Tell Fekheriye Excavation Reports: Volume 1 Middle Assyrian Seal Motifs from Tell Fekheriye (Syria) 9783110691931, 9783110691238

Table of contents :
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting
3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye
4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs
5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions
6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts
7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications
8. Comparision Catalogue
9. Bibliography
10. Arabic Summary

Citation preview

Dominik Bonatz Middle Assyrian Seal Motifs from Tell Fekheriye (Syria)

Tell Fekheriye Excavation Reports

Edited by Dominik Bonatz and Peter V. Bartl

Volume 1

Dominik Bonatz

Middle Assyrian Seal Motifs from Tell Fekheriye (Syria)

with a contribution by Felix Wolter

Printed with support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Information on the project: www.fecheriye.de

ISBN 978-3-11-069123-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-069193-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944113 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover image: Seal impression on a fragment of a clay tablet envelope found during the excavations at Tell Fekheriye in 2009, © Dominik Bonatz. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com

To those who want to live in peace in Raʾs al-ʿAin (ancient Waššukanni)

Table of Contents

VII

Preface

1

1. Introduction

3

2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting

5

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye

9

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs The Middle Assyrian corpus 4.M.As I | Contest scenes 4.M.As Ia | Contests between monsters 4.M.As Ib | Contests between monsters and animals 4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals 4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu 4.M.As Ie | Contests between heroes and animals 4.M.As If | Contests between heroes and monsters 4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes 4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings 4.M.As IIa | Single monsters 4.M.As IIb | Single animals 4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes 4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes 4.M.As IIIa | Palm tree ritual 4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals 4.M.As IV | Others

13 13 13 14 18 20 28 38 41 45 53 53 59 60 64 64 67 74

5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions 5.1 Area C I/II: Middle Assyrian House 1 5.2 Area C I/II: Middle Assyrian street levels 5.3 Area C I/II: Levels prior to the construction of House 1 5.4 Area C III: House 2 5.5 Area D

76 78 80 81 82 82

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and Their Functional Contexts 6.1 Jar sealings 6.2 Sack sealings 6.3 Door peg sealings 6.4 Door bolt sealing 6.5 Basket sealing 6.6 Docket 6.7 Clay tablets and envelopes 6.8 Overview of all objects 6.9 Conclusion

85 87 90 92 93 93 94 94 96 99

VIII

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications 7.1 Seal motifs during the period of Šalmaneser I 7.2 Seal motifs during the Šalmaneser I ‒ Tukulti-Ninurta I transition 7.3 Seal motifs during the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I 7.4 Aftermath 7.5 Table: Chronology of seal motifs

101 102 104 106 108 109

8. Comparision Catalogue

111

9. Bibliography

131

10. Arabic Summary

138

Preface

Preface Scholarly interest in Tell Fekheriye started in the early 20th century, when Max von Oppenheim pursued his excavations at Tell Halaf and visited this nearby site. When Oppenheim returned to Tell Halaf in 1927, he already seems to have reached the conclusion that Tell Fekheriye should be identified as the capital of the Mittani state, Waššukanni (Oppenheim 1931: 60). In the same year, Dietrich Opitz published a note on this suggested identification, for which he collected all the philological evidence available to him (Opitz 1927). In 1929, Oppenheim instructed the architects Felix Langenegger and Hans Lehmann to survey the site and draw up the first topographical plan. Their work was later used as the basis for the topographical map published in the Oriental Institute volume on the American excavations at Tell Fekheriye (McEwan et al. 1958: pl. 87). However, Oppenheim never carried out his own excavations at Tell Fekheriye since his permit was revoked at the outbreak of the Second World War and instead granted to the Oriental Institute of Chicago and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The American excavation started under the direction of Calvin McEwan in 1940, but was pursued for a short time only. Due to a protest lodged by Oppenheim with the Vichy regime in France, the excavation was abruptly stopped at the request of the French mandatory government in Syria and McEwan and his team were forced to leave the site within 24 hours (Kraeling in McEwan et al. 1958: V). Today, 80 years after the sudden interruption of the first excavation at Tell Fekheriye, the investigation of the site continues to be shaken by the same disasters of political interventions and competing interests. Two other archaeological undertakings, one by Anton Moortgat in 1955 and 1956 (Moortgat 1957; idem 1959), the other by Abd al-Masih Bagdo and Alexander Pruß in 2001 (Pruß and Bagdo 2002), were also short-lived. When a new joint Syrian-German project involving the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums and the Freie Universität Berlin as main partners was finally launched in 2005, expectations for a long and successful collaboration were high. However, after four seasons of intensive fieldwork in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, the outbreak of the Syrian civil war once again stopped any activities at the site. Ten years later, the hope to return to Tell Fekheriye has become an even greater illusion because recent events have put it at the center of a new political buffer zone controlled by Turkish military forces.

1 The decision to publish the results of the excavations until 2010 takes into account these unpleasant political developments, which make future investigation unlikely for an indeterminable time. That means that a series of final reports will be presented that have to make several compromises due to the early and unexpected end of the excavation project. This series, titled Tell Fekheriye Excavation Reports, starts with a volume on the Middle Assyrian seal motifs from Tell Fekheriye. It will continue with volumes on the Mittani and Middle Assyrian pottery sequences (by C. Coppini), stratigraphy and building history (by P. Bartl and P. Camatta), burials (by P. Bartl), small finds (by several authors) and texts (by E. Cancik-Kirschbaum). The example of this volume on the Middle Assyrian seal motifs already shows that in theory much more material would have been available if excavation and documentation work had been pursued beyond 2010. Yet it also demonstrates that the collection of data and materials from four seasons of fieldwork presents a very rich and sufficient basis for in-depth, self-contained analysis. The Freie Universität Berlin and the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft (DOG) gave vital support to initiate the project. From 2009 to 2010, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) generously supported the excavation and documentation work and after that the long process of reviewing and preparing the data for publication. Considering the mass of archaeological data associated with the Tell Fekheriye project and all the efforts to collect and process them, there are of course numerous people without whom it would have been impossible to manage such a huge project. Many archaeologists, professionals from adjacent disciplines, students and locals worked hard for its goals. It is impossible to list everyone by their names. For the aim of this book, I would especially like to thank Peter Bartl and Felix Wolter. They have both put enormous effort into the preparation and provision of the relevant data, the excavation plans and the find distribution maps. Furthermore, Felix Wolter finalized the reconstruction drawings of the seal motifs and provided the reconstructions of the sealing methods. His essential contribution to the outcome of this work is documented in chapter 3 of this book.

Preface

2

My colleague Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum kindly gave all the relevant information on the associated inscriptions and texts. I wish to thank Orla Mulholland and Adam Blauhut for the English editing of the text and Ghias Khesly for the translation of the Arabic summary. With regard to the fieldwork in Syria, special thanks go to the Department of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), its former director of excavations, Michel al-Maqdissi, and its representative in Hasseke, Abd al-Masih Bagdo, who was our trusted partner for the whole period. Two other delegates from the DGAM, Elias Abd al- Nour and Fehed Hussen, remained steadfastly and most amicably at our side. From 2006 to 2010, the Slovak Archaeological and Historical Institute (SAHI) was our partner in the field and also provided financial support thanks to the generosity of its sponsor, JUDr. Zoroslav Kollár. The director of SAHI, Drahoslav Hulínek, and his colleagues worked with undaunted enthusiasm for the project and became close friends. Last but not least, the community in Ras al-'Ain and the numerous local workmen in Tell Fekheriye created a sphere of hospitality and friendly support that we will never forget. This book is devoted to the people in Ras al-'Ain who are currently facing a horribly difficult time. It should not be forgotten how much they belong to this countryside, which is their homeland as much as it was for the many different ethnic groups living here through a 10,000-year history.

1. Introduction

1. Introduction Ever since the studies carried out by A. Moortgat (1942; 1944) and Th. Beran (1957), Middle Assyrian seals of the 13th and 12th centuries BC have been viewed as a clearly defined and easily recognizable group in the glyptic art of the ancient Near East. In his 1990 study of the compositional principles of Late Bronze Age glyptic art, D. Matthews proceeded on the assumption that there were 140 seals and 240 seal impressions on clay tablets and clay lumps that were clearly attributable to the Middle Assyrian style (Matthews 1990: 89–114). These numbers were essentially based on the material acquired from the excavations in Assur (Moortgat 1942; idem 1944; Beran 1957), Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta (Fischer 1999; idem 2001), Tell Billa/Šibaniba (Matthews 1991), Tell Rimah/Karana (Parker 1977), Tell Sheikh Hamad/Dūr-Katlimmu (Kühne 1980: nos. 51–52) and Tell Fekheriye (Kantor 1958), but they also include material acquired in the art trade. Thanks to more recent excavations at sites in the western and northwestern areas of the former Middle Assyrian state1 and the on-going publication of seal-bearing clay tablets from the older excavations in Assur,2 a number of new seal finds have been added to this group. As a result, today we have around 560 published seal motifs available for analysis. To this group, the new collection of seal finds from Tell Fekheriye can be added. In total, 50 seal motifs are presented in chapter 4 of this book. They include 16 designs already

1

In the Syrian part of the Jazirah region these include, in particular, Tell Sheikh Hamad/Dūr-Katlimmu (seal impressions on Middle Assyrian texts and clay lumps, Kühne and Röllig 1989; Kühne 1980: nos. 51–52; Kühne 1995); Tell Taban/Tabetu (seal impressions on Middle Assyrian texts, Shibata 2007); Tell Fekheriye/Aššukanni(?) (in this volume); Tell Barri/Kaḫat (cylinder seals, Pecorella 2003: 50, 71–73); Tell Amuda/ Kudišhinaš (seal impressions on Middle Assyrian texts, Machinist 1982: nos. 5, 8, 10); Tell Khuera/Ḫarbe (seal impressions on Middle Assyrian texts, Janisch-Jakob 2009); Tell Sabi Abyad/dunnu (seal impressions on Middle Assyrian texts and clay lumps, Akkermans 1998; Wiggermann 2006). The sites in the Upper Tigris Valley in southeastern Turkey include Ziyaret Tepe/Tušhan (cylinder seal, Matney 2003: 179–180, fig. 4 bottom). Despite the importance of the Middle Assyrian settlement at Giricano/Dunnu-ša-uzibi, typical Middle Assyrian seals have not yet been reported from this site.



The material will again be enriched through seal finds from the recent excavations in Iraqi Kurdistan such as Bassetki (e.g. Pfälzner and Qasim 2018), Muqable III (e.g. Puljitz and Qasim 2018), Bashtepe (Ur 2017) and Satu Qala. The latter site, which is situated at the Lower Zab, already has yielded a fine cylinder seal from the Middle Assyrian period (van Soldt et al. 2013: fig. 15).

2

MARV I – X; Feller 2009; Feller 2019

3 documented from the American excavations in 1940 and published by H. Kantor (1958). Another seal motif is already known from the excavation in Tell Khuera. Therefore, 32 seal motifs are definitively new to our understanding of Middle Assyrian seal art. What are the approaches of such a material overview? First, it is the presentation of new archaeological finds in comparison to previously existing finds. Since the corpus of 50 seal motifs represents a manageable set of data, I decided not to catalogue these items at the end of this book but to discuss them in detail in one chapter, which is consequently placed at the center of this study. This discussion revolves around the style and iconography of the seal images, which provide an important source for the distinct change in conceptions, conventions and perceptions during the peak of the Middle Assyrian period. Hence, every single seal design constitutes a piece of evidence in the development and meaning of Middle Assyrian seal art. Second, the site and its excavation offer an excellent occasion to study the use of seals and the relevance of specific seal motifs in their contemporary sociopolitical and economic context. The material almost completely consists of seal impressions on either cuneiform tablets or clay lumps for different sealing systems. Such material is congruent with the use of seals in daily life. The impression of a seal motif on a clay object, a tablet or a sealing is a casual act, nothing which distinctly changes the function of this object. Yet it leaves an inerasable sign of human agency, a symbol of enactment, even if the object later became fragmented and discarded. Especially in the imagery of Middle Assyrian seals, the power of the seal image, in the practical and virtual sense, should not be underestimated. I am therefore mainly interested in the relation between the specific seal motif or a set of similar motifs and the context of its usage, whether it is the broader historical, institutional or individual context in which its message was inscribed. The chapters that address this question are accordingly grouped around the main chapter on the style and iconography of the seals. Chapter 3, which was prepared by Felix Wolter, also contributes to this approach because it explains the technically demanding methods for reconstructing a seal motif from the puzzle of fragmentary evidence, which the archaeological finds usually leave with us.

