4 Stories Depicted On 4 Dilmun Seals

4 Stories depicted on 4 Dilmun seals
By e-mail Mahmood Hasan send me some pictures of Dilmun seals.

I examined these seals and here are four of my findings.
Seal number 1
Number 1 a
I think that Oriental seals usually visualize three important data about their owners,
namely:
1. The month in which the owners were created.
2. The month in which they were born.
3. And their fates.
To me these three data are also visualized on the above Dilmun seal.
I start my examination of this seal with this character: it may symbolize

granary:
Published:http://en.finaly.org/index.php/The_earliest_precursor_of_writing
According to the next poem Dilman is known for its grain.

"The city's dwellings are good dwellings. Dilmun's dwellings are good dwellings. Its grains
are little grains, its dates are big dates, its harvests are triple ……, its wood is …… wood.
Name poem: Enki and Ninḫursaĝa: c.1.1.1
Published: The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
1
Nevertheless an are of grain, as depicted on the next imprint, may symbolize a "plant
of live:"
number 2 a
On the left the sun god and the moon god approach a naked goddess. The two “plants
of live” between them symbolize that both deities inseminate this goddess. As a result,
a child is created.
On the left the same goddess is situated between two dogs: the sun god and the moon
god in the constellation Canis Major which indicates April.
In April the goddess gives birth to the created child. April is also indicated by the two
hares which represent the constellation Lepus.
This bird may symbolize the constellation “Wings" which

indicates June. In Egypt the constellations Corvus and Crater were usually known as
the constellation “The Wings”(tm3t).
Published: h ttp://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-19.html
See also:https://www.academia.edu/7117846/Similarities_between_the_Egypt_constellation_Wings_and_Syrian_cylinder_seals
This bird brings down an are of granary which may represent a "plant of life," This
may symbolize that the owner of the seal is created in June.
2
Number 3 a
On cylinder seals the constellation Wings is depicted in various ways.

On the above drawing of a cylinder seal it is depicted as a bird. (The seal
demonstrates that its owner is created in Wings and born in Chariot.)
Number 4 a
On this imprint the constellation Wings is depicted as a fly. The three animals and the
cow leg on top may indicate that the owner of the seal is created in Wings and born
in Aries.
3
This bull demonstrates that the owner of the Dilmun
seal is born in Taurus. And thus he may call himself “A Wild Bull.” He is “born from
a cow” just like Šulgi as we read in one of his praise poems (Šulgi C):
“I am the king, a wild bull of acknowledged strength, a lion with wide-open jaws! I am
Šulgi, a wild bull of acknowledged strength, a lion with wide-open jaws! I am a great storm
let loose from heaven, sending its splendour far and wide! I am good stock, with brindled
body, engendered by a breed-bull! I am a king born from a cow, resting amid butter and
milk! I am the calf of a thick-necked white cow, reared in the cow-pen!”
Number 5 a
On this imprint we can recognize the constellations Wings as well as Taurus.
In June (indicated by the lion below) a winged deity places

the owner, who is depicted as a stag, on earth.
4
The boys depicted above the backs of the two bulls
indicate childbirth in March.
This “life” symbol on the Dilmun seal may emphasize that in Taurus "life" is
given to the owner of the seal.
Published: http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/969.php
This carving may symbolize "bread" as it more or less looks similar to the
next token:
Published: http://en.finaly.org/index.php/The_earliest_precursor_of_writing
It may indicate the fate of the seal's owner: "Be priest: offer bread to the gods." In the
next poem we read that bread offerings existed in Mesopotamia:
"In order to establish bread offerings where none existed, and to pour forth great libations
of alcohol, so as to appease the god of grandeur, Enlil, and to appease merciful Kusu and
Ezina, she will appoint a great en priest, and will appoint a festival; she will appoint a great
en priest of the Land."
Name poem:A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A): c.4.16.1
5
Dilmun seal number 2
Number 1 b
This Dilmun seal may indicate that its owner is created in June and born in March.
The upper scene demonstrates that a deity

