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CYLINDER SEALS*
Inscribed stone cylinders used for identification of ownership, developed by the ancient Sumerians but used primarily by other Mesopotamian peoples between about 3200 BC and the fourth century BC. Occasionally, cylinder seals were used in adjacent regions such as Asia Minor (the Hittite Empire) and Persia. After about 700 BC, they were gradually replaced by stamp seals. In Palestine the stamp seal was commonly used in biblical times.
The earliest cylinder seals were engraved with a distinctive scene that could signify ownership for the one to whom it belonged. A cylinder seal was often less than an inch (2.5 centimeters) in length and normally had a hole drilled through the barrel so it could be hung about the neck or waist. By 2700 BC the seals also carried a cuneiform inscription of the name and title of their owner. During the Akkadian period (2360–2180 BC), professions were also indicated. Early in the second millennium BC the owner usually identified himself as the servant of a particular god. By the mid-second millennium, prayers were commonly added.
In the fourth and third millennia BC, cylinder seals were used primarily to indicate ownership of property, perhaps by rolling a seal across the wet clay of a jar or package. They were also used to identify and seal documents inscribed on clay tablets. At first they were used only by kings and top officials, but during the second millennium BC large numbers of the aristocracy had them. Cylinder seals were buried with their owners; nearly 15,000 have been recovered. They are an important contribution to the study of the art, economy, sociology, and religion of Mesopotamia and neighboring regions.