... and again dozens of prehistoric sealings!

Another important find during the 2004 excavation campaign, one that dates from distant prehistoric times: dozens of clay sealings were found in a burnt storage building on the northeastern side of Tell Sabi Abyad (operation II), dated at around 6100 BC. The finds show that already quite early in the history of the Near East people had ideas about private property. Thousands of years before writing was invented an elaborate system had already been worked out for the management and the supervision of private property.

Sealings are small bits of clay that are used to seal baskets, bags or jars. The owner of the container would press his seal into the damp clay, so that a visible impression remained. In this way personal property could be identified and at all times one could check if property that had been stored in the storage building had not been opened by unauthorized persons.

At least five different stamp seals appear to have been used to seal the pots and baskets in the burnt storage building. In short, the building did not belong to one person but was shared by several persons to store their sealed property.

At Tell Sabi Abyad the practice of sealing began around 6200 BC. Now, for the first time in the history of the Near East, we have very clear indications for social distinctions, in the sense that some persons or groups of persons not only had private property, but also protected that property against use or abuse) by others.

It is obvious that when people are able to acquire property, some will be able to accumulate more than others. Property that could subsequently be used to emphasize the individual's identity, position and rank as well as increase them. Property that could be used to exert power and to create relations of dependency.

So far our excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have revealed not only the oldest but also the largest collection of prehistoric sealings of the Near East. In previous years hundreds of sealings were found at Tell Sabi Abyad, especially in the storage buildings of the Burnt Village, dated at around 6000 BC.

If you want to know more about the excavation results for 2004, please go to: 2004 expedition