brings down two sheep on earth. It may symbolize that a human and his divine sister
are created in June. It was not unusual that gods brought life down on earth: in the
Flood Story the sky god An and the storm god Enlil brought down eternal life:
“More and more animals disembarked onto the earth. Zi-ud-sura the king prostrated
himself before An and Enlil. An and Enlil treated Zi-ud-sura kindly ……, they granted him
life like a god, they brought down to him eternal life.”
Name poem: The Flood Story.
The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
6
Number 2 b
Here is another picture of a deity who brought down live from heaven to earth. And
now we are able to understand why Išme-Dagan wrote that he was born from heaven:
“Išme-Dagan, born for heaven, chosen by the heart -- I am kind like a father, attentive (?)
like a mother. I am a lofty wall, the encouragement of the Land.“
Name poem: praise poem (Išme-Dagan A + V)
Number 3 b
Here a winged goddess brings two rams down on earth symbolizing that he creates
and gives birth to a prince. As this prince is depicted as a ram he may call himself "a
ram" or "a battering ram" just like Išme-Dagan does:
7
“Išme-Dagan, born for heaven, chosen by the heart (-), I am a powerful runner who goes
like the north wind. I am wise …… superior in every respect. I am a belligerent wild bull,
kicking up the dust everywhere; I am a battering ram, ……. I stand in the forefront of the
shields.”
Name poem: A praise poem of Išme-Dagan (Išme-Dagan A + V)
Number 4 b
On this imprint a four-winged bearded Ashur places two sheep down on earth too.
In the Mesopotamia a sheep symbolized a planet. The word ”planet” can be written
in three different ways: dUDU.IDIM, MULUDU.IDIM or MULbi-ib-bu. UDU.IDIM,
Akkadian bibbu in itself means ‘wild sheep’; while fixed stars are a peacefully
pasturing flock, planets as “traveling” stars are wild sheep or even beasts lurking for
sheep.”
(Hommel 1909: 217). http://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol16/planets.pdf
A sheep represents a "traveling" star and thus a prince depicted like a sheep coming
down from heaven may call himself a heavenly star just like Šulgi does in a praise
poem:
"As I am musical, as I am eloquent, I am a heavenly star of steadfastness. It is an awe-
inspiring brow that establishes palaces, just as a peg and a measuring cord are the builders
of cities."
Name poem: A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi B): c.2.4.2.02
The two sheep have different horns. The sheep on the

left has three horns which more or less looks like a vulva. This "vulva" indicates that
this sheep is female, and thus the right sheep is male. In this way the seal
demonstrates that a brother and a sister are brought down from heaven to earth.
On the next imprint the same thing is visualized too:
8
Number 5 b
On this imprint a four-winged Ashur places two different sphinxes or dragons on

earth: Ashur may create a prince as well as a goddess like Inanna. The prince may
have called himself a dragon just like Lipit-Ešt does and Inanna is called a dragon in
the next exaltation:
“Mistress of heaven, with the great diadem, who loves the good headdress befitting the
office of en priestess, who has seized all seven of its divine powers! My lady, you are the
guardian of the great divine powers! You have taken up the divine powers, you have hung
the divine powers from your hand. You have gathered up the divine powers, you have
clasped the divine powers to your breast. Like a dragon you have deposited venom on the
foreign lands.”
Name poem: exaltation to Inana (Inana B)
The prince may be the son of An just like Šu-Suen who says that he is the heroic son
of An:
“God of prosperity born to An and gazed upon by Uraš -- Šu-Suen, like Nanna expert in
judgment, …… before Enlil, from your birth you were a man of might whose name was
proclaimed by Nanna!
Šu-Suen, heroic son of An, beloved of Enlil, head held high in the lapis-lazuli E-kur, given
birth by Uraš, chosen by the heart of Uraš, you have been elevated over all the lands.”
In a hymn Inanna calls herself the daughter of An:

“Then the lady is exultant; the powerful goddess, holy Nungal, praises herself: "An has
determined a fate for me, the lady; I am the daughter of An. Enlil too has provided me with
an eminent fate, for I am his daughter-in-law.”
Name poem: A hymn to Nungal (Nungal A)
Because the prince and Inanna both are the children of An they are brother and
sister and they may become lovers like Inana calls Cu-Suen her brother and they
apparently are lovers as well:
9
9-12. The brother has brought me into his life-giving gaze, Cu-Suen, the ...... handsome
man, has chosen me. ...... my allure is without end,
(-)
18-20. You are our lord, you are our lord, of silver and lapis lazuli, you are our lord. You
are our farmer who brings superb grain.
21-22. He is honey to my eyes, he is the charm of my heart. May the light of life shine for
him, may
Cu-Suen .......
23. It is a balbale of Inana."
Name poem: a balbale to Inana for Cu-Suen (Cu-Suen C
On the Dilmun seal the deity sits on a seat. This seat may
symbolize the "Seat" of the sky god Anu. It represents the constellation Cancer:
Description Given by Mul.Apin, Modern Identification by Hunger/Pingree
mulAL.LUL [Alluttu] The Crab, the seat of dAnu, Cancer
http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-19.html
Number 6 b
On this imprint we see the relationship of the constellation Cancer to the seat. (On
cylinder seals Cancer is always represented by scorpions:)
10
"The Crab, a variant of the Scorpion (Vide Vol. I. 60, 210), is frequently figured in a
somewhat similar manner. It appears in Lajard, M. PI. xxxv. 7 (Sup. p. 32), and liii. 4. In
PI. liii. 3 it is difficult to say whether two Crabs or Scorpions are intended. (As to the Crab
in art, vide Z. sec. iv.)"
Researches into the origin of the primitive constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Babylonians by Robert Brown, Jun.,
f.s.a.
This animal may represent Aries (Ram.)
He has the same three horns which more or less looks like a vulva, and thus
this mythical animal may represent a sheep. It may indicate a goddess like Nisaba
who is called "wild sheep" in a hymn to her:
“Lady coloured like the stars of heaven, {holding} {(3 mss. have
instead:) perfectly endowed with} a lapis-lazuli tablet! Nisaba, great
wild cow born by Urac, wild sheep nourished on good milk among
holy alkaline plants, opening the mouth for seven ...... reeds!”
Name poem: A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A0
This sheep gives birth to the prince and his divine sister in Aries.
Number 7 b
This imprint is more or less similar to the Dilmun seal. The four rams may symbolize
that the owner and his divine sister are created in the constellation Wings and born
in the constellation Aries.
11
Number 1 c
I think that these four rams represent Sirius in March, April, May and June.
⦁ According to F. X. Kugler S.J. the Babylonian goddess Ishtar was identical
to Sirius. He writes that at 3000 BC she lives in the bonds of love with
Tammuz from her heliacal setting, about April 1st, to her heliacal rising
about June 20th,
“According to Kugler p. 244 Sternkunde Ishtar-Sirius lives in the bonds of love
with Tammuz from her heliacal setting, about May 1st, to her heliacal rising about
July 20th, [calculated at 3000 BC, from April 1st to June 20th]. This is exactly the
period of luxuriant vegetation and of animal pairing."
Sumerian and Babylonian psalms by Stephen Langdon, ph. D.
⦁ Besides that: in the Orient as well as in the Mediterranean area people used to
marry in June:
Like in Rome “June is known for the large number of marriages that occur over the
course of the month. According to one etymology, June is named after Juno. She was the
goddess of marriage and a married couple's household, so some consider it good luck to
be married in this month.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June
⦁ As a result many children were born in March.