1. Introduction

4

Last but not least, it is important to mention what is not included in this study. First, there are tiny fragments of clay lumps with very small traces of seal impressions from Tell Fekheriye. These are not considered here because the focus is on seal impressions, which at least provide an idea of the original seal motif. These objects, together with the clay sealings without seal impressions, will be published in a different volume on the object finds from Tell Fekheriye. Second, the recent excavations brought to light a series of seal impressions from the Mittani period. This material is excluded for two reasons. One is that, for the moment, the study of the Mittani seal motifs would not allow the same contextualizing approach as taken for the Middle Assyrian seal motifs. Unless future excavations provide more information on their find contexts and perhaps also reveal textual evidence for their functional interpretation, the discussion of these seal motifs would not reach the same analytic scope as the Middle Assyrian seal corpus. The second reason concerns the fact that many of the Mittani seal impressions were found during the last season of excavations in 2010. Due to the unplanned interruption of the fieldwork after this season, it was not possible to document this material sufficiently so that it could be prepared for publication.3

3 For a preliminary presentation of selected Mittani seal impressions, see Bonatz 2013: 222–224, fig. 8; idem 2014: 68–71, fig. 8; idem 2015a: 20, fig. 8; idem 2021.

2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting

2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting Tell Fekheriye is situated at the western part of the Khabur headwater region. It lays on the fringe of the Syrian town of Ras al-‘Ain in the middle of the open flatlands that form the northernmost extension of the great Mesopotamian plain. Around 45 km to the south of Tell Fekheriye, the Jebel ‘Abd al-‘Aziz rises to form a natural barrier to the arid zones of the Syrian steppes. The fertile plain stretches to the north, bordered by the Karaça Dağ–Tur Abdin line of hills about 50 km to the northeast. Access to the Anatolian highlands is gained via the plain of Harran and the Şanlıurfa region about 80 km northwest of Tell Fekheriye. In addition to this favorable geographic setting, an important environmental factor for the settlement of Tell Fekheriye is its location at the center of the karst spring area that forms the head of the Khabur River (fig. 2.1). The karst springs of Ras al-‘Ain are among the largest in the world. Their water issues from seven springs immediately to the north and northeast of Tell Fekheriye and a further six springs only one km to the south (Burdon and Safadi 1963, 58, fig. 3). With this richness of surface water and an average precipitation of 400 mm, the area around Ras al-‘Ain/Tell Fekheriye forms a highly fertile landscape with an immense potential for agriculture and stock farming.

The specific environmental situation is reflected in the toponym “Ras al-‘Ain,” which means “head of the spring” and is derived from the Roman-Byzantine “Rhesaina” and the Akkadian rēš ina already mentioned in the annals of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II (911–891 BC). The Assyrian king reports that on his fifth campaign in the land of Ḫanigalbat, he received the tribute of Abi-salāmu of Bīt-Baḫiani in “Sikāni at the head of the spring of the Khabur (Sikāni ša rēš ina Hābūr).”1 During most parts of the Late Bronze Age, the Khabur headwater region formed the heartland of the Mittani kingdom, which the Assyrians later called the “Land of Ḫanigalbat.” Having been a vassal of the Mittani kings for over one century, Assyria regained its independence under king Aššur-uballit I (1353–1318 BC).2 During his reign, the Mittani king Šuttarna entered an alliance with the Assyrians in order to attack his rival for the throne, Šattiwaza, who had found refuge at the Hittite court.

1 RIMA 2: 153, A.0.99.2.101–102. On the basis of the inscription on the Hadad Yis’i statue found at Tell Fekheriye, the site can be identified as Sikāni 2 Absolute dates follow the low chronology, which takes account of the ten-year shortened reign of Aššur-dan I (see Boese and Wilhelm 1979).

Fig. 2.1 | Aerial view of the Ras el-‘Ain /Tell Fekheriye area with the headwater of the Khabur, based on a Corona satellite image from the 1960s. Note that the digital elevation of the landscape is slightly exaggerated in order to stress the geographical features. The dotted line indicates the outlines of the Tell Fekheriye site.

5

2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting

In any case, by the time of Šalmaneser I, a list of districts (pāḫutu and ḫalsu) existed, which prove that the Assyrians had started to integrate the western territories into their state (Llop 2012: 92; Koliński 2015: 11).

6

Fig. 2.2 | Aerial view of the excavated area at the western slope of the main mound (Trench C I-IV).

The battle between the two opponents apparently never took place, but it can be surmised from textual sources that the Hittite and Assyrian armies were operating in the western Khabur Triangle region (Bonatz 2014: 72 with references). In any case, the previous Assyrian engagement in the Šuttarna-Šattiwaza affair would accordingly have been a signal for the forthcoming expansion, which therefore can be understood as an enterprise that was not ad hoc. The conquest of the territories in the Khabur region started in the later part of Adad-nirari’s I reign (1295–1264 BC). He is the first Assyrian king who claimed to have destroyed (around 1270 BC) the cities of Mittani from Taidu to Irrite, including Waššukanni (RIMA1, 131, A.0.76.1.8–11; 136, A.0.76.3.26–37, see also Llop 2012: 91–92). It is possible that in this time the standard Assyrian political phraseology overstates the extent of destruction caused by Adad-nirari’s campaign. In the beginning, the Assyrian king may have tried to impose a system of tribute over the Mittani rump state cities (Jakob 2015: 177), which initially was not very effective, because Šalmaneser I (1263–1234 BC), Adad-nirari’s son and successor, felt compelled to recapture the cities from Taidu to Irrite (RIMA1, 184, A.0.77.1.81– 85). The list of subdued Mittani cities mentioned by Šalmaneser is not as long as that of his father. For example, Kaḫat (Tell Barri), Nabula (Girnavaz) and Waššukanni are missing from this list. Does this mean that these cities were no longer among the rebels and had already been successfully integrated into the state?

The toponym Waššukanni, i.e. the pāḫutu Uššukannu, is crucial in this historical context, first because it is considered the capital of the Mittani kingdom, and second because its identification with Tell Fekheriye has been a long-discussed issue since it was brought up by D. Opitz (1927) and M. F. von Oppenheim (1931: 60). Further arguments for this identification were pointed out during the following decades (see Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 33–35; Jakob 2003: 291; Bonatz 2013: 210–212; idem 2014: 77–79; idem forthcoming; Tenu 2015: 77). The petrochemical analysis of the letters that king Tušratta had sent to Amenhotep III in Egypt revealed that the clay from which these tablets were made came from the region of Tell Fekheriye/Ras al-‘Ain (Goren, Finkelstein and Na’aman 2004: 38–44). Furthermore, the petrochemical analysis of clay samples from five Middle Assyrian tablets and one sample of clay raw material found during the 2010 excavations in Tell Fekheriye yielded results that roughly correspond to those from the clay paste of ceramic samples that were analyzed to provide the comparable data for the Amarna, i.e. Tušratta, tablets (see chapter 6, table. 6.1). Hence, it seems that locally produced clay objects from Tell Fekheriye were made from essentially the same clay resources as those used to make the Tušratta letters. The excavations at Tell Fekheriye, in particular, have brought to light evidence of a major Middle Assyrian settlement that replaced the previous existing Mittani period settlement (fig. 2.2). Text and seal finds, which will be discussed in the following chapters, testify to state and private economic and administrative activities. Especially the texts provide a picture of a provincial capital, a position which was assigned to Waššukanni during the reign of Šalmaneser I (MARV 7: 13.93; MARV 8: 13). Yet none of the documents from Tell Fekheriye provide a definite clue as to the ancient name of the site in the Mittani and Middle Assyrian period. Therefore, we have to leave the possible identification with Waššukanni/ Aššukanni/Uššukanni aside for the moment and focus on the geopolitical context in which the site’s historical importance emerges. As an Assyrian outpost at the head of the Khabur, it first must have served as the designated administrative center for a large agricultural hinterland.

2. Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur Headwater Region: The Geographic and Historical Setting

The distribution of vast amounts of grain, mentioned in the ration lists found during the 2009 and 2010 excavations (Bonatz 2014: 73–75), obviously served to stabilize the activities of a peasant community that exploited the cultivable land along the Khabur. The agrarian expansion was spearheaded by the dunnu system of fortified agricultural production centers, which may have been modeled on the dimtu system already established in the Old Babylonian period (Koliński 2001: 32; idem 2015: 14). The high productivity of such a dunnu is well documented in the Middle Assyrian archive from Tell Sabi Abyad on the northern Balikh, which dates to the later reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Wiggermann 2000). In order to organize and protect an efficient system of land tenure, it was important to have a strong base of economic and political control. For this reason, the second function of Tell Fekheriye would have been to coordinate regional communication and its links to the Assyrian capital, Assur. It can therefore be assumed that Tell Fekheriye served as the starting point for military operations and colonization projects directed toward the valley to the west and the Anatolian mountains to the north. Despite the fact that the Assyrians also penetrated north of the Kašiyari mountains (i.e. the Tur Abdin) and into the upper Tigris region (Radner 2004: 72–73), the area around Tell Fekheriye remained the actual border region of the Assyrian territorial state (Cancik-Kirschbaum 2000: 5–8). By the time of Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233–1198), the conquered territories in the west seemed to have been fully integrated into the Middle Assyrian state (Llop 2011; idem 2012). Assyrian territorial control reached as far as the Balikh area, where the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad was in the possession of the grand vizier of the Middle Assyrian empire, first Aššur-iddin, then Šulmanu-mušabši and finally Ilī-pada (Akkermans and Wiggermann 2015: 89). However, it would be a fallacy to assert that the Assyrian hegemony led to the complete control of this vast territory, which in fact still offered niches, the steppes and bordering mountain regions, for indigenous and sporadically hostile population groups, especially pastoralists and semi-nomadic tribes such as the Suteans and Suheans. Some scholars have therefore argued for a “network empire” (Liverani 1988) or a system of satellite sites, which only exercised control over farming land and communication routes while the periphery remained unannexed (Tenu 2009: 233–43; Brown 2014: 87–90; D’Agostino 2015: 39–41).

