	Cylinder seals: straight, average height: 2.5-3.0 cm; "burgul" seals not attested after the 18th century BC.	Haematite mostly; magnetite around the 18th century; the rest same materials as Isin-Larsa. Introduction of bow-driven cutting wheels and drills during the mid-18th century BC; now unmasked drill holes, filing- and wheel marks.	Container sealings and door sealings. Also tablet and envelope sealings (letters, legal and administrative documents); multiple impressions of the same or different seals	Sippar-Yahrurum, Sippar-Amnanum, Babylon, Kish, Nippur, Larsa, Isin, Kisurra, and Ur
Old Assyrian	Iraq, Syria, Anatolia	Introduction- and presentation scenes, chariots drawn by equids, bulls on offering tables, procession- and contest scenes, water god.	Cylinder seals: straight. Average height: 1.8-2.8 cm.	Haematite most common, also magnetite, lapis lazuli, limestone, jasper, and basalt. Execution individual, "flat, linear style"of carving similar to Isin-Larsa glyptic from the Diyala area. Figures with fork-like hands	Container sealings, door- and window sealings. Also tablet and envelope sealings (letters and legal documents), bullae and triangular tags; multiple impressions of the same or different seals	Assur (Qal’at Sherqat), Ninveh, Nuzi (Yorghantepe), Shubat-Enlil (T. Leilan), Kanesh (Kültepe), Acemhöyük, Alişar, and Boğazköy.
Mittani Common Style	Iraq, Syria, Cyprus, Levant, Greece, Iran, Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, the Persian Gulf	Simple ritual scenes where figures flank a tree, rows of animals and humans.	Cylinder seals: straight; height varies.	Compositional, sintered quartz (frit) and faience. A few of chert and hematite	Most seals stem from burials.	Malikh, Hasanlu, Beth Shan, Byblos, Kamid el-Loz, Mohammed 'Arab, Nuzi, Hazor, Megiddo, Alalakh, Tell Kazel, Tell Al-hamidiya, Dhekelia, Tell Billa, Assur, Lchashen, Sapar-Kharaba, Tell Brak
Mittani Elaborate Style	Iraq, Syria, Greece, Levant	Ritual scenes, drinking and offering scenes, animal rows. Some inscribed	Cylinder seals	Hematite, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, chert, limestone; colourful. Use of the drill on hard stones	Tablet and envelope impressions	Nuzi, Alalakh, Tell Brak
First Kassite Style	Iraq, Iran	Two figure ritual scenes. Bordered crosses, rosettes, animals; gazelles, frogs, birds, dogs and fish. Long inscriptions.	Small and uniform size	Hard stones; chalcedony, agate	Example	Nuzi, Nippur, Nimrud
Pseudo-Kassite Style	Iraq, Iran, The Persian Gulf	More linear than First Kassite. Inscriptions not length of whole seal and without real meaning (only for show). Double lines and hatched bands common. Monsters and birds.	Example	Soft composite materials; sintered quartz (frit) and glass.	Example	Nippur, Choza Zanbil, Susa, Subeidi, Failaka
Second Kassite Style	Iraq	Chthonic god cycle including natural and cosmic elements. Sacred tree flanked by living creatures; human or animal	Cylinder seals	Hard stones (colourful); chalcedony, agate, lapis lazuli. Glass. With golden caps	Tablet sealings	Thebes, Nippur, Ur, Subeidi, Assur, Aqar Quf
Third Kassite Style/Isin II Style	Iraq	Animals or monster scenes, a few involving humans. marru. Linear tendency	Cylinder seals	Soft stones and quartz. Gold caps flourish. Drill used less than in Second Kassite seals.	Tablet and envelope sealings	Ur, Uruk, Nippur, Abu Hatab, Luristan
Middle Assyrian	Iraq, Syria	Contest scenes, animal scenes (horse and winged bull appear), chariot scenes, hunting with archer, temples, antithetically arranged pairs of figures including the winged "griffin-demon", "sacred-tree"; sometimes inscription included; also schematic, linear depictions	Straight cylinder seals; average diameter c. 1.6 cm, average height ranging between 3.2-4.7 cm	Agate, limestone, quartz, jasper, carnelian, lapis-lazuli, talc, frit; either cutting of high quality or - for the cut-style - cursory engraving with extensive use of the cutting wheel	Tablet and envelope sealings; container and door sealings	Assur, Tell Sheikh Hamad (Dur-Katlimmu), Tell Mohammed Arab, Tell Fakhariya, Tell Sabi Abyad, Tell Billa, Tell al-Rimah
Neo-Assyrian	Iraq, Syria	Royal worship, king with bow and cup, devotional scenes, banquet scenes, contest scenes, ritual scenes, animal scenes, hunting scenes. Figures flanking a tree. The "siege"	Cylinder and stamp seals	Manufactured in 4 styles; linear (soft materials; steatite, serpentine and sintered quartz (frit)), modeled (chalcedony), cut (hard and soft materials), drilled (chalcedony, agate)	Container sealings. Jar stoppers. Door sealings. Bullae. Tablet sealings	Nimrud, Nineve, Assur, Tell Sheikh Hamad (Dur-Katlimmu)
Neo-Babylonian	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kültepe</span> Human settlement