⦁ These are the two reasons why June and March were indicated on that many
Mediterranean and Oriental seals.
12
Number 2 c
Sirius Sirius Sirius Sirius
Inanna, Ishtar, Ningal and Aya are all goddesses of the Sirius star or goddess of the
constellation Canis Major. On this imprint one of these goddesses is depicted four
times: in March she moves to the sun, in April and May she is "united" with the sun
and June she moves away from the sun again.
Number 3 c
On this imprint we see Ninlil, who is also a Sirius goddesses, in March, April, May
and June.
13
Leo Aries
On the right of this scene Ninlil is depicted as a small girl beneath a ram. This ram
symbolizes the sun in Aries and indicates March. In March Ninlil is still folowing the
sun and she is not jet in conjunction to it.
In the middle Ninlil is twice depicted as an adult woman as in April and May she is in
conjunction to the sun
On the left, Ninlil stands above two small lions symbolizing the sun and the moon in
the Leo. In June Ninlil is moving away from the sun again.
Number 4 c
Once again: on the right of this imprint we see Ninlil in March, April, May and June.
14
June May April March
Here Ninlil is depicted as a girl as well as three adult women.
On the right Ninlil is not yet in conjunction to the sun and thus she is depicted as a
girl.
But in April, May and June she is in conjunction to the sun and now she is depicted
as three adult women.
Number 5 c
Aries Canis Major Leo sheep
On this imprint we see that a goddess is depicted four times as she represents the
goddess of Sirius in March, April, May and June.
On the right, in Leo, she brings a sheep, symbolizing a child, down to earth.
This child is born in Aries which is symbolized by the ram.
15
Number 6 c
sheep Leo sheep Canis Major
Once again, on this imprint a goddess is depicted four times, indicating the goddess
of Sirius in March, April, May and June.
⦁ On the left, in Leo, she brings a sheep down to earth. This symbolizes that a
child is created in June.
⦁ In the middle she brings a sheep down in Canis Major. This symbolizes that a
child is born in Canis Major indicating May.
Number 7 c
A goddess is depicted four times, representing Sirius in March, April, May and June.
16
Number 8 c
On this imprint a naked goddess is depicted four times, indicating Sirius in March,
April, May and June.
The amphora's symbolize the constellation Crater, indicating that the owner of the
seal is created in June. He may have been born in March.
Number 9 c
These two dogs represent the constellation Canis Major probably in March and in
June: in March the goddess of Canis Major moves to the sun and and in June the
goddess moves from the sun. At the same time she brings down and gives birth to the
owner of the seal.
17
Number 9 c
On the backside of the seal four footprints within a four quadrants may symbolize
that Canis Major walks through March, April, May and June.
Number 10 c
On this seal the four quadrants may represent March, April, May and June.
18
Number 10 c
In June a deity places the owner of the seal, who is represented by two rams, down on
earth. These two rams indicate that this owner is born in Aries.
Number 11 c
On this seal the four quadrants may represent March, April, May and June.
19
Number 11 c
In June a deity places the owner of the seal, who is represented by two rams, down on
earth. The owner is born in Aries (March) indicated by the ram on top.
Number 12 c
On this seal the four quadrant may represent March, April, May and June.
20
Number 12 c
On this seal childbirth in March is symbolized by Ama-dug-bad (mother spreading

