[Cylinder Seals]

Cylinder seals were invented around 3500 BCE and came into use with the development of cuneiform writing. The seals retained their popularity through the Akkadian, Assyrian and late Babylonian eras. They were not only a mark of ownership but a form of legal signature to a written document. When the cylinder was rolled across the moist clay, it formed a raised impression and was then sun-baked for preservation. These seals, carried by officials and merchants, indicate how far reaching their trading was.