Kültepe, also known under its ancient name Kaneš or Neša (Nesha), is an archaeological site in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It was already a major settlement at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, but it is world-renowned for its significance at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The archaeological site consists of a large mound, and a lower city, where a kārum was established in the beginning of the 2nd Millenium BC. So far, 23,500 cuneiform tablets recovered from private houses constitute the largest collection of private texts in the ancient Near East. In 2014, the archaeological site was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.

The architecture of Mesopotamia is ancient architecture of the region of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, encompassing several distinct cultures and spanning a period from the 10th millennium BC to the 6th century BC. Among the Mesopotamian architectural accomplishments are the development of urban planning, the courtyard house, and ziggurats. Scribes had the role of architects in drafting and managing construction for the government, nobility, or royalty.

Nippur was an ancient Sumerian city. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind", ruler of the cosmos, subject to An alone. Nippur was located in modern Nuffar 5 miles north of modern Afak, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq. It is roughly 200 kilometers south of modern Baghdad and about 96.54 km southeast of the ancient city of Babylon. Occupation at the site extended back to the Ubaid period, the Uruk period, and the Jemdet Nasr period. The origin of the ancient name is unknown but different proposals have been made.

Sin or Suen (Akkadian: 𒀭𒂗𒍪, ^dEN.ZU) also known as Nanna (Sumerian: 𒀭𒋀𒆠^DŠEŠ.KI, ^DNANNA) is the Mesopotamian god representing the moon. While these two names originate in two different languages, respectively Akkadian and Sumerian, they were already used interchangeably to refer to one deity in the Early Dynastic period. They were sometimes combined into the double name Nanna-Suen. A third well attested name is Dilimbabbar (𒀭𒀸𒁽𒌓). Additionally, the name of the moon god could be represented by logograms reflecting his lunar character, such as ^d30 (𒀭𒌍), referring to days in the lunar month or ^dU₄.SAKAR (𒀭𒌓𒊬), derived from a term referring to the crescent. In addition to his astral role, Sin was also closely associated with cattle herding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that he could serve as a judge of the dead in the underworld. A distinct tradition in which he was regarded either as a god of equal status as the usual heads of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Enlil and Anu, or as a king of the gods in his own right, is also attested, though it only had limited recognition. In Mesopotamian art, his symbol was the crescent. When depicted anthropomorphically, he typically either wore headwear decorated with it or held a staff topped with it, though on kudurru the crescent alone serves as a representation of him. He was also associated with boats.

The Kassites were a people of the ancient Near East. They controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire from c. 1531 BC until c. 1155 BC.

Lama, Lamma, or Lamassu is an Assyrian protective deity.

Shu-turul was the last king of the Akkadian Empire, ruling for 15 years according to the Sumerian king list. It indicates that he succeeded his father Dudu. A few artifacts, seal impressions etc. attest that he held sway over a greatly reduced Akkadian territory that included Kish, Tutub, Nippur, and Eshnunna. The Diyala river also bore the name "Shu-durul" at the time.

Ningal was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of the moon god, Nanna/Sin. She was particularly closely associated with his main cult centers, Ur and Harran, but they were also worshiped together in other cities of Mesopotamia. She was particularly venerated by the Third Dynasty of Ur and later by kings of Larsa.

Nebuchadnezzar I was the fourth king of the Second Dynasty of Isin and Fourth Dynasty of Babylon. He ruled for 22 years according to the Babylonian King List C, and was the most prominent monarch of this dynasty. He is best known for his victory over Elam and the recovery of the cultic idol of Marduk.