her legs) another name of Ninmah.
Number 14 c
On this imprint March, April, May and June are indicated by four small scenes.
On top we see the constellation Gemini and Aries indicating April and
March/February.
Below se see the constellation Canis Major and Leo indicating May and June.
21
Number 13 c
On this imprint March, April, May and June are indicated by four pictographs.
The scorpion may symbolize that a child is created in Cancer and childbirth is
symbolized by "Mother spreading her legs." (Cancer is represented by a scorpion:)
somewhat similar manner. It appears in Lajard, M. PI. xxxv. 7 (Sup. p. 32), and liii.
4. In PI. liii. 3 it is difficult to say whether two Crabs or Scorpions are intended."
Researches into the origin of the primitive constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Babylonians by
Robert Brown, Jun., f.s.a.
Number 15 c
On this imprint March, April, May and June are indicated by four pictographs.
22
Number 16 c
On this imprint March, April, May and June are indicated by a ram and three
pictographs.
Number 1 c
And thus these four rams may represent March, April, May and June too.
23
Number 1 d
Although this Dilmun seal shows a rustic scene I think that it indicates that the owner
is created in June and born in March.
Here a deity sits on a seat. This seat may symbolize the "Seat of the
sky god Anu" representing the constellation Cancer and indicating June:
Description Given by Mul.Apin, Modern Identification by Hunger/Pingree
mulAL.LUL [Alluttu] The Crab, the seat of dAnu, Cancer
http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page11-19.html
24
Number 2 d
On this imprint we see that the "Seat of Anu." is related to the constellation Cancer.
(On cylinder seals Cancer is always represented by a scorpion:)
somewhat similar manner. It appears in Lajard, M. PI. xxxv. 7 (Sup. p. 32), and liii. 4. In
PI. liii. 3 it is difficult to say whether two Crabs or Scorpions are intended. (As to the Crab
in art, vide Z. sec. iv.)"
Researches into the origin of the primitive constellations of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Babylonians by Robert Brown, Jun.,
f.s.a.
A scorpion also symbolized "fertility" and thus the scorpion below symbolized that in
the constellation Cancer, indicating June, the seated god created the prince who was
depicted on the left.
A bird symbolized "fate" or "destiny" indicating that the god decided a fate for this
prince: he raised him to shepherdship over the land. The Prince impersonated his
own fate because wearing a shepherd hat he looked like a shepherd.
This palm tree may indicate the creation of the prince, as a palm tree is
a source of life: it is able to bring forth fruits all the time:
“We now have a ritual for a woman who has a difficult delivery (sinnistu la museserta).
Her body is first shaven, she is washed and the prescriptions intend to transmit her problems
to an oven, a palm tree, a pregnant ewe or donkey. She first clings to the oven, extolling its
capacity to be filled, to be burning and to become empty again after the process. “Give me
your capacity to finish without problems and take mine of not able to do so. The palm tree
that is able to bring forth fruits all the time, be they early or late in the season, is asked to
take care of her.”
Published: Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: its Mediterranean setting
25
In the next poem Lu-diĝira even calls his mother "a palm-tree:"
"Let me give you a fifth description of my mother: My mother is a palm-tree, with the
sweetest fragrance. She is a chariot of juniper wood, a sedan chair of boxwood. She is a fine
cloth perfumed with refined oil. She is a bunch of grapes, a garland (?) growing luxuriantly.
She is a phial made from an ostrich egg, overflowing with finest oil. She is a fair woman,
accompanied by a protective goddess ……. She is a woman who will show you compassion
like (?) Aruru, …… born ……."
Name poem: The message of Lu-diĝira to his mother: c.5.5.1
This animal may represent Aries (Ram.) He indicates that the

prince who is created in Cancer is born nine months later in Aries.
This date (?) may symbolize the fate of the prince. It may express that
the prince will have a good dwelling , but it may also express that the prince will be
cherished.
A date may express that a dwelling is a good place to live:

"The city's dwellings are good dwellings. Dilmun's dwellings are good dwellings. Its grains
are little grains, its dates are big dates, its harvests are triple ……, its wood is …… wood."
Name poem: Enki and Ninḫursaĝa: c.1.1.1
26
But it may also express that the prince will be cherished:
"You are as strong as an ildag tree planted by the side of a watercourse. You are a sweet
sight, like a fertile meš tree laden with colourful fruit. You are cherished by Ninegala, like
a date palm of holy Dilmun. You have a pleasant shade, like a sappy cedar growing amid
the cypresses."
Name poem: A praise poem of Šulgi (Šulgi D): c.2.4.2.04
Anyway, a date symbolizes that the prince will have a good live.
Tom van Bakel

