![]() | This article includes a list of general
references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding
inline citations. (December 2011) |
The stamp seal (also impression seal) is a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC ( Halaf culture [1]) and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, prepared clay and sometimes in sealing wax.
The oldest stamp seals were button-shaped objects with primitive ornamental forms chiseled onto them. [2] The stamp seals were replaced in the 4th millennium BC by cylinder seals that had to be rolled over the soft clay to leave an imprint. [1] From the 12th century BC the previous designs were largely abandoned in favor of amphora stamps. [3] Romans introduced their signaculum around the first century BC; [3] Byzantine maintained the tradition in their commercial stamps. [4]
In antiquity the stamp seals were common, largely because they served to authenticate legal documents, such as tax receipts, contracts, wills and decrees. They are extensively researched because[ citation needed] they were usually carved with important " themes" of the society that produced them, rather than with an ordinary signature.[ citation needed]
Different from the Minoan stamp-seals, the Indus stamp-seals probably have a different function from the stamp seals of the Minoan civilization, as they typically have script characters, with still undeciphered associations.
![]() | This article includes a list of general
references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding
inline citations. (December 2011) |
The stamp seal (also impression seal) is a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC ( Halaf culture [1]) and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, prepared clay and sometimes in sealing wax.
The oldest stamp seals were button-shaped objects with primitive ornamental forms chiseled onto them. [2] The stamp seals were replaced in the 4th millennium BC by cylinder seals that had to be rolled over the soft clay to leave an imprint. [1] From the 12th century BC the previous designs were largely abandoned in favor of amphora stamps. [3] Romans introduced their signaculum around the first century BC; [3] Byzantine maintained the tradition in their commercial stamps. [4]
In antiquity the stamp seals were common, largely because they served to authenticate legal documents, such as tax receipts, contracts, wills and decrees. They are extensively researched because[ citation needed] they were usually carved with important " themes" of the society that produced them, rather than with an ordinary signature.[ citation needed]
Different from the Minoan stamp-seals, the Indus stamp-seals probably have a different function from the stamp seals of the Minoan civilization, as they typically have script characters, with still undeciphered associations.