Ištaran was a Mesopotamian god who was the tutelary deity of the city of Der, a city-state located east of the Tigris, in the proximity of the borders of Elam. It is known that he was a divine judge, and his position in the Mesopotamian pantheon was most likely high, but much about his character remains uncertain. He was associated with snakes, especially with the snake god Nirah, and it is possible that he could be depicted in a partially or fully serpentine form himself. He is first attested in the Early Dynastic period in royal inscriptions and theophoric names. He appears in sources from the reign of many later dynasties as well. When Der attained independence after the Ur III period, local rulers were considered representatives of Ištaran. In later times, he retained his position in Der, and multiple times his statue was carried away by Assyrians to secure the loyalty of the population of the city.

A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay. According to some sources, cylinder seals were invented around 3500 BC in the Near East, at the contemporary sites of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia and slightly later at Susa in south-western Iran during the Proto-Elamite period, and they follow the development of stamp seals in the Halaf culture or slightly earlier. They are linked to the invention of the latter's cuneiform writing on clay tablets. Other sources, however, date the earliest cylinder seals to a much earlier time, to the Late Neolithic period in Syria, hundreds of years before the invention of writing.

The Kassite dynasty, also known as the third Babylonian dynasty, was a line of kings of Kassite origin who ruled from the city of Babylon in the latter half of the second millennium BC and who belonged to the same family that ran the kingdom of Babylon between 1595 and 1155 BC, following the first Babylonian dynasty. It was the longest known dynasty of that state, which ruled throughout the period known as "Middle Babylonian".

Nazi-Maruttaš, typically inscribed Na-zi-Ma-ru-ut-ta-aš or ^mNa-zi-Múru-taš, Maruttašprotects him, was a Kassite king of Babylon c. 1307–1282 BC and self-proclaimed šar kiššati, or "King of the World", according to the votive inscription pictured. He was the 23rd of the dynasty, the son and successor of Kurigalzu II, and reigned for twenty six years.

The art of Mesopotamia has survived in the record from early hunter-gatherer societies on to the Bronze Age cultures of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires. These empires were later replaced in the Iron Age by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia brought significant cultural developments, including the oldest examples of writing.

Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force in Mesopotamia during a period of about 150 years in the last third of the 3rd millennium BC.

Acemhöyük is an archaeological site in Turkey. The tell is located near the village of Yeşilova in Merkez district, Aksaray Province. The Bronze Age name for the place was probably Purušḫanda/Purušḫattum or Ullama. The site was important during the Early Bronze Age as part of the Anatolian Trade Network and the Middle Bronze Age as a colony in the Assyrian Trade Network, with a trading post called Karum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimet Özgüç</span> Turkish archaeologist

Nimet Özgüç was a Turkish archaeologist. In her era, she and her husband were the dominant Turkish academics and archaeologists. She was made an honorary member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences in 1996 and was awarded the Grand Prize of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2010 for her contributions to archaeology in the country.

Ninsianna was a Mesopotamian deity considered to be the personification of Venus. This theonym also served as the name of the planet in astronomical texts until the end of the Old Babylonian period. There is evidence that Ninsianna's gender varied between locations, and both feminine and masculine forms of this deity were worshiped. Due to their shared connection to Venus, Ninsianna was associated with Inanna. Furthermore, the deity Kabta appears alongside Ninsianna in many texts, but the character of the relation between them remains unclear.

Dominique Petronella Margaret Collon, is a Belgian-born academic, author, archaeologist and former curator at the British Museum in London who has worked and travelled extensively in the Near East in Syria, Turkey and Iraq. She is an authority on cylinder seals.

Šubula (Shubula) was a Mesopotamian god. He was associated with the underworld, and commonly appears in association with Nergal, Ishum, Laṣ and other deities of similar character. He was worshiped in small settlements such as Ṣupur-Šubula and Lagaba, likely located in the proximity of Kutha, but also in Susa and Uruk.