Sint Pancras
Nederland
Email: tom.vanbakel@xs4all.nl
Number 1 a
Dilmun seal
Number 3 a
Number 980
Metropolitan Museum
Published: Hayes Ward, Seal Cylinders of Western Asia
Number 2 a
Objekt: Rollsiegel, Magnetit, 22 x 11 mm.
Datierung: 1850-1720.
Herkunft: Nordsyrien.
Sammlung: Fribourg, Sammlung Keel, VR 1993.6; Ex-Sammlung Marcopoli.
Darstellung: A naked frontally facing figure with large ears and a triangular shaped face stands
with folded arms within a vertical linear enclosure [ergänzter Text von Keel/Schroer 2004: Nr.
71: ... die ein Heiligtum andeuten könnten]. A male figure in a short fringed mantle stands raising
one arm on either side of the enclosure. A plant is by each of their feet. In a subsidiary scene is a
similar naked figure squatting on a pedestal under a canopy which it holds over its head. The figure
is flanked by two rampant quadrupeds, (dogs?). Two opposing hares are in the sky above the group.
Linear borders.
Diskussion: [ergänzter Text von Keel/Schroer 2004: Nr. 71: Die Stellung der gespreizten Beine hat
wohl nichts mit Geburt zu tun, sondern ist wie auf Terrakottaplaketten aus dem nördlichen
Babylonien, die ab Hammurabi belegt sind, als primär apotropäische Position zu deuten (Assante
2002: 44-47; vgl. auch Kat. 235)].
Bibliographie: Teissier 1984: no. 537; Christie’s 1993: 149, lot 205:3; Keel-Leu/Teissier 2004:
282, Nr. 318; Keel/Schroer 2004: 116f, Nr. 71.
DatensatzID: 592
Permanenter Link: http://www.bible-orient-museum.ch/bodo/details.php?bomid=592
Number 4 a
British Museum number: 128843
Description; 2 ibex, a gazelle, an animal's leg and a fly cut very precisely in this very hard
stone.
Culture/period: Early Dynastic I
Date: 2800BC
27
Materials: rock crystal
Dimensions: Height: 2.6 centimetres, Diameter: 1.5 centimetres
Number 5 a
Cylinder Seal with a Row of Human Figures above Animals
Date (Period): 1500-1300 BC (Mitannian)
Description: This seal depicts a group of Mitannian deities. A winged male stands between two
bulls and holds aloft a winged disk from which a deity emerges. Two male figures kneel on the
backs of the bulls in adoration. A winged female stands holding small animals, and a male deity
stands on a lion's back. He holds a weapon (possibly a mace) in one hand and a horned animal
in the other; a bird perches on his shoulder. The tradition of representing deities on the backs
of animals came from central Anatolia.
Published: http://art.thewalters.org/viewmedia.aspx?id=4521
Number 1 b
Dilmun seal.
Number 2 b
Picture number 5: 12 Harrison 1962, fig 19 on page 177.
13 Left, mould-made figurine, Susa, Iran 12th century BCE. Right, detail from a
Hittite rock mural at Carchemish. Ornan 2005, detail of fig 88.
Number 3 b
Nude Winged Goddess Holding Two Gazelles; Tree with Bird and Fish, Two Kneeling
Antelopes
Cylinder seal and impression
Northern Mesopotamia, Mitannian period
(ca. 1600 B.C.–1350 B.C.)
Published: http://www.themorgan.org/collections/collectionsEnlarge.asp?id=670
Number 4 b
Neo-Babylonian cylinder seal (625–539 B.C.)
Published: http://educators.mfa.org/objects/detail/52675?classification=Seals&pageSize=100
&page=4
Number 5 b
http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=26741&langue=fr
Neo Assyrian cylinder seal
Number 6 b
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/03/oi/photos.html
Number 7 b
Published: Lands of the Bible, page 132
Number 1 c
Dilmun seal
Registration: no. K16:29:16
Dimentions: Diam. 0.98, height 2.33.
28
Number 2 c
Description; two suppliant goddesses; the small figure of the king with a mace; a suppliant
goddess; a small figure who is naked except for a double belt, who faces left and raises one
hand; a kilted priest, with forehead ornament, holding a frond and facing left; a suppliant
goddess; a small figure who is naked except for a double belt, who faces left and raises one