It seems that during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I and also during the first decades after his death, the western provinces had a semi-independent status (Llop 2012: 96, Akkermans and Wiggermann 2015: 117–121). They were more or less regularly sending the gina’u offers to the temple in Assur, but their chief administrators, the “Grand Viziers” (sukkallu rabi’u) and “Kings of the Land of Ḫanigalbat” (šar māt Ḫanigalbat), and their stewards demonstrated a high degree of autonomy and self-responsible governance. They spent most of their time in the provinces, where they resided as governors in provincial capitals such as Aššur-iddin in Dūr-Katlimmu at the Lower Khabur (Kühne 2015: 64) but also had their private properties with large agrarian estates such as the aforementioned dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad. Bonds to the capital were nevertheless strong because most of the high-ranking Assyrian figures in the west descended from the royal family (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1999). The society on which this semi-peripheral state apparatus was built consisted of Assyrians from the heartland around Assur, who were considered free-born “villagers” (ālāju), and of unfree serfs (šiluhlu), who were mostly of Hurrian origin and recruited from the conquered territories (Harrak 1987: 195–205; Akkermans and Wiggermann 2015: 119). In addition, foreign population groups such as the Kassites from Babylonia and Elamites were imported because the lack of labor and military forces represented a constant problem for the maintenance of hegemonic practice (e.g. Jakob 2005: 183–185; idem 2009: 17–18; Koliński 2015: 11). It is clear that in such a diverse socio-political environment Assyrians and especially their officials constituted an elite with a strong Assyrian identity. The materializations of Assyrian hegemony practices in the west such as the standardized Assyrian pottery production transferred by itinerant potters (Duistermaat 2015) demonstrate how even the objects of daily life contributed to the preservation of cultural identity.3 The seals that are the focus of this book necessarily have to be viewed in the same context. They appear and enact in an environment that only gradually became the homeland of Assyrian colonists. Therefore, they should be analyzed not only as instruments of daily administrative practices but also as images evoking the individual connotations of their owners and users in a particular sphere of social, political and cultural interaction. 3

In this respect, K. Duistermaat also makes the important observations that in the case of the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad, local pottery production in the neighborhood of the dunnu did not cease (Duistermaat 2015: 143–144). Hence on a certain level there were interactions between people using ceramics from different traditions, which would further have fostered the perception of different identities.

7

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye (by Felix Wolter)

9

3.1 Objects with seal impressions In total, the excavations in Tell Fekheriye yielded 690 objects which could be potential bearers of seal motifs. This corpus consists of diff erent types of sealings (583), cuneiform tablets (86) and their envelopes (21). Furthermore, several other objects such as amulets, pottery and other clay objects could theoretically bear impressions of seals, but these were not present in the Fekheriye corpus. A few other objects such as three cylinder seals, two stamp seals and one intaglio are part of the complete corpus of seal motif bearers. All aforementioned objects were carefully investigated for traces of seal impressions, both during the fi eld campaigns and aft erward during the process of motif identifi cation and reconstruction. Of the 583 sealings, 309 objects– or 53 percent – featured one or several seal impressions (see fi g. 3.1). The high ratio of sealings with impressions might be due to the fact that amorphous clay lumps without traces of rope or seal impressions might have been overseen or discarded during excavation. The clay tablets and clay tablet envelopes showed preserved seal impressions on 14 of the 107 objects collected. Due to the fragmented state of most of the aforementioned objects and the technique of impression, the reconstruction of the complete seal motif was only possible by informed additions based on close motif comparisons.

3.2 Extraction of seal motifs All objects with impressions were compiled in an object catalogue. The objects’ drawings and photographs were scaled (1:1) and all fragmented motifs were extracted digitally for comparison purposes. Each extracted motif fragment was compared to all other pieces from the site to enable the reconstruction of the original scene. Furthermore, 57 already published seals and seal impressions, including Mittani and Middle Assyrian items, from the older excavations at Tell Fekheriye (Kantor 1958:69–85) were incorporated into the comparison process. In six cases, motifs from the older excavations could be amended with new details (see M.As 1, 5, 6, 24 and 47). In total, 50 singular seal motifs were cataloged, reconstructed in many cases from several impressions on up to 60 objects (M.As 1). In the present volume, only the motifs dating to the Middle Assyrian period are included, consisting of 33 new motifs, 13 already published motifs (Kantor 1958) and four motifs that have added additional elements to already published motifs (see fi g. 3.2).

Sealings 309:583 (53%) Tablets 2:86 (2%) Envelopes 12:21 (57%) Other 6:6 0

200

100

300

400

500

600

Fig. 3.1 | Main categories of objects with seal motifs Motif 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

S

x 60

S

x4

TI TE TI S

S

S

S

S

S

OB

EI TI S

S

TI

EI

S

EI S

S

S

S

EI

S

S

S

S

S

S

EI S

S

S S S S S

S

S S

S

S

Motif 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

S

Sealing with Seal Impression

TI

Clay Tablet with Seal Impression

EI

Clay Tablet Envelope with Seal Impression

CY

Cylinder Seal

Fig. 3.2 |

S

S

S

EI S TE EI S S EI S

S

S S

S

S

S

S

S

TI S S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

CY S S S S S

S

S

S

S

S

S S S

McEwan 1940

Count of objects representing the M.As-motifs

Fig. 3.3 | Examples of extracted seal impressions

Scale 1:2

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye

10

3.3 Documentation of seal motifs Aft er all the impressions were assigned to a motif, the detailed reconstruction of the original seal was carried out. Due to the fact that the fi eld research in Tell Fekheriye was stopped in 2010 by the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the documentation of the objects varies. A system of symbols was established to point out the original documentation, which was consulted for the creation of the fi nal reconstruction. The symbols are used throughout this publication and have the following meaning:

Description 263:329 (80%) Photography 203:329 (62%) Drawing 163:329 (49%) Restauration 128:329 (39%) Survey 140:329 (43%) 0

Fig. 3.4 |





Description | The object was described in the fi eld, and the measurements and weight of the object were recorded. The motif visible on the object and possible joints were described. Photography | Detailed macro images were created. In addition, some of the objects were photographed aft er the application of ammonium chloride to enhance the re- production of details in photographs. Drawing | A detailed pencil drawing (1:1) was created, and recto, verso and cross sections of the object were drawn.1 Restoration | The object underwent conservation. These objects were consolidated in most cases by the application of Mowital B30H (5% in ethanol). Survey | This symbol indicates whether the object was measured when it was found during the excavation. Vectorization | The object was incorporated into the fi nal vector reconstruction of the seal motif.

50

100%

State of documentation for all objects with seal impression

Description 115:115 (100%) Photography 105:115 (91%) Drawing 93:115 (81%) Restauration 42:115 (37%) Survey 38:115 (33%) 0

50

100%

Fig. 3.5 | State of documentation for the M.As-objects

Most prominent objects were documented with a high degree of detail and precision with both high-resolution photographs and exact hand drawings (121/329). Some objects were documented only by photograph (82/329) or only by drawing (15/329). In 111 cases, the impression was only mentioned in the object’s description, but no imagery exists that could allow a reconstruction of the original motif.

Fig. 3.6 | TF-7477 with ammonium chloride

The sealings from the older excavations at Tell Fekheriye were mainly published by Kantor ( ) in McEwan 1958. Furthermore, new photographs of selected objects – taken by Dominik Bonatz during a visit to the Oriental Institute in Chicago in 2007 – were incorporated into the original documentation corpus. In a few cases, the high-resolution images from the Oriental Institute’s online catalogue were used for investigations of the motifs’ details.

Illustrations of comparisons were collected from the original publications, and several images were digitized by Arnika Keßeler. In a few cases from Assur, the motifs were redrawn by the author aft er investigation of the original objects in the collection of the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin. Many comparison illustrations stem from the PhD thesis of Barbara Feller and are published with permission of the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.

1

Most of the objects were drawn by Ahmed Abdullah ( ), the small fi nd and glyptic illustrator for the campaigns between 2006 and 2010.

M.As 7 | Scale 2:3 /4:1

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye

3.4 Reconstruction of seal motifs

Mtvno. 23

At this point, joins with objects from older excavations at Tell Fekheriye (M.As 1, 5, 6, 24 and 47) and other sites (M.As I → Tell Sheikh Hamad, M.As 14 → Tell Khuera) were also integrated into the fi nal reconstruction drawings. Several objects from the American excavations were redrawn and enhanced through use of the new, more detailed photographs (M.As 2, 8, 26, 38 and 42). Aft er the pencil reconstruction was fi nished, the drawings of all motifs were digitized and stipple shading was added. This standardized depiction of all motifs gives the illustrations a uniform appearance. Furthermore, the source and degree of documentation is visible in the fi nal reconstructed motif illustration: solid lines and stippled representations indicate that the depicted elements were verifi ed by macro photographs of the object. Motif elements or drawings without stipple shading were reconstructed solely on the basis of the fi eld drawings. Dashed lines indicate that the motif is only slightly visible on the original object, but reconstruction seems plausible. A gray background and a white accentuation of the scene were also used to indicate preservation of the motif. When parts of the seal are represented only in white, without outlines, parts of the motif were added by a join from a site other than Tell Fekheriye – or through a very close comparison with the Fekheriye corpus itself.

11

C-1199_TF07477_096

The fi nal reconstruction of the seal motifs was carried out in close coordination with the editor Dominik Bonatz. Each motif was carefully reconstructed taking all of the available documentation into account – i.e. photographs, drawings and descriptions. Aft er all, the joints of the motif were observed, either on one object or on several objects, a new pencil drawing was created on a scale of 4:1. Joins were integrated by overlapping common elements through the techniques of photographic merging or hand drawing. The photographs were processed digitally – modifying contrast and reducing perspective distortion and/or rectifying the image. Following this step, the diff erent elements of the motif were separated and evaluated in order to choose which part of the completed motif could be extracted from which source. Here a rectifi ed view of the surface in question was necessary in order to provide a distortion-free drawing. The drawing scale of 4:1 was chosen so as to be able to depict all of the details of the original motif in the reconstruction.

1cm

Mtvno. 23 C-1199_TF07477_111 Mtvno. 23

1cm

C-1199_TF07477_094

1cm

Fig. 3.7 | Motif impressions from different sides of TF-7477

Fig. 3.8 | Original pencil drawing of M.As 7

Fig. 3.9 | Final vector drawing of M.As 7

M.As 7 Scale 1:1

Scale 1:1 Detail Scale 4:1

Scale 1:1 Detail Scale 4:1

3. The Reconstruction of the Seal Motifs of Tell Fekheriye

12

Fekheriye Originals

Join with F204 from McEwan 1940

Comparision 12: Duplicate from Assur Pencil drawing

Fig. 3.10 | Reconstruction process of M.As 6

Final Scale 1:1 Process Scale 1:2

Fekheriye Originals Pencil drawing

Fig. 3.11 | Reconstruction process of M.As 40

Fekheriye Originals

Final Scale 1:1 Process Scale 4:1 / 1.5:1

Join with F163 and F306 (Motif XXVI) from McEwan 1940

Pencil drawing

Fig. 3.12 | Reconstruction process of M.As 5

Final Scale 1:1 Process Scale 4:1

Pencil drawing Fekheriye Originals

Fig. 3.13 | Reconstruction process of a Mittani seal motif | TF-10101, TF-10106

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs In the following chapter, the style and iconography of the Middle Assyrian seal motifs attested in Tell Fekheriye are described and discussed. The approach goes beyond a catalogue with only formal observations and descriptions but also offers short discussions on the iconographic subject of the seal motifs and their comparisons from other places. In order to achieve a complete picture, the bulk of the seal motifs documented during the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye in 1940 and later published by H. Kantor (1958) are added to this study. This review of the older material in the context of the recent finds is firmly justified as it comes from the same area of the American excavation, i.e. Sounding VI, in which excavations were resumed in 2006.1

For the Middle Assyrian period the motif groups are “contest scenes” (M.As I), subgrouped into “contests between monsters” (M.As Ia), “contests between monsters and animals” (M.As Ib), “contests between animals” (M.As. Ic), “contest scenes including laḫmu” (M.As Id), “contests between heroes and animals” (M.As Ie), “contests between heroes and monsters” (M.As If ) and “unspecified contest scenes” (M.As Ig); “monsters and animals in peaceful settings” (M.As II), subgrouped into “single monsters” (M.As IIa), “single animals” (M.As. IIb), and “tree and animal scenes” (M.As IIc); “ritual scenes” (M.As III), sub- grouped into “palm-tree ritual” (M.As IIIa) and “worshipping and offering rituals” (M.As IIIb); and others (M.As IV).

The total number of seal motifs presented here is 50 for the Middle Assyrian period. As described further in detail in chapter 6, the impressions mostly are found on clay lumps attached to different containers and to door pegs, clay tablets and clay envelopes for tablets. Only one cylinder seal adds to this study.

