Assyrian cylinder seals

Each year we have found a number of stone cylinder seals during our campaign at Tell Sabi Abyad. The year 2003 was no exception. Gods, archers and wild animals are depicted. They are genuine works of art, in miniature.

The seal to the top right was found in a grave. It dates from around 1200 BC. The seal shows a scene of prayer with a number of gods with crowns made of horns. Three persons are depicted with a young bull sitting between them. The winged woman – probably the goddess Shaushka – is holding a lance in her left hand and a scimitar in her right hand. She is the wife of Teshup the weather god, who is standing next to her. Teshup with his long locks of hair is wearing a short skirt and holding an axe and a scimitar in his left hand. He has a club in his raised right hand. The young bull belongs to the weather god: it is his emblem. The royal person in the long robe standing in front of the small bull and the two gods is praying with raised hands.

The seal to the bottom right is made in a style that is typically Middle Assyrian. It also dates from around 1200 BC. The seal was found in a jar in a workshop in the potters’ area.  We see a kneeling archer aiming his arrow at a ferocious lion standing on its hind legs. It is remarkable that this seal is in an unfinished state. Especially the archer is only partly cut out into the stone. This find shows that seal cutters were practising their craft at Tell Sabi Abyad.

This seal dates from the same period as the other two cylinder seals, but it is made in a simple geometrical style. The seal was on the floor of a small building.

In addition to the stone seals we also found a number of sealings in 2003: pieces of clay that were used to seal baskets, bags or other containers. The cylinder seal was rolled into the still damp clay, leaving a visible impression. Thus one could see whether the sealed product was still in its original state. In the 2003 season we found a number of sealings inside a jar, dug into the floor of a room. Other sealings were found in refuse layers outside the houses and therefore it would appear that they were simply discarded at some point.

If you want to read more about the Assyrian seals and sealings from Tell Sabi Abyad, please go to: seals and sealings.

   Tell Sabi Abyad in the late Neolithic, ca. 6600-6000 BC
   Tell Sabi Abyad at about 6000-5900 BC
   Tell Sabi Abyad in the Middle-Assyrian period, ca. 1230-1180 BC
   Assyrian pottery kilns
   Assyrian cylinder seals
   Assyrian burials
   Assyrian cuneiform texts