Archaeologist unearth a trove of 500 ancient Babylonian treasures

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Reported by Artnet:

While excavating the 19/3 site in Iraq’s Al-Fayadiya district, a team led by archaeologist Quhtan Abbas Hassan Aboud has discovered two dwellings filled with almost 500 artifacts, giving new insight into the lives of its prehistoric residents.

Among the 478 artifacts found during the milestone mission were cylindrical seals, cuneiform tablets, and pottery vessels. The artistry demonstrated in each of the artifacts is a testament to ancient Babylonian visual culture, and is helping researchers to piece together the trajectory of the region’s iconography.

Cuneiform is the earliest form of writing, first used more than 5000 years ago—predating Egyptian hieroglyphics. Writers would press the sides of a reed stylus into a clay tablet to create a series of marks, and these tablets would be enclosed in a corresponding clay case – a precursor of the modern envelope. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that cuneiform was deciphered again after ancient times. These clay tablets are incredibly durable as they can withstand exposure to fire.

Cylindrical seals were used by all members of society—regardless of rank—in ancient Mesopotamia as a method of proving ownership or signing ones name, as on a legal document. The surface of the seal featured a variety of iconographic symbols, identifying the user and leaving an impression of the images onto wet clay when rolled across the surface. Seals were typically around an inch tall and were made from hardy materials, on occasion made from precious stones. High numbers of seals from all ancient Mesopotamian periods survive, and they have helped historians to track aesthetic developments in the region.

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