The comparisons from other sites or the antiquity market are discussed and reproduced in relevance to each seal motif. The complete list of comparisons is annexed at the end of this book.

This chapter deals with the imagery of the seals. Hence, only seal motifs, which could have been reconstructed completely or partly, are included in the discussion. Clay sealings with only minor remains of seal impressions or without seal impressions are presented separately in the volume on the object finds. The seals are arranged and classified by their motifs. Similar motifs are assigned to a motif group labeled M.As I, M.As II etc. The classification follows thematic and not compositional criteria, meaning for example that seals may be grouped under the definition “contest scene” but not under the definition “triangular format.”

1

For the stratigraphy and find contexts, see chapter 5.

The Middle Assyrian corpus 4.M.As I | Contest scenes The most popular theme in Middle Assyrian seal art is the contest between two opponents representing heroes, monsters2 or animals. Real humans are excluded from this dynamic and violent imagery, which alludes to dualistic cosmic and natural forces. Political implications that may be gleaned from these scenes will be discussed in chapter 7. In Tell Fekheriye, as in other Middle Assyrian sites, they represent the greatest number of single motifs, forming one large group subdivided into five sub-groups and one group of unspecified motifs.

2

The RlA gives the following theological definition of monsters: “The monsters belong to a class of supernatural beings that are neither gods nor demons. They do not occur in god lists, are supplied with the divine determinative only sporadically, and generally do not wear the horned crown of divinity” (Wiggermann 1993–1997: 231). The term "monster" for mostly hybrid creatures combining zoomorphic and anthropomorphic elements (with the exception of the human-like laḫmu, see below) corresponds to the German term "Mischwesen". It is used rather than the term "demon" because the latter could be confused with evil spirits or demons of disease.

13

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

14

M.As 1 L

4.9

H

4.0

1.6 cm

SEAL OWNER

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

McE 11

249

A 344 31

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

McE 11

267

A 344 32

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

McE 11

306

A 344 33

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

McE 11

306

N/A

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

Aššur-iddin DATE

Mid-13th century (> TN I, first half of his reign) DUPLICATE

Tell Sheikh Hamad (unpublished) PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 73–74, pl. 71.XI, pl. 75.96 Bartl/Bonatz 2013: 271–271, Fig. 3 (drawing) Bonatz 2014: 78–79, Fig. 12A (drawing)

M.As 1

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.1 | Objects of the American excavations featuring M.As 1

4.M.As Ia | Contests between monsters | Motif M.As 1 This is the most numerous motif attested in the corpus. It appears on 60 fragments of clay lumps that were used to seal jars and sacks (see Tab. 4.2 and chapter 6). In addition, four pieces of the same motif are documented from the American excavations at Tell Fekheriye (see Tab 4.1). No seal impression has preserved the complete motif but due to the numerous fragments, a nearly complete reconstruction of the original design is possible. A rampant winged lion with human head on the left faces a winged bull on the right side of the scene. The bodies of the creatures are diagonally erect on their hindlegs, thus forming a triangle on the base of which a small reclining winged bull fi lls the space. The outstretched forelegs of the monsters intertwine in such a way that the paws of the human-headed winged lion grasp over the slightly bent legs of the winged bull. This gives the impression that the human-headed monster is dominating its opponent. The balanced composition and detailed elaboration make this representation among the fi nest pieces of seal design in the Tell Fekheriye corpus. The human-headed lion has two wings, one pointing upwards, the other hanging down. The bulls are rendered with only one upright wing. The second, parallel wing is not visible due to the strict profi le rendering, as is the case also for the single horn of the bulls which sticks out frontally from the forehead (thus creating a unicorn effect). The wings of the monsters have two arrays of feathers, one with long, the other with short feathers. In the original of the seal impression, the feathers protrude sharply from the seal-ground. The same sculptural and elegantly dainty eff ect

is created by the large single curls that run along the neck, belly, back and tail of the standing winged bull. Single curls also protrude from the knee joints, the lower underside of the belly and the short tail. The belly of the lion torso has a single row of fl at curls. Two thick lines with two short lines hanging down at a right angle run around its hips; this pattern resembles a belt with knot and could perhaps be regarded as giving a human attribute to this monster. Its human face has a long beard and long strands of hair hang far down the neck. The head is crowned with a horned cap, a clear indication of the semi-divine character of this monster.

The triangular combat between monsters and animals is typical of the “mature” Middle Assyrian seal style during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233–1198 BC) (Matthews 1990: 101–103). An earlier version of this motif can be seen on the seal impression on a document (a receipt) from Assur (VAT 19851), which by its eponym Aššur-šad-nišešu can be dated between the late reign of Adad-nirari I (1295–1264 BC) and the early reign of Šalmaneser I (1263–1234 BC) (see Feller 2009: VAT-no. 19851, seal-no. 901). In that scene, two antithetic winged lion-demons form a triangle over a goat with backturned head lying at their feet. Over the head of the goat a so-called Maltese cross is placed. A palm tree borders the scene.1 In the later and then much more popular version of this motif, additional elements such as the Maltese cross and the palm tree are omitted, thus focusing the visual message on the actors of the scene.

1

On further experiments in triangular composition see Matthews 1990: 90.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

15

Comparison 1

Scale 1:2

Comparison 2

Scale 1:2

Comparison 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison 7

Scale 1:2

Comparison 9

Scale 1:2

Comparison 11

Scale 1:2

Comparison 14

Scale 1:2

Comparison 17

Scale 1:2

However, the range of various monsters and animals and, rarely, heroes in combat is broad, for which reason every seal in this group is an unicum (see also Matthews 1990: 102). The seal motif M.As 1 from Tell Fekheriye is a typical example of the monster contest scene group (M.As I). Strictly, the comparisons nos. 2, 4, 7, 9, 11 and 17 are also related to this group, but this is only due to the fact that they too represent contests between two monsters. The overall compositional principle of all these pieces is the variation of diff erent types and monsters within a triangular composition.2 Matthews (1990: 101) describes it as the generative principle of triangular combats during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta. Aside from this shared conceptual approach, the motif M.As 1 is distinct from the other seals in this group because it is the only one that combines a rampant winged and human-headed lion with a rampant winged bull. The two fantastic creatures can be considered separately as independent iconographic themes. The winged bull occurs not only as rampant monster in the triangular compositions (comparison nos. 4, 7, 14, 17?) but also in the same position as adversary of a fi ghting hero (Feller 2009: seal nos. 159, 722, 971, all from Assur). A hero may also attack a striding winged bull with one hindleg stretched upward (Feller 2009: seal no. 774). On a seal impression from Tell Billa, a winged bull stands on all four legs between two heroes, at least one of whom is grasping its horn (Matthews 1991: nos. 15–16). On a seal impression from Assur the winged bull strides towards a winged sun-disc (Feller 2009: seal no. 668).

2

See also the variation of this motif on a seal impression on a door sealing from Tell Sabi Abyad, which shows the combat between a lion and a winged griffi n monster. A small animal (a calf?) is recumbent on the ground (Akkermanns and Wiggermann 2015: fi g. 6.26, no. 3). Building level 5, from which this fi nd comes, date the seal to the fi rst decades of the 12th century BC.

The small recumbent winged bull is attested only on the seal motif M.As 1. However, as most of the recumbent animals in the triangular compositions cannot be identifi ed with certainty, this miniature version of the winged bull may well have occurred as a fi lling motif on other seals. Like the other small-sized animals on the ground, it is not involved in the combat nor do the main contestants show any interest in it. In general, however, the winged bull is represented as an aggressive monster which is going to be vanquished by its opponent (a hero or another type of monster). The winged human-headed lion3, occasionally designated as sphinx (e.g. Feller 2009), has no parallels in triangular compositions. However, it occurs as a striding or rampant monster facing a hero (comparison no. 50, Feller 2009: seal no. 848), a scorpion-man (Matthews 1990: no. 368) or a rampant lioness (comparison no. 22). It can also be depicted as a single monster striding (Feller 2009: seal nos. 291, 749) or galloping with single upturned hindleg (Feller 2009: seal no. 678). On the cylinder seal BM 134305 (Matthews 1991: fi g. j), a rampant winged lion with a male bearded head stands at right on a stylized tree, on the other side of which stands a bearded man with pointed cap. The monster wears a horned cap, the same as in M.As 1). A long beard and a horned cap are also worn by the monsters in the cited examples from Assur (Feller 2009: seal nos. 678, 714, 749), making these pieces, together with BM 134305, the iconographically closest parallels to the human-headed monster on M.As 1. Considering the whole composition, another motif appears remarkably similar. On comparison no. 7 a winged centaur with bearded head is depicted on the left side of the triangular composition.

3

A forerunner of the winged human-headed lion sculptures in Neo-Assyrian palaces that are called aladlammu and šēdu-lamassu (compare the discussion under M.As 16).

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

16

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3809 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

—

C-78

TF-1314 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3259 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3128 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3260 Clay Sealings (jar/sack) with — 3270 Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3823 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3129 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3271 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3825 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3158 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

B-MAG IV

C-255 TF-3664 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3826 Clay Sealings (jar) with — 3827 Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3159 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3747 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3832 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3164 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3763 Clay Sealings (jar) with — 3764 Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3835 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3165 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3766 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3839 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3172 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3767 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3844 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3173 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3771 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3846 Clay Sealings with — 3848 Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3174 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3793 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3851 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3176 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-916 TF-3794 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3852 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3178 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3792 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3875 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3179 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3797 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3877

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3257 Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3806 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3888 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH R8

C-145 TF-3258 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

MAH C2

C-926 TF-3807 Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

—

C1285

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

TF-7746 Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.2 | Objects of the Tell Fekheriye excavations featuring M.As 1

It is brandishing a weapon in its left hand while the right hand is grasping the horn of the rampant winged bull opposite to it. From an iconographic point of view, this scene makes a similar allusion as in M.As 1. The monster with a human element is dominating its opponent. The owner of the seal, which was multiply impressed on the tablet VAT 19543 from Assur, can be identifi ed as “Confi dant (Eunuch) (ša-reššarri) of the king (TN I) / governor of Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.” His very high rank would be in accord with the high rank of the owner of the seal M.As 1, if his identifi cation with the sukallu rabiu (“grand vizier”) Aššur-iddin is correct (see below).

Stylistic affi nities open up an additional possibility of relating other seal motifs more closely to M.As 1, even if it is oft en diffi cult to judge their style due to the diff erent quality of the drawings and photographic reproductions. Distinctive of the carving style of M.As 1 are the deeply cut contours of the wing feathers and the ringlets at the legs, tail and belly of the animal bodies. In combination, these stylistic markers also appear on comparison no. 14 from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, on the above-mentioned seal impression on VAT 16396 from Assur (Moortgat 1944: fi g. 44a,b; Feller 2009: seal no. 752) and on a seal impression on a tablet from Tell Sheikh Hamad (DeZ 2532), which shows a single forward-falling winged bull within an oval frame formed by a festoon (comparison no. 59).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

17

Comparison 22

Scale 1:1

Comparison 59

Scale 1:2

Comparison 50

Scale 1:2

The examples, which all date to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta, are stylistically closely related, indicating the same place of origin. Comparison no. 14 is of particular interest as the rampant winged bull on the right of the scene exactly matches the winged bull on M.As 1. Its opponent, the lion on the left , is rendered in the same posture as the human-headed winged lion on M.As 1. The overall composition and the proportions of the fi gures are the same on both seals. The document that was sealed with comparison no. 14 bears the limu-date of Abi-ili son of Katiri (reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I). It lists the rations of barley for 210 women. The commissioner in this procedure, who also has the status of a scribe, is the owner of the seal, Aššur-dammeq son of Šimaju. In sum, despite its many attestations on clay lump fragments from Tell Fekheriye, M.As 1 seems not to be a local production. It was probably produced and handed over to its owner in Assur, before he moved to the western provinces. This observation can be supported further by the evidence of the duplicate of M.As 1 sealed on the document DeZ 2529 from Tell Sheikh Hamad/Dūr-Katlimmu. The economic text on DeZ 2529 has not yet been published but is discussed by Cancik-Kirschbaum (1996: 19, 22– 23). It concerns the collaboration between the high offi cials Aššur-iddin and Sîn-mu-dammeq who were both concerned with administrative activities in Aššukanni/Uššukanni.4

4 For a discussion of these two persons and their position in the Middle Assyrian state see Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 22–23, 29–32; Bonatz 2014: 75–78 and chapter 7.3 in this volume).

