Cylinder seal excavated at Tell Agrab (Frankfort 1955, Ag.35:793).
Shrine with gatepost symbols below a curved line; above: a face + three rosettes, linked by lines.

The best part?
That oddly friendly face 😄 staring straight back at you.
Not divine distance — but closeness. Almost humor.

🪨 White limestone | 📏 5 × 4.4 cm
Ancient seals had personality. This one still does.

#LookAtThisSeal #CylinderSeal #AncientArt #Archaeology #KISHIBProject

🎉 Fantastic start to the KIŠIB project!
Last week we celebrated our kick-off at the BBAW with inspiring guest speakers, strong interest from colleagues, and a very special highlight: Evelyne Klengel-Brandt.

Following the talks, the reception turned into a great space for discussions about research ideas and future cooperation. The energy in the room was exactly what we hoped for — a collaborative start to a long-term effort. ✨

#KISHIBProject #AncientWestAsia #Seals #Glyptics #Archaeology

🕵️‍♀️ Researchers in Focus
Edith Porada (1912–1994) was a renowned Austrian-American scholar of ancient West Asian art. Her analysis of 1,000+ sealings from Nuzi and her two-volume Corpus of Ancient Near Eastern Seals at the Pierpont Morgan Library refined earlier classifications and set new standards in glyptics. A true pioneer of the field.

See also her centennial volume: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-134606

#ResearchersInFocus #Archaeology #AncientWestAsia #Glyptics #KISHIBProject

🪔 Did you know?
Cylinder seals came in many sizes and colors — from tiny 0.5 cm miniatures to impressive 7 cm examples, often with a 2:1 height-to-diameter ratio.

Most were carved from stones like serpentine, lapis lazuli, or hematite — but not all! Less valuable materials such as shell, bone, quartz ceramic, or even clay (as in burgul seals) were also used, and metal examples are extremely rare.

Small objects, great variety.

#QuickFacts #KISHIBProject #Mesopotamia #AncientArt #CylinderSeal

Yesterday and today the project took part in the DiHMa.Lab Workshop (14–15 October 2025) — a joint event by MaRDI and NFDI4Objects at FU Berlin.

We presented our work on KIŠIB – The Digital Corpus of Ancient West Asian Seals and Sealings, and it was great to see how well digital humanities and research data infrastructures resonate with colleagues from mathematics and the NFDI network.

#KISHIBProject #DigitalHumanities #NFDI4Objects #MaRDI #DiHMaLab

This cylinder seal shows a sacrifice in front of a ziggurat. A priest in a long robe faces right, standing before a censer and a sacrificial table with legs ending in animal feet. On the table lie curved offerings and four dotted elements that mark additional gifts.

🔹 Middle Assyrian period (13th-12th BCE)
🔹 Stone cylinder seal, VA 05362
🔹 Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin
👉 https://id.smb.museum/object/2065364/

#KISHIBProject #mesopotamia #cylinderseal #ziggurat #glyptic

🔧 Tools & Techniques: Modern Seal Impressions

In antiquity, cylinder seals were rolled over clay tablets to secure documents or goods. We still recreate this practice today – but with modern materials. Instead of clay, we use Fimo, a synthetic modeling compound.

The seal is carefully rolled over the soft surface, revealing its full design. Afterwards, the impression is baked 🔥 so it hardens and can be handled and studied safely.

#KISHIBProject #ToolsAndTechniques #SealResearch #Archaeology