hand; a kilted priest, with forehead ornament, who raises one hand. In the field in addition to
the small figures already mentioned, are two pairs of human heads (with forehead ornament)
facing left; a ball-and-staff; a pot or drill hole; chipped; highly polished.
Culture: Old Babylonian
Production place Made in: Asia
Materials: quartz magnetite hematite
Technique: polished, drilled (?)
Dimensions: Length: 2.45 centimetres, Diameter: 1.4 centimetres
Condition Fair; chipped.
BM/Big number89551
Registration number1894,0611.55
Number 3 c
Imprint 17: Länder der Bible page 112 number 64 Hämatit Mesopotamien oder Nordsyrien:
Altbabylonische Zeit. ca 1850-1700 v. Chr. 27 x14 mm
Number 4 c
Cylinder seal
Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Babylonian
1894–1595 B.C.
Presentation scene. Divinity wearing horned crown, holding ring and rod, seated on temple-
altar stool on a low platform with recessed panelling. His feet rest on human headed bull
(lamassu). Another human-headed bull in field above. A male suppliant also wearing horned
crown presents the seated god a kid. Three interceding gods behind male suppliant, the one at
right female, depicted in profile, with upraised hands; the one at center male, depicted frontally
with hands clasped against abdomen; the one at left female, also depicted frontally with hands
clasped against abdomen. Field elements: above from left to right, a frontal Lahmu head, a
frontal bearded god head with horned crown, a goddess head in profile, a shaven male head in
profile; below from left to right, a full-sized human figure in smaller scale wearing round cap
and turban (king?), a lion-fish mischwesen, a lion.
Published: http://educators.mfa.org/objects/detail/129328?classification=Seals&pageSize=100
&page=5
Number 5 c
British Museum number1902,0915.5
Description; engraved with two pairs of draped women facing each other; they wear long robes,
alternately flounced or studded down the front, tightly girt at the waist; the first pair holds an
ibex by the horns, above them is an eight-pointed star; they are separated by a sphinx standing
on its hind legs, with a seated lion in the field above above; the second pair of women frame a
rampant lion, a bird flies above their heads; the woman on the right holds an ibex upside down
by the hind legs, disc with crescent above; probably a 'mistress of the animals scene';
perforated for suspension.
Culture/period: Late Cypriot
Date: 1500 BC-1100 BC
Made in: Europe, Cyprus.
29
FindspotFound/Acquired: Moni (?)(Europe,Cyprus,Moni)
Materialshematite
Techniqueperforatedengraved
DimensionsLength: 2.4 centimetresWidth: 1.1 centimetres
Number 6 c
22 (A. 1195). Groupe de quatre personnages long vêtus. L'un d'eux, aux longs cheveux tressés,
au châle orné d'une bande de globes accompagnée de chaque côté d'une suite d'angles formés
par une ligne brisée, tient un bâton dans sa main droite ramenée à la poitrine et avance le bras
gauche, la main fermée, vers un tient également un bâton dans la main droite et de la main
gauche tient par une des pattes postérieures un bouquetin dont la tête pend vers la ligne de
terre, tandis que ses pattes antérieures sont disposées sur une même ligne verticale, l'une en
avant et l'autre en arrière; le second des membres postérieurs est dans la main droite d'un génie
à tête humaineimberbe, coiffée d'un turban à calotteconique d'où descend un appendice en
forme de tresse bouclée, et vêtu d'une robe ornée de bandes horizontales garnies de globes. Ce
génie, dont le buste est de face, a les pieds de profil à gauche et la tête à droite.
D'une main il tient, avec le quatrième personnage, un bouquetinpar les cornes. Ce quatrième
personnage a une tête de bouquetin, est ailé et vêtu d'un châle orné de globes disposés en
bandes isolées; sa tête et ses pieds sont de profil à droite; de la main gauche il tient par les
