{"id":9382,"date":"2024-05-14T08:12:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T06:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.doliche.uni-muenster.de\/object-types\/seal-impressions\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T09:40:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T07:40:47","slug":"seal-impressions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.doliche.uni-muenster.de\/en\/object-types\/seal-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"Seal Impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over 6,000 burnt lumps of clay have now been found in Doliche, most of which appear inconspicuous at first glance, but are nonetheless special. They are the remains of document closures <\/p>\n\n

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In order to separate the inconspicuous lumps of clay from the surrounding soil, the spoil from the area of the archive building has to be sieved through a damp sieve. Students are at work here, having found thousands of document seals in this way. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Since Hellenistic times, contracts of all kinds have been written on papyrus and parchment. The documents were then folded up and wrapped with a string. This was closed and sealed with a lump of clay. <\/p>\n\n

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The sealing process is shown here. The document was first rolled up\/folded. Then a strip of clay was placed on top (2) and a string was wrapped around the document and the lump of clay (3). The clay was then smoothed out (4) and sealed (5). This protected the contents of the document from unauthorised access. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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More than 25 archives from Hellenistic and Roman antiquity are now known to have been localised on the basis of the document seals found.<\/p>\n\n

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Over 25 archives from the Hellenistic and Roman periods have now been archaeologically documented. It is estimated that around 200,000 document seals have survived. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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The special feature of these finds is that they have mostly only survived because the archives were burnt down. The fire preserved the air-dried seals, similar to ceramic firing, only unintentionally. However, the context was also lost in the fire: the documents were burnt and the archives also went up in flames. <\/p>\n\n

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Hundreds of imprints on Dolichen document seals show the image of a Tyche wearing a mural crown and sitting on a rock. Below her, the personification of a river can be recognised with outstretched arms. This is a common type of depiction of a Tyche, known as the \u2018Tyche of Antioch\u2019. However, the people of Doliche probably adapted the image and used the \u2018Tyche of Doliche\u2019 as their city seal. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Current results<\/strong>The lumps of clay were fired like pottery and thus preserved for posterity. Many of the more than 6,000 document seals from Doliche are sealed. The range of images shows an almost inexhaustible iconographic repertoire. Some of the seals were pressed hundreds of times in clay. In addition to their size, this is a decisive indication that they are official seals. <\/p>\n\n

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The sifting was worth it. Here you can see the seal image of a scorpion with an inscription. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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All the items are currently being recorded in a database, which will soon be made available to scientists and interested members of the public. All the key data on the individual document seals and the impressions on them are recorded there. <\/p>\n\n

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A screenshot of the Easy-DB database, which was created in co-operation with M\u00fcnster University Library and is continuously updated by us.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Among other things, the size, a brief description, the inventory number, the number of impressions, the literature, the dimensions, the impression form, the seal form and the writing medium are documented. The marks on the back of a document seal usually indicate whether the seal was applied to papyrus or parchment. <\/p>\n\n

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All seal impressions are always photographed from the front, from behind and from the side. In the case of the scorpion seal, it can be seen that the writing medium was papyrus. This is revealed by the grooves on the back, which originate from the fibres of the papyrus. The edges of the thread with which the document was wrapped can also be clearly recognised. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

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The size is of particular importance, as the study of Hellenistic and Roman seal impressions from the Mediterranean world has shown that the official seals, i.e. those used by public officials, are often significantly larger than the so-called individual seals. Individual seals are seals that cannot be assigned to an institution, city or official. Incidentally, an official seal can only be clearly recognised if an inscription is included. In Doliche there are two seals with such inscriptions: one shows the goddess Tyche and the other the handshake (Greek: dexiosis<\/em>) between the main deity of Doliche – Iuppiter Dolichenus – and the Roman emperor. In the Greek inscription, the name of the city is written in the genitive case. <\/p>\n\n

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Impressions of a seal with a frontally seated Tyche and the inscription \u0394\u039f\u039b\u0399\u03a7\u0391\u0399 – \u03a9\u039d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Other official seals can be deduced from the number of imprints that have survived, as these were used much more frequently than the individual seals. It can therefore be assumed that at least 20 official seals were used in the Doliche archive. <\/p>\n\n

While these seals clearly stand out from the crowd, the individual seals are more difficult to classify. As the documents have been lost and the associated archives destroyed, we have no clues as to which seal was used for which type of document. We are therefore faced with an almost unbelievable mass of seal images, which have often only survived in one impression. The following applies: there is (almost) nothing that does not exist. We have surviving depictions of portraits, male and female figures, heroes, vessels, masks, goddesses and gods, animals, hybrid creatures and much more. However, the users of the seals remain anonymous. <\/p>\n\n

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Impressions of individual seals on document seals.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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We hope that the detailed documentation in our database will enable us to better categorise the material in the future. In addition, online access will enable colleagues to access this rich iconographic repertoire. The material is also to be presented in printed form as a catalogue, although the material can only be treated cursorily here due to its abundance <\/p>\n\n

Incidentally, among the document seals from Doliche there are also some that have no imprints at all. Apparently, these seals were purely functional and no sealing was required. <\/p>\n\n

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Unsealed document seal with the imprint of a thumb, an index finger and papyrus fibres.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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The same probably applies to the circular imprints on the back of the writing instruments. Who \u2018sealed\u2019 them also remains unclear. However, these seals tell us more about the sealing process than many a beautiful picture. Apparently, the act of sealing was more important than the seal itself. <\/p>\n\n

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Impression of the back of a writing stylus on a document seal<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Expter & Author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Dr. Torben Schreiber<\/strong>Find Processing: Seal ImpressionsUniversity of M\u00fcnster<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Over 6,000 burnt lumps of clay have now been found in Doliche, most of which appear inconspicuous at first glance, but are nonetheless special. They are the remains of document closures Since Hellenistic times, contracts of all kinds have been written on papyrus and parchment. 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