Fig. 4.1 | Objects C-145 TF-3271 and C-1285 TF-7746

Scale 1:1

Issued in the eponymate of Enlil-ašared, the document can be dated to the end of the reign of Šalmaneser I or the beginning of the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 19). During this period, Aššur-iddin still held the title of a sukkallu (vizier), before he later became sukkallu rabiu (grand vizier) of Assyria’s western provinces. The seal impressed on DeZ 2529 can most probably be identifi ed as belonging to him.5 Hartmut Kühne has kindly shown me the as yet unpublished drawing of the seal impression. The correspondence with the impressions of the same motif (M.As 1) from Tell Fekheriye is beyond doubt. The preserved part of the Tell Sheikh Hamad impression shows the winged human-headed lion with only the upper part of the cap and the lower part of the hindlegs missing. Of the winged bull, the upper part of the body, including the upturned wing and half of the head, is preserved. Of the recumbent bull, or more likely calf, only the bushy tailtip is visible. In conclusion, it is reasonable to assume that Aššur-iddin was the owner of the seal bearing the motif M.As 1, which was produced in the mid-13th century BC by the workshop of Assur or any workshop or seal cutter affi liated to the central seal manufacture. He chose a highly dynamic and aesthetically elaborate version of the triangular combat popular at that time, which obviously relates to his high authority. The use of his seal in diff erent regional and functional contexts will be further discussed in chapter 7.3.

5

See Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 22 and my comments in Bonatz 2013: 228; idem 2014: 77–79).

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

18

M.As 2 L

4.0

H

3.3

1.3 cm

EPONYM

MudammiqNusku (>TN I) DATE

Mid-13th century

MOTIF

FINDNO.

PUBLICATION

McE X

F271

Kantor 1958: 73–74, pl. 71.X, pl. 76.F 271

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

Clay Tablet 6 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.3 | Object of the American excavations featuring M.As 2 M.As 2

 | Scale 1:1

The inscription on the tablet mentions Adad-šum-rabbi as owner of the seal. Its content deals with the division of movable property (Güterbock 1958: 87, 89).

4.M.As Ib | Contests between monsters and animals | Motif M.As 2 The motif can be completely reconstructed from the several impressions of the same seal on the clay tablet. Some details were added to the reconstruction published in Kantor 1958: pl. 71.X aft er close inspection of new photographs of the tablet. A standing human-bodied fi gure with bird-head and a pair of wings on the left is fi ghting a rampant lion on the right side of the scene. Between the two opponents a small gazelle stands on the ground. The rampant male lion is typically rendered with a full mane, a single row of short strands at the belly and an upturned tail. The numerous parallels for this type of lion representation in Middle Assyrian art are cited under M.As 3. Especially noticeable is the close resemblance to the lions depicted on M.As 8. The double-winged bird-genius (alternatively called griffi n-genius or griffi n-demon) wears a short kilt with two tassels hanging down between his legs. He brandishes a short sword or dagger behind his head. His outstretched left hand grasps at the right paw of the lion. This fi ghting posture distinguishes him from other representations which show the bird-genius in ritual scenes fl anking a tree (comparison no. 41, 69), supporting a winged disc over a stool (Beran 1957: fi g. 82 = Matthews 1990: no. 463) or presenting a sacrifi cial animal to a royal fi gure (Moortgat 1942: fi g. 79 = Matthews 1990: no. 277). The iconography of these seals, which all date to the 14th century BC, stands in the tradition of the Mittani glyptic. Similar motifs reappear in the 12th century when a few seal designs again show bird-genii as purifying servants in ritual scenes (e.g. Moortgat 1942: fi g. 3 = Matthews 1990: no. 494).

The bird-genius on all these seals, including M.As 2, is iconographically the clear precursor of the bird-apkallu in NeoAssyrian art, although his association with the Babylonian apkallū (“Seven Sages”) is not attested for the Middle Assyrian period (Black and Green 1992: 101, 163–164). The version of the aggressive bird-genius is already found in the seal of Aššur-uballit I (1353–1318 BC) on which a pair of bird-genii stab a lion that they are holding (Beran 1957 = Matthews 1990: no. 283). It is not very common in the 13th century but at least one cylinder seal in the Morgan Collection (comparison no. 40) and two seal impressions, one from Assur, the other from Tell al-Rimah, provide good parallels for his depiction on M.As 2.6 The scene on comparison no. 40 shows him standing and combating a rampant lion-griffi n with a short sword in his outstretched left hand. Between the adversaries, a recumbent bull or calf is placed on the ground. The seal impression from Assur (comparison no. 3) shows a combat in which a winged genius – evidently a bird-genius – stabs a rampant lion with his long sword. In front of the lion is a crouching wild goat which directs its head towards the bird-genius. Thus, the scene as a whole resembles M.As 2. On the seal impression from Tell el-Rimah (comparison no. 54), a winged bird-genius holds up with his outstretched right arm a gazelle which is attacked by a striding lion.

6

Apart from M.As 26 (see below), all other motifs with aggressive, animal- or monster-attacking bird-genii date later than the 13th century (comparison no. 20, Feller 2004: seal no. 3, pl. 2.4–10 = Feller 2009: seal no. 760).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

19

Comparison 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison 14

Scale 1:2

Comparison 18

Scale 1:2

Comparison 20

Scale 1:2

Comparison 23

Scale 1:2

Comparison 24

Scale 1:2

Comparison 40

Scale 1:2

Comparison 54

Scale 1:2

Comparison 69

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 8

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 26

Scale 1:2

The parallel is striking as it shows the exact same three fi gures (the bird-genius, the lion and the gazelle) in a similarly connoted scene; only the syntax of the three fi gures on comparison no. 54 and M.As 2 is diff erent. The seal impression from Tell al-Rimah is dated to the reign of Šalmaneser I (Matthews 1990: 100, n. 145). Stylistic criteria confi rm this date because the composition of the scene is rather static and far from the "triangular format". In contrast, on M.As 2 the typical "triangular format" of combat scenes of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign is nearly achieved. The attacked gazelle on the ground stresses its dramaturgy with an almost narrative eff ect. It turns its head towards the bird-genius, who seems to be protecting it from the lion attacking from behind. Hence, the bird-genius can be understood as the positive protecting power in this mythologized struggle.

Fig. 4.2 | Original photograph of Tablet 6 (Kantor 1958:pl.76. F271).

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

20

M.As 3 L

4.4

H

3.3

1.3 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century ( > TN I)

M.As 3

 

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL

C-1404

TF-6911

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.4 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 3

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 3 This seal motif, attested only once in the Tell Fekheriye corpus, is completely impressed on the upper side of an uninscribed clay tablet envelope. The reverse of the envelope bears the negative impression of the cuneiform text which was written on the enclosed tablet. The reconstruction drawing is based on the fi eld descriptions and photographs of this object. The triangular composition shows the contest between a rampant lion on the left and a rampant animal, probably a lioness, on the right of the scene. A probably recumbent small-sized goat on the ground faces toward the right leg of the right lion. The identifi cation of this animal as lioness requires some further explanation. The animal could be confused with a monster since the mouth seems to resemble the beak of a bird and the two pointed strokes over the forehead could be interpreted as horns. However, in Middle Assyrian seal art, this pair of short and slightly triangular strokes is typical for indicating the ears of lionesses (see comparison nos. 4, 8, 22, 24, 25), whereas horns of animals are not rendered in this way. As in nature, the ears of a lioness distinctly protrude from the head, whereas in male lions they are mostly covered by the thick mane. As can be concluded from the representations of both animals on M.As 3, the Middle Assyrian glyptic style pays attention to this anatomical diff erence (see also comparisons nos. 14 and 23. The mouth of the animal is more diffi cult to explain. It is actually too short, and not curved downward as would be needed to view it as the typical rendering of a bird’s or griffi n’s beak. It seems that some anomaly in the negative of the original seal or in its impression has caused its strange form.

However, it is clearly open and so may be satisfactorily interpreted as the opened mouth of a roaring lioness (see comparisons nos. 1, 4, 5, 21, 24, 25). The rest of the body matches other representations of rampant lionesses: the long and rather slim lower part of the body, the indication of short hairs and strands on the back and belly and the tail which, unlike the upturned curved tail of the male lion, is hanging down (see comparison nos. 1, 5, 8, 21, 22, 24, 25). Also the pincer -shaped outspread paws can be found on other representations of lionesses (esp. comparison no. 22, 24, 25), although open and frontally depicted paws are more common. The male lion on the left is more common in triangular combat scenes (e.g. comparison nos. 14, 18, 23, 24; Feller 2009: seal no. 827; Matthews 1990: no. 376, 377, 378) and in many other scenes that show it hunting its prey (e.g. M.As 4, M.As 8; Matthews 1990: nos. 317, 371, 385, 434, 437, 441, 438, 446; Moortgat 1942: fi g. 2 = Feller 2009: 708). The male lion is typically rendered with a full mane, a single row of short strands at the belly and the upcurved tail. Rather uncommon are its outspread paws depicted in profi le, which are however the same as for the lioness. In conclusion, M.As 3 is a typical example of a triangular combat scene in the glyptic art of the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. What makes it iconographically diff erent from the other versions of the animal and monster contest is the opposition of two animals of the same species. If we assign a thematic meaning to the presence of the small goat with its head distinctly placed under the body of the lioness, then the message could be that the male lion is challenging its female counterpart for his prey. The male lion seems to be in the dominant position as its paws grasp over the paws of the lioness.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

21

Comparison 1

Scale 1:2

Comparison 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison 5

Scale 1:2

Comparison 8

Scale 1:2

Comparison 21

Scale 1:2

Comparison 22

Scale 1:2

Comparison 23

Scale 1:2

Comparison 24

Scale 1:2

Comparison 25

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 2

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 8

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.3 | Object C-1404 TF-6911

Scale 1:2 / 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

22

M.As 4 L

4.7

H

2.0

1.5 cm PHASE

DATE

End of 13th century > TN I

MAH R8

EPONYM

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

C-145

TF-3169

Clay Tablet with Cylinder Seal Impression > See Ch.6.7

Dingir-A(ššur)

M.As 4

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.5 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 4

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 4 This motif is only fragmentarily preserved on a single fragment of a clay tablet with cuneiform signs. It has been sealed twice on the edges of the tablet fragment, revealing diff erent parts of the original composition. The fragment is part of an originally square tablet with inscription on all sides. A part of the eponym name is preserved in the inscription; "Dingir-A(...)" which probably can be reconstructed as Dingir-Aššur (ECK). Despite the poor preservation of the seal impressions, a nearly complete idea of the original design can be gained by comparison with other seals. The motif belongs to the group of triangular compositions with two animals as main combatants. Whether a third, small-sized animal is fi lls the space on the ground, such as on M.As 3, remains unclear because this part of the seal is missing. The animal on the left side represents a rampant lion recognizable by its shaggy mane. The open mouth designates a roaring lion. Its left foreleg is stretched forward, the rest of the body is missing. Left of the lion is a six-pointed star. Opposite to the male lion appears a rampant lioness. Preserved are the remnant of the outstretched right paw, the hairless neck and a larger part of the head with a pair of straight erect ears, which are typical of the stylistic rendering of a lioness (see M.As 3; comparison nos. 1, 4, 22, 23). The whole scene closely resembles M.As 3, yet it is distinct because there is clearly no star on M.As 3. In fact, there is only one more seal motif impressed on a tablet from Assur (comparison no. 21) that can be cited as comparison to M.As 4. It shows a rampant lioness on the left fi ghting a rampant griffi n on the right of the scene. A minimal remnant of a small animal is visible on the ground. Left of the lion a bow fi lls the space in a similar way to the star in M.As 4. This seal was probably produced at the end of the 13th century and reused in the 12th century when the bow was added to the scene.7

Comparison 1

Scale 1:2

Comparison 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison 13

Scale 1:2

Comparison 21

Scale 1:2

Comparison 37

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 3

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.4 | C-145 TF-3169

7

Scale 1:2

Interestingly, the later owner of the seal was foreman of the bowmakers, which matches the motif of a bow inserted into the scene (see the comment by Feller 2009: seal no. 701).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 5 L

4.2

H

2.8

1.3 cm

DATE

End of 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

For sealings 13 and 97 see Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XXVI, pl. 78.13,97

M.As 5

 | Scale 1:1

23

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-478

TF-3394

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

—

C-1293

TF-7792

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch.6.2

—

D-156

TF-2084

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.6 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 5 The reconstruction also incorporates F163 and F306 (motif XXVI) of the American excavations` corpus.