References

General bibliography:

Amiet, P. 1980 La Glyptique mésopotamienne archaique, Paris.
Collon, Dominique 2005 (2nd revised edition). First impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East. London: British Museum.
Collon, Dominique 2007. Babylonian Seals. In: Leick, Gwendolyn (ed), The Babylonian World: 95–123. New York & London: Routledge.
Gibson, McG and R.D. Biggs (eds.) 1977. Seals and Sealing in the Ancient Near East. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 6, Malibu.
Gibson, McG. and R.D. Biggs (eds.) 1987. The Organization of Power. Aspects of Bureaucracy in the Ancient Near East. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 46. Chicago: Oriental Institute.
Gorelick, L. and A. J. Gwinnett 1990, The Ancient near Eastern Cylinder Seal as Social Emblem and Status Symbol, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 49 (1): 45–56.
Keel, O. and Uehlinger, C. (eds) 1990. Altorientalische Miniaturkunst. Die ältesten visuellen Massenkommunikationsmittel. Mainz, Gabern, pp. 27–46.
Pittman, H. 1994 The Glazed Steatite Glyptic Style. The Structure and Function of an Image System in the Administration of Protoliterate Mesopotamia, BBVO 16, Berlin.
Pittman, Holly 2013. Seals and Sealings in the Sumerian World. In: Crawford, Harriet (ed), The Sumerian World. New York & London: Routledge.
Porada, E. 1947. Mesopotamian art in cylinder seals of the Pierpont Morgan Library. Pierpont Morgan Library.
Porada, E., Amiet, P., Özgüç, N., & Boardman, J. (eds.) 1980. Ancient art in seals: essays. Princeton, N.J.: University Press.
Radner, Karen 2009. Siegelpraxis, A. Philologisch, RlA: 466–469.
Otto, Adelheid 2009. Siegelpraxis, B. Archäologisch. In RlA: 469–474.
Teissier, B. 1984. Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals from the Marcopoli Collection, Berkeley.

Manufacture and materials

Moorey, R. 1994. Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries, esp. pp. 74–77 (on materials for seals) and pp. 103–106 (on seal cutting)
Collon, D. 2005. First Impressions, Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East. (2nd revised edition), pp. 100–104.
Frahm, Ellery, Agnete W. Lassen, and Klaus Wagensonner. "Gods and Demons, Anatolia and Egypt: Obsidian Sourcing of Mesopotamian Amulets and Cylinder Seals Using Portable Xrf." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 24 (2019): 978-92.
Gorelick, L., and Gwinnett. A. J., 1992, Minoan versus Mesopotamian seals: comparative methods of manufacture, Iraq, 54: 51–64.
Gwinnett, A. J. and Gorelick, L. 1987. The Change from Stone Drills to Copper Drills in Mesopotamia. Expedition 29 (3): 15–24.
Heimpel, W., Gorelick, L., and Gwinnett, A. J., 1988, Philological and archaeological evidence for the use of emery in the Bronze Age Near East, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 40 (2): 195–210.
Sax, M., and Meeks, N. D., 1994. The introduction of wheel-cutting as a technique for engraving cylinder seals: its distinction from filing, Iraq, 56, 153–66.
Sax, M., D. Collon and M.N. Leese 1993. The availability of raw materials for Near Eastern cylinder seals during the Akkadian, post Akkadian and Ur III periods. Iraq 55: 77–90.
Sax, M. N. D. Meeks and D. Collon 2000. The Early Development of the Lapidary Engraving Wheel in Mesopotamia. Iraq 62: 157–176.
Sax, M., J. McNabb, N.D. Meeks 1998, Methods of Engraving Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals: Experimental Confirmation, Archaeometry 40: 1-21.

Prehistoric seals

von Wickede 1990, Prähistorische Stempelsiegel in Vorderasien. MVAS 6: p. 10-21 (form), 21-28 (design)

Sealing practice:

Duistermaat, K. 2010. Administration in Neolithic Societies? The First Use of Seals in Syria and Some Considerations on Seal Owners, Seal Use and Private Property. In Müller (ed.) Die Bedeutung Der Minoischen Und Mykenischen Glyptik: VI. Internationales Siegel-Symposium, Marburg, 9-12 Oktober 2008. (CMS Beiheft 8) Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern: 167–182.
von Wickede 1990, Prähistorische Stempelsiegel in Vorderasien. MVAS 6
Duistermaat, K. 2013.
Rothman, Mitchell S. 1994. Sealings as a Control Mechanism in Prehistory: Tepe Gawra XI, X and VIII. In: Gil Stein & Mitchell S. Rothman (eds), Chiefdoms and Early States in the Near East: The Organizational dynamics of complexity: 103–120. Madison: Prehistory Press.