pattes postérieuresun troisième bouquetin qui retourne la tête. Dans le champ, lion dressé, aigle
en plein vol, couronne de huit globes disposés autour d'un globe central, et un autre symbole en
partie mutilé. Bordures simples.
Hématite. — 25 X 10 mm.
CATALOGUE DES CYLINDRES ORIENTAUX CACHETS ET PIERRES GRAVÉES DU
MUSÉE DU LOUVRE
Number 7
Walters Art Museum
Cylinder seal with Rows of Genii
Date (Period): 1400-1150 BC (late Cypriot)
Cyprus produced cylinder seals only during the late 2nd millennium BC. These seals combine
Syrian and Mesopotamian imagery in a uniquely Cypriot fashion.
In this example, female figures wearing crowns hold long-necked animals in a pose derived
from the Mesopotamian composition called "mistress of animals." The bead-like decoration on
the dresses and the wings are also characteristic of Cypriot seals.
Number 8 c
Description: Greenish-grey steatite Dilmun-type stamp seal with creamy glaze; circular with
convex top; double hole pierced through top; engraved with design on base divided into
quadrants of four seated figures round periphery; section of base broken away.
Period: Dilmun
Findspot: Asia,Iraq,South Iraq,Ur (city - archaic)
Materials: steatite
Technique: pierced glazed engraved
Dimensions: Diameter: 22 millimetresHeight: 11 millimetres
Number 9 c
Susa, stamp seal made from a bitumen compound.
Louvre, MDAI 43, no 1722
Published: Bahrain Through The Ages, number 93
30
By Al_Khalifa
Number 10 c
By Al_Khalifa
Number 11 c
By Al_Khalifa
Number 12 c
By Al_Khalifa
Number 13 c
Material: Serpentine
Dimentions: 27 x 10 mm
Site: Syria
Date: ca. 2900-2700 BC
Published: http://books.google.nl/books?
id=qu7WeaZA3VUC&printsec=frontcover&hl=nl#v=onepage&q&f=true
Number 334
Number 14 c
This imprint of a cylinder seal pictures four different scenes indicating the goddess of Canis
Mayor, the sun god and the moon god in four spring constellations.
Number 15 c
excavation number: Kh. V 156
provenience: Khafaje
dimension(s) (in cm): 3.7 x 1.2
material: black stone with inlays
date: Jemdet Nasr (ca. 3000 - 2800 BC)
description: Geometric pattern: cross, hatched semi-circle, rosette.
Number 16 c
excavation number: Kh. VI 418
provenience: Khafaje
dimension(s) (in cm): 4 x 1.5
material: glazed steatite
date: Jemdet Nasr (ca. 3000 - 2800 BC)
description: Goat between rosettes; geometric motifs.
Number 1d
Dimun seal
31
Number 2 d
Number: 2368
Material: bitumen aggregate
Dimensions: 14 x 22mm
Site: Susa
Style: UTRS (3)
Orig. Class.: NS
Published: The Elamite Cylinder Seal Corpus, number 4
32

4 Stories Depicted On 4 Dilmun Seals

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4 Stories Depicted On 4 Dilmun Seals

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4 Stories depicted on 4 Dilmun seals

By e-mail Mahmood Hasan send me some pictures of Dilmun seals.

I start my examination of this seal with this character: it may symbolize

According to the next poem Dilman is known for its grain.

This bird may symbolize the constellation “Wings" which

On cylinder seals the constellation Wings is depicted in various ways.

On this imprint we can recognize the constellations Wings as well as Taurus.

In June (indicated by the lion below) a winged deity places

The upper scene demonstrates that a deity

The two sheep have different horns. The sheep on the

On this imprint a four-winged Ashur places two different sphinxes or dragons on

In a hymn Inanna calls herself the daughter of An:

This animal may represent Aries (Ram.)

⦁ As a result many children were born in March.

On this seal childbirth in March is symbolized by Ama-dug-bad (mother spreading

This animal may represent Aries (Ram.) He indicates that the

A date may express that a dwelling is a good place to live:

Tom van Bakel

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