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 5 M otif M.As 5 can be reconstructed from fi ve fragmentary seal impressions on clay lumps, two of them from the American excavation in 1940, which feature several noticeable similarities in style and scale. The fi nal reconstruction still includes some uncertainties but is reviewed in general on the photographs available. In a triangular composition two rampant animals, which most probably represent bulls, are facing each other. On the ground there is a smaller animal, probably a bull, or more likely a calf, with its head facing right. The identifi cation of the two main combatant animals as bulls seems at fi rst glance to be diffi cult since the upper part of their heads, where the horn of the bull should appear in profi le, is missing. Therefore, one could also assume that horses are represented in this scene. However, on Middle Assyrian seals a horse would be depicted with a straggly tail that hangs down (e.g. Matthews 1990: no. 326; Feller 2009: seal nos. 309, 326, 743; comparison nos. 12, 18). This is not the case on M.As 5, so the remnant of an upcurved thin tail beside the rampant animal on the left clearly indicates a bull. The opposite animal lacks the hind part of its body but the rest is identical to the animal on the left , so it too should represent a bull. As for the small animal on the ground, the tail is bent and ends in a thickened tip. It could resemble the tail of a horse (see esp. comparison no. 36 but it is diff erent to comparison no. 18) but in fact it is much the same sort of tail that protrudes from the small recumbent winged bull on M.As 1. Thus, this animal too can be identifi ed with a bull or rather a calf, because only a single ear is visible and no horn. The lower part of the calf’s body is missing but due to its position and in accordance with M.As 1 it is most probably also depicted recumbent.

Rampant bulls that stand on their hindlegs while the forelegs are bent and stretched forward are quite frequent in Middle Assyrian triangular contest scenes. They fi ght diff erent opponents such as a hero (comparison no. 26), a griffi n (comparison no. 13), a winged lion-monster (comparison no. 4, with winged bull), a lion (Tell Sabi Abyad: T97-220/261/262, T98349/350, unpublished) and a lioness (comparison no. 1). This last seal is very similar in composition, as it also includes a small recumbent bull or horse on the ground, which has its right hindleg stretched upwards. However, the scene with two bulls fi ghting each other seems to be unique in the Middle Assyrian seal corpus.8 The composition and the iconographic parallels date this seal to the second half of the 13th or the 12th century.

8

Note that scenes with two horses or winged horses are more frequent (e.g. Parker 1977: pl. 30.41; Feller 2009; seal nos. 664, 983, 1132).

Comparison 1

Scale 1:2

Comparison 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison 26

Scale 1:2

Comparison 36

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 1

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

24

M.As 6 L

4.7

H

2.0

1.5 cm

DATE

Mid or second half of the 13th century DUPLICATE

Comparison 12 from Assur (?)

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

MAH C2

C-926

TF-3812

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch.6.2

MAH R8

C-935

TF-3938

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL

C-956

TF-3949

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

PUBLICATION

For sealing 68 see Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XXVII, pl. 78.68

Tab. 4.7 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 6 M.As 6

 | Scale 1:1

The reconstruction also incorporates object F234 (motif XXIX) of the American excavations` corpus.

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 6 The reconstruction of this motif is based on the connection of four fragmentarily preserved impressions on clay lumps, one of which is from the American excavation in 1940. Two rampant horses are facing each other, forming a triangular composition that apparently does not include a small animal on the ground. The identifi cation of the two animals as horses is evident from their elongated neck and head and the typical tail, which is bent with the tail hair hanging down. Very similar representations of rampant horses, including also the winged variation, can be found on several Middle Assyrian seal designs (comparison nos. 2, 6, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18). On comparison no. 28, two rampant horses are facing each other. They are each held by a hero whose outstretched arms are on the horses’ necks. This design represents a beautiful example of an “Endlosband”-composition, where at least two continuous impressions of the seal are needed to show the hero in the middle of two antithetic pairs of rampant horses. In "pure" triangular combats, the rampant horse is usually facing another animal or monster (e.g. comparison nos. 6, 10, 16) but winged horses are also depicted as pairs (comparison nos. 2 and 9). On comparison no. 12, however, two rampant horses (without wings) are facing each other. The heads of the animals are missing but the rest of the impression shows them to be remarkably similar to M.As 6. Probably comparison no. 12 is an impression of the same seal. The dating to the mid- or second half of the 13th century is based on the typical triangular composition and confi rmed by the comparisons cited.

Comparison 6

Scale 1:2

Comparison 10

Scale 1:2

Comparison 12

Scale 1:2

Comparison 16

Scale 1:2

Comparison 2

Scale 1:2

Comparison 9

Scale 1:2

Comparison 18

Scale 1:2

Comparison 28

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.5 | C-935 | TF-3938 | Sack sealing

M.As 6 | Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 7 L

4.3

H

3.3 cm

25 N/A

DATE

Mid- 13th century > Sa I

Fig. 4.6 | Detail of impression

M.As 7

    | Scale 1:1

Scale 2:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-1199

TF-7477

Clay Tablet with Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impressions > Ch.6.7

Tab. 4.8 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 7

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 7 This seal motif is impressed several times on the on the obverse and small sides of an uninscribed clay tablet envelope. The impressions partly overlap each other. The rectangular tablet enclosed in the envelope bears impressions of the same seal on all six sides. An ibex with backturned head is attacked from behind by a lion. The lion stands on its hindlegs while the paws of the forelegs strike at the horn and shoulder of its prey. The lion’s tail is curved upwards and the mouth is open indicating that it is roaring. Its thick mane, the abdominal hair and the musculature of the legs are rendered in detail. The large inward-curved horn of its prey makes probable the identifi cation of this animal as an ibex. As for the lion, the wisps of its thick mane are elaborated. The tail appears to be short and curved inwards. The ibex is recumbent with two legs bent under the belly but the right foreleg stretched upwards. The two large-scale animals cover the complete projection surface of this emphatic scene, which is placed on a continuous double-spaced ground-line. Only a few motifs in Middle Assyrian glyptic art convey the same expressiveness reduced to the action of two protagonists (e.g. Feller 2008: seal nos. 139, 729). On comparison no. 29, a scene in which a rampant lion attacks a recumbent ibex from behind is placed to the left of a tree standing on a small hill. The ibex turns its head towards a branch of this tree. It is exactly the same type of animal as on M.As 7 but as its head is not turned back and none of its legs is stretched out the action is rather static. On comparison no. 30, the hunted ibex or wild goat is jumping and trying to escape towards a tree on a hill.

Its head is turned back towards the lion attacking from behind, which in the same moment is attacked from above by a large bird. The scene is dynamic but, due to its several elements, rather narrative and not emblematic like M.As 7. A short narrative is also represented on comparison no. 31, because there the lion attacking a horned goat from behind is in the same moment targeted by an archer who kneels at the left above the head of the goat; the goat has a large curved horn, its head is turned back and one of its forelegs is stretched forward and bent. It seems rather to be jumping and trying to escape from the lion, and so does not seem as helpless as the ibex or wild goat on M.As 7. The comparisons, the elaborated style and the dynamic composition put this motif in the mid- of the 13th century. The fi nd context and the document on which M.As 7 was impressed indicate a date in the reign of Šalmaneser I (see chapters 5 and 7).

Comparison 29

Scale 1:2

Comparison 30

Scale 1:2

Comparison 31

Scale 1:2

Comparison 32

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

26

M.As 8 L

3.4

H

2.3

SEAL OWNER

Kidin-Šuriha and Adad-Šallim ˘

1.1 cm

DATE

Second half of 13th century ( > TN I) EPONYM

Mudammiq-Nusku

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

PUBLICATION

McE XVI

F204

A 341 55

Clay Tablet 5 (F 175) from Sounding VI, Floor 1

Kantor 1958: 73, 75, pl. 71.XVI, 76.XVI Matthews 1990: no. 397

M.As 8

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.9 | Object of the American excavations featuring M.As 8

4.M.As Ic | Contests between animals | Motif M.As 8 This seal motif is only attested from its impressions on a tablet found during the American excavation in 1940. The document deals with the division of movable property between two brothers. The two offi cials who are responsible for this procedure are named as the owners of the seal at the beginning of the text (Güterbock 1958: 89, text no. 9). The eponym, who is mentioned on the document, is diffi cult to date. (Freydank 1991: 48). In his recent study, H. Freydank nevertheless includes him under the eponyms of TukultiNinurta`s reign (Freydank 2016: 10). A rampant lion is hunting two ostriches, an adult-sized one running in front of it and a small-sized ostrich running in front of the bigger ostrich. All animals and also their heads face right. The ostriches run with legs astride, their beaks open. The rows of single feathers at the wing and at the short tail are rendered in detail. The lion is depicted with a full mane and strong shoulder muscles. Its brush-tipped tail is curved upwards. It is apparently roaring. Its paws claw at its prey, the right paw under the ostrich’s tail, the left paw over its wing. The scene is clear in indicating that the lion is going to kill his victim. The motif of the rampant lion is discussed in detail under M.As 3; for the ostriches see the discussion under M.As 14. On this seal, the lion is replaced by a hero in a smiting position. However, the overall concept of the ostrich hunt in both seal designs is very similar, which makes it probable that they were created by the same seal cutter or workshop.

Comparison M.As 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 14

Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

27

Fig. 4.7 | Object photograph with motif impressions sketched

© Oriental Institute Chicago     | Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

28

M.As 9 L

N/A

H

2.0 cm

N/A

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

STR IV

C-1040

TF-10090

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

STR V

C-1042

TF-10102

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

STR V

C-1042

TF-10103

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I PUBLICATION

Bonatz 2014: 78, 80, Fig. 11.TF 10103 (photo) Bonatz 2015: 155–156, Fig. 3 Bonatz 2019: 108–109, Fig. 7 (drawing)

M.As 9

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.10 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 9

4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu | Motif M.As 9 This motif is attested on three fragments of clay lumps used for jar sealing. On one of these clay lumps (TF-10103), the original seal has been impressed at least three times. The pictorial motif is accompanied by a three- or four-lined inscription. A standing naked male fi gure is depicted in close combat with a lion standing upright. This motif covers approximately one third of the projection surface; the rest is fi lled by the inscription. The male fi gure wears a distinct hairstyle with six spiral tresses, three on each side of the face, a type of fi gure wellknown to archaeologists as “Sechslockiger Held.” His action is directed to the right, while the upper part of his body and the bearded face are turned frontally toward the observer. He claws with the left outstretched arm at the left shoulder of the lion. This arm is twisted and slightly bent, thus recalling the typical bent-arm (“Knickarm”) posture of heroes and warriors in Akkadian glyptic. His right, diagonally downstretched arm grasps by hand the left foreleg of the lion at its lower joint. The body of the lion is rendered completely in profi le. Its tail is erect in an S-shape. The details of the head are not well preserved but the neck mane and the open roaring mouth are still visible. It seems to stride towards the left , its right paw outstretched and striking at the hero’s back. However, the hero’s combat gesture appears to be a stronger indication that he is going to vanquish his enemy. From the Early Dynastic period on, pictorial representations of the naked hero characterized by his typical hairstyle can be identifi ed with the mythological monster laḫmu (Ebeling 1928; Frankfort 1939: 60; Boehmer 1965: 9; idem 1972–1975: 294b; Green 1983: 91–92; Wiggermann 1981–1982; Wiggermann 1992: 164–166).