Uruk seals

Brandes, M. A. 1979, Siegelabrollungen aus den archaischen Bauschichten in Uruk-Warka
Amiet, P. 1980 P. Amiet, Glyptique mesoptaminne archaique. (Paris 1980)
R. M. Boehmer 1999, Uruk. Früheste Siegelabrollungen. AUWE 24. (Mainz 1999)
B. Feller 2013, Die Anfänge der Bürokratie. Funktion und Einsatz von Siegeln im 4. und 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr., in Uruk. 5000 Jahre Megacity. Begleitband zur Ausstellung "Uruk – 5000 Jahre Megacity", 159–165.
M. Frangipane 2007 (Ed.), Arslantepe Cretulae. An Early Centralized Administrative System Before Writing. (Rome 2007)
R. J. Matthews 2002, Secrets of the Dark Mound. (Warminster 2002)
H. Pittman 2001, Mesopotamian Intraregional Relations Reflected through Glyptic Evidence in the late Chalcolithic 1-5 Periods, in M. Rothman (Ed.), Uruk Mesopotamia & its Neighbors. Cross-cultural Interactions in the Era of State Formation, 403–443.
M. T. Rigillo 1991, Sealing Systems on Uruk Doors, BaM 22 (1991), 175-222

Early Dynastic seals

Iconography:

Pittmann, Holly 1994, The Glazed Steatite Glyptic Style: the Structure and Function of an Image System in the Administration of Protoliterate Mesopotamia. Berlin
Karg, N. 1984, Untersuchungen zur älteren frühdynastischen Glyptik Babyloniens. Aspekte regionaler Entwicklungen in der ersten Hälfte des 3. Jahrtausends. BaF 8. Mainz
Pittman, Holly 2013. Seals and Sealings in the Sumerian World. In: Crawford, Harriet (ed), The Sumerian World. New York & London: Routledge.

Sealing practice:

Jans G. & Bretschneider J. 2011 (2012), Seals and Sealings of Tell Beydar/Nabada (Seasons 1995-2001). Subartu XXVII, Turnhout Brepols.
H. P. Martin and R. J. Matthews 1993, "Seals and Sealings," in A. Green, ed., The 6G Ash-Tip and Its Contents: Cultic and Administrative Discard from the Temple? (London), pp. 23–81
R. J. Matthews 1991, "Fragments of Officialdom from Fara," Iraq 53: 1–16
Charvát, Petr 1988. Archaeology and Social History: The Susa sealings, ca. 4000–2340 BC, Paléorient 14(1): 57–63
Charvát, Petr 2005. The Backs of Some Sealings from Nineveh 5. Iraq 67: 391–397.
Zettler, R. 2007, Clay Sealings from the Early Dynastic I levels of the Inanna Temple at Nippur: a preliminary analysis, in Roth, M. W. Farber, and M. Stolper (eds), Studies presented to R. Biggs: 343–362.

Akkadian

Glyptic art:

Rakic, Yelena 2003. The Contest Scene in Akkadian Glyptic: A Study of its imagery and function within the Akkadian empire. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania.
Collon, D. Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum: Cylinder Seals, vol 2 Akkadian and Ur III.
Boehmer, Rainer Michael 1965. Die Entwicklung der Glyptik während der Akkad-Zeit. (Untersuchungen zur Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 4) Berlin: De Gruyter.
Amiet, P.1980. The Mythological Repertory in Cylinder Seals of the Agade Period (c. 2335-2155 B.C.). In Porada (ed.), pp. 35–60.
Barrelet, M.T. 1970. Etude de glyptique akkadienne: l'imagination figurative et le cycle d'Ea. Orientalia 39: 213–251.

Sealing practice:

Rakic, Yelena 2003. The Contest Scene in Akkadian Glyptic: A Study of its imagery and function within the Akkadian empire. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania. esp. Ch. 6;289-354
Matthews, D. Early Glyptic of Tell Brak, 176–183.

Ur III

Glyptic art:

Collon, D. Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum: Cylinder Seals, vol 2 Akkadian and Ur III
Winter, I. 1986 "The king and the cup: iconography of the royal presentation scene on Ur III seals," inInsights through Images (ed. by M Kelly-Buccellati), pp. 253 – 268. Malibu: Undena Publications. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 21.
Winter, I. 1991 (1977) "Legitimation of authority through image and legend: seals belonging to officials in the administrative bureaucracy of the Ur III state," in The Organization of Power (ed. by McGuire Gibson and R. Biggs), pp. 1 – 33. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 46.
Suter 2010 (representation of the king)
Mayr, R. H. 2002a. The depiction of ordinary men and women on the seals of the Ur III kingdom. In Parpola, S. and Whiting, R. M., editors, Sex and Gender in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 47th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Helsinki, July 2–6, 2001, pages 359–366. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Helsinki.

