by Dominic Statham

Among the many ancient artefacts displayed in our museums are small barrel-shaped objects, having a small hole through their centre and engraved on their peripheries with various images. When rolled onto wet, malleable clay, they leave an impression, in a similar way to how a roller stamp leaves an ink print on paper. They are often referred to as ‘cylinder seals’ (as opposed to ‘stamp seals’) and were used to authenticate documents, indicate ownership, or decorate artefacts. A particularly interesting example exists in the Louvre museum in Paris1 (see fig. 1 and 2). It is made of jasper and was found at Uruk in Mesopotamia (Iraq).

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