The name laḫmu literally means “the hairy one”, alluding to the long hair which iconographically is mostly rendered with the typical six spiral-shaped curls but which can occasionally also be depicted as voluminous long hair (e.g. Rittig 1977: fi gs. 13–19 Green 1983: 91–92, pl. XIIIb). As Wiggermann observes, the laḫmu may originally have been a spirit of the rivers, mastering wild animals and providing for the domestic herds with his water (Wiggermann 1992: 165). The long spiral-curled hair that gave him his name therefore seems to symbolize water. The laḫmū have a completely human appearance and lack clearly divine attributes such as the horned tiara; however, they are not humans but supernatural beings. Both in Sumerian and Akkadian sources the laḫmū always act as a group, mainly as servants of Enki, to whom they are related by their water symbolism (Wiggermannn 1981–82: 95–96, 99). They generally have a protective and apotropaic function but in the visual arts they are also depicted fi ghting each other and in contest with domestic animals, which in a way seems contradictory to their otherwise positive denotations (Wiggermann 1981–1982: 100). The laḫmu is a popular motif in Middle Assyrian glyptic. As on M.As 9, he is oft en depicted in contest scenes naked with six curls and the bearded head en-face (comparisons nos. 32, 33, 34). On M.As 10 from Tell Fekheriye this type of naked laḫmu appears too. On M.As 11 he is wearing a short skirt (see also comparison no. 36). Distinct variations of this standard type are the four-winged laḫmū on comparisons nos. 34 and 35 and the scorpion-man with upper body of a laḫmu on several impressions of the same seal from Assur (Matthews 1990: no. 394; Feller 2009: seal no. 976).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

29

Comparison 32

Scale 1:2

Comparison 33

Scale 1:2

Comparison 34

Scale 1:2

Comparison 36

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 10

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 11

Scale 1:2

Comparison 35

Scale 1:2

Such variations attest to the generic repertory of Middle Assyrian seal designs but they could also allude to the varying descriptions of monsters assembled under the term laḫmu in the “Göttertypentext” (Köcher 1953: 61–62). The connection to the Babylonian “Göttertypentext” is rather arbitrary, and none of the fantastic laḫmu-monsters described there fi nd exact matches in visual representations (see Wiggermann 1981–1982: 97–99). However, it leads to the crucial and debated question whether a mythological background for the representations of monsters in Middle Assyrian seal art can be assumed at all (see Bonatz 2019 and the discussion under M.As 11). Fig. 4.8 | Several views on the objects seal impression

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

30

M.As 10 L

3.4

H

2.1

INSCRIPTION

Legal document

1.1 cm

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I EPONYM

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL

C-1035

TF-6241

Clay Tablet with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch.6.7

CTL

C-1035

TF-6350

Clay Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Adad-bēl-Gabbe PUBLICATION

Bonatz 2014: 78, 80, Fig. 12 C (drawing) Bonatz 2015: 155–156, Fig. 3 Bonatz 2019: 108–109 Fig. 5 (drawing)

M.As 10

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.11 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 10

4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu | Motif M.As 10 This motif, which is accompanied by an inscription in two columns, has been found impressed on the obverse, reverse and four short sides of a clay envelope (TF-6350) and on the obverse and two short sides of the enclosed document (TF-6241).

the long beak of the raptor and a single long feathered wing depicted in profi le like the rest of the monster’s body. The lion-part consists of the long stretched belly with a single row of ringlets on the underside, the erect S-shaped tail and the four legs and paws of a lion.

A naked kneeling laḫmu on the left is fi ghting against a rampant lion-griffi n on the right of the scene. A two-column inscription is placed at the back of the two adversaries. The laḫmu with his right arm wields a sword over his head. With his bent left arm, he grasps at the right foreleg of the lion-griffi n. The lower part of his body is turned in profi le while the upper part and the head are depicted frontally. The shoulder and pectoral muscles are pronounced, the face with long beard and the hairstyle are elaborated in detail. Distinctive is the centreparting of the hair. Laḫmū wielding a weapon over their head are a quite common motif in Middle Assyrian glyptic art (comparison nos. 33– 36). The weapon held in a fi ghting gesture apparently stresses the aggressive nature of the laḫmū. In Middle Assyrian contest scenes, they fi ght against animals (comparison nos. 33, 35, 36) or each other (comparison no. 34). In all these cases, however, the laḫmū are standing. M.As 10 is the only instance with a kneeling laḫmu. His distinctive posture seems to be chosen to create a balanced, nearly triangular composition, for which reason the proportions of the laḫmu are not in scale with the proportions of the lion-griffi n. Apart from his distinctive posture, the stylistic properties of the laḫmu correspond with the laḫmu representations on comparisons nos. 33–35, making it quite probable that this scene, like M.As 11, was produced during the reign of Šalmaneser I. The laḫmu’s opponent is a monster composed of the upper body of a bird of prey with the lower body of a lion, hence the designation lion-griffi n. The griffi n-part of the monster consists of the feathered neck and head that terminates in

This type of rampant lion-griffi n has several close parallels on seal motifs impressed on tablets from Assur and on two cylinder seals, all of which represent contest scenes too (comparisons nos. 20, 21, 25, 37, 38, 40, Matthews 1990: no. 361). The opponents of the lion-griffi n are a lioness (comparison no. 21), a bull (comparison no. 25), a bird-genius (comparison no. 20, 40) and clothed heroes who have a bearded and longhaired head turned in profi le and so cannot be confused with the laḫmu (comparison nos. 37, 38). On the masterful seal in National Museum Damascus (Matthews 1990: no. 361) the lion-griffi n and a four-winged human genius are struggling for their victim, a lion. In conclusion, the scene on M.As 10 is reminiscent of a mythological battle between a rampant lion-griffi n and a kneeling laḫmu, which in this constellation is a unique motif in Middle Assyrian seal art. The laḫmu, in general, has contemporaneous parallels in seal motifs attested in Assur, but for the rampant lion-griffi n this, together with the seal in Damascus (Matthews 1990: no. 361), seems to be the earliest attestation, as none of the comparisons can be dated before the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. The fact that the legal document, which bears the impressions of M.As 10, is dated by the eponym Adad-bēl-Gabbe to the fourth year of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (Freydank 2016: 9) does not contradict the proposed date for the seal motif M.As 10, because a seal issued in the mid of Šalmaneser’s I reign could have been used by its owner beyond the death of this ruler.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

31

Comparison 21

Scale 1:2

Comparison 25

Scale 1:2

Comparison 33

Scale 1:2

Comparison 34

Scale 1:2

Comparison 35

Scale 1:2

Comparison 36

Scale 1:2

Comparison 37

Scale 1:2

Comparison 38

Scale 1:2

Comparison 20/39

Scale 1:2

Comparison 40

Scale 1:4

Comparison 41

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 9

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 11

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 12

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.9 | C-1035 TF-6350

Abbildung des Objekts einbinden!

  | Scale 1:1 / 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

32

M.As 11 L

4.1

H

3.5

INSCRIPTION

The document presents a receipt for about 2000 litres of grain which were handed over to a certain Aššur-dammeq, son of Qibi-Aššur (ECK).

1.3 cm

DATE

SEAL OWNER

Mid-13th century > Sa I

Aššur-dammeq (?)

PUBLICATION

Bonatz 2014: 79–80, fig. 12 A (drawing) Bonatz 2015: Figs. 1–2 (photo and drawing) Bonatz 2019: 108–109 Fig. 6 (drawing)

M.As 11

 

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-1035

TF-6405

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch.6.7

Tab. 4.12 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 11

4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu | Motif M.As 11 This motif has been found impressed on the obverse, reverse and four short sides of a clay envelope and on the document that this envelope contained. A standing laḫmu on the left combats a rampant horse-man (centaur) on the right of the scene. The laḫmu turns to his right while his upper body and head are depicted frontally. He wears a short belted kilt with hatched border. The rest of the body is naked, showing his muscular chest and arms. The right arm is raised in a smiting gesture, the left is stretched out in order to grasp the left foreleg of the centaur who in the same moment claws with his left hand at the laḫmu’s forearm. This delicately rendered interaction underpins how deeply both fi gures are entangled in combat. The human head of the centaur is depicted in profi le. The fi gure is bearded, has long bushy hair and wears a pointed helmet. His right arm is raised behind his head and in his hand he holds a short sword that is directed toward the laḫmu. The human part of the centaur ends with the chest, while the rest of the body, including the four legs, are those of a rampant horse with a long tail that reaches to the ground. On the laḫmu: Parallels for the laḫmu motif have already been discussed under M.As 9 and M.As 10. The only distinctive feature of the laḫmu on M.As 11 is the short kilt which distinguishes him from the naked laḫmu representations. The variant clothed with a short kilt is found on comparison no. 36. However, for the overall appearance, style and execution of the laḫmu on M.As 11 the closest parallel is found in one of the laḫmu representations on seal comparison no. 34 from Assur. The naked laḫmu on the right side of that seal has exactly the same posture and muscular appearance as the laḫmu on M.As 11.

In his raised hand he wields a short dagger behind his head, which is probably the same weapon we should imagine in the raised hand of the laḫmu on M.As 11, although this detail cannot be reconstructed from the seal impressions, which are too blurred in this part of the seal design. The owner of seal comparison no. 34 as well as comparison no. 35 has been proposed to be Babu-aḫa-iddina, a very high ranking and infl uential offi cial in the Assyrian state (Freydank 1974: 7–8, see also Wiggermann 1981–82: 104–105). The laḫmu seals of Babu-aḫa-iddina therefore provide a good point of reference for fi xing the date of M.As 10 and the related seals M.As 9 and 10. The career of Babu-aḫa-iddina had already begun by the end of the reign of Adad-nirari I and it continued during the whole reign of Šalmaneser I until the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s I reign (Weidner 1959– 60: 34; Pédersen 1985: 106–113). The letter KAV 98 in which Babu-aḫa-iddina makes explicit reference to one of his laḫmu seals as the legitimating device to open the “treasure house” dates to the period of Šalmaneser I (Freydank 1974: 8; Freydank and Saporetti 1989: 18–19). It mentions the eponym Usāt-Marduk who also provides a date for the letter KAV 104 (Freydank and Saporetti 1989: 24–25; Freydank 2016: 26). In both letters, Babu-aḫa-iddina is giving orders to one of his delegates, named Mušallim-Aššur. Therefore, both letters attest to the activities of Babu-aḫa-iddina and his delegates during the reign of Šalmaneser I and one of this activities clearly includes the use of a laḫmu seal. B. Feller’s recently put forward stylistic arguments to date the laḫmu seals of Babu-aḫa-iddina to the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign do not hold against this historical evidence.9

9

Feller 2019: 97, 100; also contradicted by D. Matthews who assigns all of the fi ve or six seals of Babu-aḫa-iddina including the two laḫmu seals to the reign of Šalmaneser I (Matthews 1990: 101).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

33

Comparison 32

Scale 1:2

Comparison 33

Scale 1:2

Comparison 34

Scale 1:2

Comparison 35

Scale 1:2

Comparison 36

Scale 1:2

Comparison 42

Scale 1:2

Comparison 43

Not to scale

Comparison 44

Scale 1:2

Furthermore, the document with the seal impressions of M.As 11 mentions “Aššur-dammeq, son of Qibi-Aššur.” It is possible to identify the father, Qibi-Aššur, with the first Assyrian official who received the title sukallu rabiu and šar māt Ḫanigalbat during the reign of Šalmaneser I (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 20–21; idem: 1999: 221). He later also appears as limu-official in the second year of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (Freydank 2016: 8). His son, Aššur-dammeq, who is the actual addressee of the document TF-6405 and probably the owner of the seal M.As 1110, would then be the brother of Aššur-iddin (see M.As 1) because both have the same father (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 21–22). The names of such high ranking officials in connection to their seals is an intriguing yet complicated issue. We don’t know from which moment certain persons were using certain seals and for how long time. In the case of M.As 11, the combined historical and iconographic evidence indicate that the seal was issued to its owner rather at the end of Šalamaneser’s reign at a moment when it was particular expedient for high ranking officials to refer to the image of laḫmu in Assur as well as in Tell Fekheriye/ Aššukanni? (see also chapter 7.1). On the centaur: The adversary of the laḫmu on M.As 11 is a centaur, a motif not very common in Middle Assyrian seal art but with a striking appearance. I have already treated the significance of the centaur representation from Tell Fekheriye in a different paper (Bonatz 2015), hence his iconographic relevance and parallels will be only briefly summarized here. The standard Middle Assyrian centaur is of the so-called Sagittarius type, i.e. winged and shooting with bow and arrow (comparison no. 42; Moortgat 1944: figs 42–43 = Feller 2009: seal nos. 750 and 753).