Sealing Ur III:

Zettler 1987 "Sealings as artifacts of institutional administration in ancient Mesopotamia," Journal of Cuneiform Studies 39: 197 - 240.
Reichel 2001, Reichel, Clemens 2001. Seals and Sealings at Tell Asmar – A New look at an Ur III to Isin/Larsa Palace. In: William Hallo & Irene J. Winter (eds.): 101–131.
Buccellati, G. / M. Kelly-Buccellati, The Royal Storehouse of Urkesh: The Glyptic Evidence from the Southwestern Wing. AfO 42/43, 1995/96, 1-32.

Sealing documents:

Hattori, Atsuko 2001. Sealing Practices of Ur III Nippur. In: William Hallo & Irene J. Winter (eds): 71–99.
Hattori, Atsuko 2002. Texts and Impressions: A Holistic approach to Ur III cuneiform tablets from the university of Pennsylvania expeditions to Nippur (Iraq). PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania.
Laurito, R. in D’Agostino, Franco, Francesco Pomponio & Romina Laurito 2004. Neo-Sumerian Texts from Ur in the British Museum: Epigraphical and archaeological catalogue of an unpublished corpus of texts and fragments. (Nisaba 5) Messina: Di.Sc.A.M.
Tsouparopoulou, Christina 2015. The Ur III seals impressed on documents from Puzrish-Dagan (Drehem), HSAO 16, Heidelberg
Fischer, Claudia 1992. Siegelabrollungen im British Museum auf neusumerischen Tontafeln aus der Provinz Lagash – Untersuchungen zu den Tierkampfszenen. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 82: 60–91.
Fischer, Claudia 1997. Siegelabrollungen im British Museum auf Ur-III-zeitlichen Texten aus der Provinz Lagash: Untersuchung zu den Verehrungsszenen. Baghdader Mitteilungen 28: 97–183.
Reichel, Clemens 2003. Appendix: Sealing practice. In: Markus Hilgert, Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena (Oriental Institute Publications 121): 603–24. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.

Isin-Larsa / Old Babylonian

Blocher, Felix 2001. Sealing Tablets in Early Second Millennium Babylonia - Wealth and Significance of the Yale Babylonian Collection, in: William W. Hallo (Hg.), Seals and Seal Impressions, Comptes rendus de la XLV Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale (Boston/New Haven 5–10 July 1998), Vol. 3, New Haven/Boston, 133–148.
Collon, D. 2007. Babylonian Seals in Leick, G. (ed) The Babylonian World: 95-123 (esp. pp. 95–107)
Goddeeris, A. 2012. Sealing in Old Babylonian Nippur, in Fs Van Lerberghe pp. 215–234.
Gailani-Werr, L. al-, Chronological Table of Old Babyblonian Seal Impressions. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, University of London 17, 1980, 33-84
Gailani-Werr, L. al-, Studies in the Chronology and Regional Style of Old Babylonian Cylinder Seals. BiMes. 23, 1988
Klengel-Brandt, E., Siegelabrollungen auf altbabylonischen Tontafeln aus Babylon. AoF 10, 1983, 65-106
Blocher, F., Siegelabrollungen auf frühaltbabylonischen Tontafeln in der Yale Babylonian Collection, ein Katalog. MVS 9. München 1992
Blocher, F., Siegelabrollungen auf frühaltbabylonischen Tontafeln im British Museum, ein Katalog. MVS 10. München 1992

