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plasticine a mould is made in liquid latex rubber. This is allowed to stand for a couple of days in order to set and then it is immersed in kerosene over night, during which time it swells to approximately twice its original size. From this mould a plaster cast is made and photographed. If a still larger cast is desired, the process may be repeated from this point onward to make a cast approximately four times as large as the original, and the process may be repeated successively to make a cast of any desired size. This method of enlargement brings out details that no enlarged photograph can ever do and it was to illustrate its possibilities that Plate VI was added.

In the measurements of the cylinder seals the first number gives the height and the second the greatest diameter. In the measurements of the stamp seals the first number gives the greatest diameter, the second gives the cross diameter, and the third the thickness or height, except when the seals are circular, in which case the second of the two numbers gives the thickness or height. All the cylinder seals are perforated lengthwise and the others as indicated. For the reading of the inscriptions on the Arab seals (Nos. 70-72) I am indebted to my colleague, Professor F. V. Winnett, and for assistance in identifying the materials of the seals I am indebted to another colleague, Professor E. S. Moore, Head of the Department of Geology in the University.

DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE

I. SEALS OF THE JAMDAT NASR PERIOD (C. 3400 to C. 3000 B.C.):

  1. (D. 1230). Cream marble. Somewhat weathered stamp seal with a domed back, an axial perforation, and a flat circular base. 28 x 11 mm.
    Two long-tailed quadrupeds are arranged back to back, facing in opposite directions.5
  2. (D. 1231) . White marble. Stamp seal with a domed back, an axial perforation, and a flat circular base. 25 x 10 mm.
    Holes of different sizes, seemingly irregularly distributed, were drilled in the base to appear as dots in the seal impression.'
  3. (D. 1226). Sandstone. Stamp seal in the form of a recumbent bull, perforated up and down, with the eyes originally inlaid. 38 x 26 x 21 MM.
    Two long-tailed quadrupeds are arranged side by side with a spouted pot to the right. There is a chip out of the base, defacing one of the animals.5
  4. (D. 1229). White marble. Stamp seal in the form of a recumbent bull, perforated up and down, with the eyes originally inlaid. 47 x 29 x 19 MM.
    The design shows seven double-dots with two or three short lines radiating in different directions from each. The seal was purchased by the present writer from a dealer in Baghdad and was said to have come from Khafajah.
  5. (D. 1227). Arenaceous limestone. Considerably weathered stamp seal in the form
5. Seals 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 were purchased by the present writer from a dealer in Baghdad and were said to have come from Warka.

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Created by the Digital Documentation Center at AUB in collaboration with Al Mashriq of Høgskolen i Østfold, Norway.

981129 PN - Email: hseeden@aub.edu.lb