Cylinder seal with depiction of a ziggurat

Another way of keeping records – developed even before writing and used in parallel with it once it became established – was the seal. At first, seals were simple stamps, but cylinder seals – small stones who securved surfaces were carved with images – soon made their appearance. By rolling one across damp clay one could reproduce pictorial motifs that covered a larger surface and were more narrative in content. The same technique could have been used to produce larger format images, but we have no knowledge of such works for want of surviving examples. Seals could be identified with specific individuals and institutions by means of specific motifs, especially labels, and their impressions on clay tags attached to door fasteners and other objects served to prevent tampering and proclaimed the owner’s power and authority.