Old Assyrian

Alexander, R. L. "Native Group Cylinder Seal Engravers of Karum Kanish Level Ii." Belleten 43, no. 171-172 (1979): 573-618.
Alp, S. Zylinder- Und Stempelsiegel Aus Karahöyük Bei Konya. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları Ankara, 1968.
Eppihimer, Melissa. "Representing Ashur: The Old Assyrian Rulers' Seals and Their Ur Iii Prototype." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 72, no. 1 (2013): 35-49.
Larsen, Mogens Trolle. "Seal Use in the Old Assyrian Period." In Seals and Sealings in the Ancient near East, edited by M. Gibson and R. Biggs. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, 89-105. Malibu: Udena Publications, 1977.
Lassen, Agnete Wisti. "The Old Assyrian Glyptic Style. An Investigation of a Seal Style, Its Owners and Place of Production." In Current Research at Kültepe/Kanesh. An Interdisciplinary and Integrative Approach to Trade Networks, Internationalism, and Identity, edited by Levent Atici, Fikri Kulakoğlu, Gojko Barjamovic and Andrew Fairbairn. Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplements, 107-21. Boston, MA.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2014.
Lassen, Agnete W. "The 'Bull-Altar' in Old Assyrian Glyptic: A Representation of the God Assur?". In Movement, Resources, Interaction: Proceedings of the 2nd Kültepe International Meeting, Kültepe, 26–30 July 2015: Studies Dedicated to Klaas Veenhof, edited by Fikri Kulakoğlu and Gojko Barjamovic, 179-95. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017.
Özgüç, Nimet. The Anatolian Group of Cylinder Seal Impressions from Kültepe. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1965.
Özgüç, Nimet. Seals and Seal Impressions of Level Ib from Karum Kanish. Kaniş Karumu Ib Katı Mühürleri Ve Mühür Baskıları. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1968.
Özgüç, Nimet. "Seal Impressions from the Palaces at Acemhöyük." In Ancient Art in Seals, edited by Edith Porada, 61-80. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.
Özgüç, Nimet. Kültepe-Kaniš/Neša: Seal Impressions on the Clay Envelopes from the Archives of the Native Peruwa and Assyrian Trader Uṣur-Ša-Ištar Son of Aššur-Imittī. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 2006.
Özgüç, Nimet. Acemhöyük-Burušhaddum I: Silindir Mühürler ve MühüR Baskılı Bullalar / Cylinder Seals and Bullae with Cylinder Seal Impressions. Ankara, 2015.
Özgüç, Nimet, and Önhan Tunca. Kültepe-Kaniš. Sealed and Inscribed Clay Bullae. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 2001.
Teissier, Beatrice. Sealing and Seals on Texts from Kültepe Kārum Level 2. Publications De L'institut Historique-Archéologique Néerlandais De Stamboul. Edited by M. J. Mellink, C. Nijland, J. J. Roodenberg, Roos de J. and K. R. Veenhof. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 1994.
Tosun, M. "Styles in Kültepe Seal Engraving as Expressions of Various Cultural Influences." In Studies in Honor of Benno Landsberger on His 75. Birthday, April 21, 1965. Assyriological Studies, 183-88. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.

Mitanni and Kassite

Salje, Beate 1990. Der "Common Style" der Mitanni-Glyptik und die Glyptik der Levante und Zyperns in der späten Bronzezeit. Baghdader Forschungen, Band 11. Mainz: Zabern.
Porada, E., Seal Impressions from Nuzi. AASOR 24. New Haven 1947
Stein, D.L., A Reapraisal of the "Saushtatar Letter" from Nuzi. ZA 79, 1989, 36-60
Stein, D.L., Seal Impressions from Arrapha and Nuzi in the Yale Babylonian Collection, in: D.I. Owen - M.A. Morrison (Hrsg.), Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians Vol. 2. Winona Lake 1987, 225-320
Stein, D.L., The Seal Impressions, in: G. Wilhelm (Hrsg.), Das Archiv des Shilwa-Teshup, Heft 8 und 9. Wiesbaden 1993
Beran, T., Die babylonische Glyptik der Kassitenzeit. AfO, 1957–58, 255-278
Matthews, D. M. Principles of Composition in Near Eastern Glyptic of the Later Second Millennium B.C. (1990)
Matthews, D.M., The Kassite Glyptic of Nippur. OBO 116. Freiburg (Schweiz) 1992
Wittmann, B., Babylonische Rollsiegel des 11.-7. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. BaM 23, 1992, 169 ff. (Nachtrag: Wittmann-von Pilgrim, B. in: BaM 25, 1994, 597 ff.)

