A group of cylinder seals found in Mardin Museum

Seals brought a new breath of fresh air to human life and added a more beautiful meaning to the Neolithic Age. Born in the fertile lands of Asia Minor, these seals gradually became a symbol of power and reliability. The seals, which were used more in Mesopotamia and Anatolia in particular, were also enriched in terms of diversity. While stamp seals were dominant in Anatolia, cylinder seals were dominant in Mesopotamia. Thanks to the Assyrian Trade Colonies, cylinder seals were carried to Anatolia and the peoples in the region shaped them in a unique way. While king/queen and public seals were common in Hittite seals, Urartian seals were influenced by Mesopotamia, Northern Syria and Anatolian seal art, and unique designs were added to the seal art. The Babylonian seals are similar to the Assyrian seal art, but with more fine workmanship. In this study on the cylindrical seals purchased by the Mardin Archaeological Museum, a catalogue of the material was created and evaluated. All of the seal forms analysed are cylinder seals with different subjects in terms of scenes. Iconographic analyses of the scenes and motifs depicted on each seal were made and compared with other publications. The seals in our possession cover a wide range of periods from the Erhanedan Period to the Late Assyrian Period.