Middle Assyrian

Beran, T., Assyrische Glyptik des 14. Jahrhunderts. ZA NF 18, 1957, 141-215
Bonatz, Dominik. Middle Assyrian Seal Motifs from Tell Fekheriye, Syria. Tell Fekheriye Excavation Reports. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021.
Bretschneider, Joachim, and Greta Jans. "A Winged Horse at Tell Tweini: An Exceptional Middle Assyrian Cylinder Seal." Akkadica 140 (2019): 149–60.
Feller, Barbara. "Seal Images an Social Status: Sealings on Middle Assyrian Tablets from Ashur." In Near Eastern Archaeology in the Past, Present and Future. Vol. 1 Proceedings of the 6th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient near East : 5–10 May 2009, "Sapienza", Università Di Roma, edited by P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, L. Nigro and N. Marchetti, 913-23. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010.
Kühne, Hartmut 1995. Der mittelassyrische, Cut Style', in ZA 85: 277-301
Kühne, H. / W. Röllig, Das Siegel des Königs Salmanasser I. von Assyrien, in: Emre, K. / M. Mellink / B. Hrouda / N. Özgüç (Hrsg.), Anatolia and the Ancient Near East: Studies in Honor of Tahsin Özgüç. Ankara 1989, 295-299
Matthews, Donald M. "Middle Assyrian Glyptic from Tell Billa." Iraq 53 (1991): 17-42.
Matthews, Donald M. "The Random Pegasus: Loss of Meaning in Middle Assyrian Seals." Cambridge Archaeological Journal 2 (1992): 191-210.
Moortgat, A., Assyrische Glyptik des 12. Jahrhunderts. ZA NF 14, 1944, 24-44
Moortgat, A., Assyrische Glyptik des 13. Jahrhunderts. ZA NF 13, 1942, 50-88
Parker, Barbara. "Middle Assyrian Seal Impressions from Tell Al Rimah." Iraq 39, 2 (1977): 257-68.
Porada, Edith. "Remarks on Mitannian (Hurrian) and Middle Assyrian Glyptic Art." Akkadica 13 (1979): 2-15.

Sealing practices:

Röllig, W. 1980. Notizen zur Praxis der Siegelung in mittelassyrischer Zeit. Welt des Orients 11: 111–116.
Postgate, Nicholas J. 1986. Middle Assyrian Tablets: The Instruments of bureaucracy. AoF 13: 10–39.
Postgate, Nicholas J. 2003. Documents in Government under the Middle Assyrian Kingdom. In: M. Brosius (ed.): 124–138.
Postgate, Nicholas J. 2014. Bronze Age Bureaucracy: Writing and the practice of government in Assyria. NY: CUP.

Kassite/Middle Babylonian

Konstantopoulos, Gina. "Inscribed Kassite Cylinder Seals in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal 53 (2018): 96-113. https://doi.org/10.1086/701742. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/701742.
Kopanias, Konstatinos. "The Late Bronze Age near Eastern Cylinder Seals from Thebes (Greece) and Their Historical Implications." Mitteilungen des Deutchen Archäologischen Instituts Atenische Abteilung 123 (2008): 39-96.
Lassen, Agnete W., and Enrique Jiménez. "Nbc 3171: A Recarved Old Babylonian/Kassite Seal." Ash-Sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East 6, 1 (2022): 58-63.
Matthews, Donald M. Principles of Composition in near Eastern Glyptic of the Later Second Millennium B.C. Orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis. Series Archaeologica. Freiburg: Universitätsverlag Friburg, 1990.
Matthews, Donald M. The Kassite Glyptic of Nippur. Orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis. Freiburg: Universitätsverlag, 1992.
Porada, Edith. "The Cylinder Seals Found at Thebes in Boeotia." Archiv für Orientforschung 28 (1981/1982): 1-70.
Porada, Edith, and Dominique Collon. The Second Millennium Bc. Beyond Babylon. Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum, Cylinder Seals. London: The British Museum, 2016.
Seidl, Ursula. "Babylonische Kunst Zur Kassitenzeit." In Kardunias. Babylonia under the Kassites 2, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke. Untersuchungen Zur Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, 313-32. Boston/Berlin: de Gruyter, 2017.
Stein, Diana. "Common Mitannian and Pseudo-Kassite: A Question of Quality and Class." In De Chypre À La Bactriane, Les Sceaux Du Proche-Orient Ancien. Actes Du Colloque International Organisé Au Musée Du Louvre Par Le Service Culturel Le 18 Mars 1995, edited by A. Caubet, 71-115. Paris: La Documentation française, 1997.
Trokay, Madeleine. "Glyptique Pseudo-Kassite: Glyptique Kassite Commune." In Tablettes Et Images Aux Pays De Sumer Et D'akkad: MéLanges Offerts à Monsieur H. Limet, edited by Önhan Tunca and D. Deheselle, 207-13. Liege: Universite de Liege, 1996.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.