10 This can be suggested because receipts such as TF-6405 usually were sealed by the official who received the goods (Feller 2009: 157).

This type also is depicted on seal impression on a clay envelope, found on the floor of a level 6 building in Tell Sabi Abyad. The motif shows a leaping winged centaur with bow and scorpion tail, who hunts a rampant bull (Akkermans and Wiggermann 2015: fig. 6.26, no. 1). The image of this centaur is nevertheless particular because it has an animal, probably lion head. Due to its find context, the motif dates to the later part of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign, that means it is later than M.As 11. Another interesting hunting scene with centaur appears on a cylinder seal from a private collection (Padgett 2003: 129–130, no. 11). Here, the winged centaur with scorpion tail is hunting gazelles or antelopes. He wears a rounded cap or helmet, the only attribute that makes him resembling to the centaur on M.As 11. An inscription, which apparently was added to the seal later, mentions “Ištar-ēriš, son of Šulmānu-qārrad” who also is known as limu official during the reign of Šalmaneser I. A similar representation of a centaur hunting gazelles is found on a cylinder seal from the de Clerq collection (comparison no. 43). However, instead of shooting with bow and arrow this centaur is brandishing a sword over his helmed head. The action with the sword and the helm make this centaur resemble the centaur on M.As 11, but as the Tell Fekheriye centaur lacks wings it is still significantly different from the centaur on the de Clerq seal. In conclusion, the centaur on M.As 11 neither is of the Sagittarius type nor is he depicted in a hunting scene. The only other representation of a centaur without wings appears on a seal impression from Tell Rimah (comparison no. 44).

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

34

This centaur resembles the Tell Fekheriye centaur also in other aspects: it is rampant, has a similar bushy hairstyle and is probably brandishing a weapon over its head.11 Its adversary is a lion, however, and the triangular design of the contest between these two opponents assign the Tell Rimah seal rather to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Matthews 1990: 103). In contrast, as has been argued above, M.As 11 dates to the reign of Šalmaneser I, hence it seems probable that we are dealing with a new type of centaur invented for the design of M.As 11. Further interpretations of this invention and of the whole design of M.As. 11 will be advanced in chapter 7.1 (see also Bonatz: 2015: 158–160; idem 2019). Since the motifs M.As 9, 10, 11 and also 12 (see below) represent a coherent group, it is suitable to make a brief comment on their general meaning. First, it is important to stress that the so-called "Sechslockiger Held" depicted there indeed represents a laḫmu. As F. Wiggermann has pointed out, additional confi rmation for this identifi cation comes from a Middle Assyrian letter (KAV 98:9) issued by Babu-aḫa-iddina, the 'chancellor' of Šalmaneser, in which he describes his seal as ša la-aḫ-mi , “with the laḫmu(s)” (Wiggermann 1981–1982: 104–105; collated by Freydank 1974: 8). As mentioned above, the description fi ts the seal design of comparison no. 34. More than that, it confi rms that the Assyrians had in mind a distinct mythological creature with a long history in lore when representing the “Sechslockiger Held” in visual arts. This point is not as trivial as it may at fi rst seem because most of the monsters depicted in Middle Assyrian seal art lack any textual references. The random generic development of Middle Assyrian seal motifs has been especially noted by D. Matthews, who concluded that by the end of the 13th century “Assyrians had thought of putting a design on a seal which did not convey a message” (Matthews 1992: 194). However, in the case of the laḫmu, the iconography clearly has its roots in a mythological context (see also Bonatz 2019). Hence, the designation as hero is deceptive, because the laḫmu clearly belongs to the category of monsters who are intertwined with the divine world (Wiggerman 1981–1982; Wiggermann 1992: 164–166). A mythological struggle seems to be especially refl ected in the seal designs of M.As 10, 11 and 12 in which the laḫmu combats a lion-griffi n, a centaur and another sort of winged monster.

11 The vertical position of the tail of this centaur is quite unusual but it, like the vertical tail in comparison no. 43, could have been infl uenced by the scorpion’s tail of centaurs originating in the Mittani period (see Parker 1977: 264).

Comparison M.As 9

Not to scale

Comparison M.As 10

Not to scale

Comparison M.As 11

Not to scale

Comparison M.As 12

Not to scale

These monsters represent the sinister world that is going to be tamed by the laḫmu. With regard to a seal used in the hegemonic context of the expanding Middle Assyrian state, the laḫmu evidently represents a supernatural protective power. The possession of a seal bearing the image of a laḫmu refl ects the high status of its owner. The image of the laḫmu, with its striking and unparalleled frontal representation of the face, produces a close face-toface eff ect with the seal owner and those people who became entangled with its impressions, profoundly recalling the magic properties of seal and image (also see the discussion in chapter 7).

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 12 L

N/A

H

N/A

35

N/A

DATE

13th century probably > Sa I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.VI, 77.8,74

M.As 12

 | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

McE VII

F306

ARCHIVE

—

Sealing 8 (jar) from Sounding VI, Floor 2

ARTEFACT

McE VII

F234

—

Sealing 74, unstratified

Tab. 4.13 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 12

4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu | Motif M.As 12 A laḫmu is attacking a monster from behind. As usual, the laḫmu’s head with the curling side locks is rendered frontally, the rest of the body is turned in profi le. He wears a short girdled kilt. His left hand grasps at the wing of the monster and wields in his raised right hand a sword or dagger over the same wing. Apart from the wing and a small part of its hindquarters no more details of the monster’s body are preserved. It appears to be striding and probably represents a winged bull or ibex. The motif fi ts the series of laḫmu seals discussed above. The strong muscles of the laḫmu resemble those of the laḫmū on M.As 10 and 11 and comparisons nos. 34 and 35 from Assur. The distorted upper body is similar to the body of the laḫmu on M.As 9 and comparison no. 32 from Assur.

Comparison 32

Scale 1:2

Comparison 33

Scale 1:2

Comparison 34

Scale 1:2

Comparison 35

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

36

M.As 13 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-1191

TF-7417

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7450

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7497

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

DATE

Mid-13th century ( > Sa I / TN I)

M.As 13

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.14 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 13

4.M.As Id | Contest scenes including laḫmu | Motif M.As 13 This motif can be partly reconstructed from three fragmentary seal impressions on clay lumps, which were used to seal jars (see chapter 6). A rampant lion stands facing left . The hind part of its body overlaps with the trunks of two tree-like plants; two large ears of corn stand behind the trees and the lion respectively. To the right of the right ear of corn appears the upper part of a body, which I interpret as the body of a human fi gure. By comparison with other representations of heroes and laḫmū in Middle Assyrian glyptic art (e.g. M.As. 10, 11; comparison nos. 32–36, 46; Feller 2009: seal nos. 707, 727), it can be inferred that the naked upper part of the body is depicted frontally with the left arm stretched forward and the right arm raised behind the head. It cannot be determined whether the head is also rendered frontally or in profi le but, as far as can be assumed from the minimal remains of strands on both sides of the head, the left one probably curled, it seems rather to be frontal and so points to the representation of a laḫmu. This interpretation, however, remains very tentative. The fi gure is obviously wearing a kilt; the horizontal grooves over the upper edge of the kilt could indicate a belt, such as on comparisons no. 36 and 46. The laḫmu on seal comparison no. 36 has a posture which in general may give an idea of the reconstruction of the assumed laḫmu on M.As 13. With the right hand he is wielding a sword over his head while the left arm is stretched forward in order to claw at the head of a stumbling horse. His left leg kicks at the right hoof of the horse, thus causing a slightly bent position in the laḫmu’s upper body. There is a seal impression on a document from Assur (comparison no. 45) which provides a further good parallel for the reconstruction of M.As 13. The head and the left , apparently raised arm of the human fi gure on the left side of the scene unfortunately are not preserved on the seal impression so it is not clear whether the fi gure represents a hero or a laḫmu.

Comparison 36

Comparison 46

Scale 1:2

Comparison 45

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

He is standing and wears a short kilt with two tassels hanging down, the same sort of garment also worn by the laḫmu on comparison no. 36 and a hero on a hunting scene on comparison no. 46. With his outstretched left arm he is grasping the right antler of a recumbent deer which is attacked from behind by a rampant lion. A single ear of corn stands as separator between the hero/laḫmu (?) and the lion. The lion matches the representation of the lion on M.As 11 and the hero/laḫmu on the Assur comparison could also provide an idea of the reconstruction of the hero/laḫmu on M.As 13. In theory, a second animal too could have been depicted in this scene as the lion’s prey but this assumption remains purely hypothetical. In any case, the composition is reminiscent of M.As 13 and this comparison is further supported by the ear(s) of corn as separating motif. What is striking, however, in M.As. 13 are the four plants, two ears of corn and two trees, which create a naturalistic background for the scene. A row of triple ears of corn appears in the upper register of the seal impression on VAT 8768 from Assur (Feller 2009: seal no. 186); the lower register of that seal design shows a ploughing scene. The clear agricultural subject of that two-register scene is certainly distinct from the combat or hunting theme on M.As 13.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

37

Fig. 4.10 | C-1191 TF-7450

Scale 1:1

Fig. 4.11 | C-1191 TF-7497

Scale 1:1 /2:1

Trees are oft en depicted in contest and hunting scenes, but the combination of trees and ears of corn on M.As 13 appears to be quite unique. Perhaps the trees with thick leaves on their branches, which are diff erent from the globular treetops of the common tree type in Middle Assyrian seal art, designate a domesticated plant like the ears of corn. They could thus be interpreted as symbols of a cultivated landscape into which the lion aggressively penetrates.

Fig. 4.12 | C-1191 TF-7417

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

38

M.As 14 L

N/A

H

4.0 cm

DUPLICATE

Tell Khuera / Harbe (Janisch-Jakob 2009: 185, seal motif 3) ˘

N/A

SEAL OWNER

Sîn-mudammeq

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

Mid-13th century ( > TN I, earlier part of his reign)

CTL

C-1191

TF-7255

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

PUBLICATION

CTL

C-1404

TF-6293

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch.6.2

MAH C2

C-926

TF-3836

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

DATE

Bonatz 2014: 78–79, fig. 11.TF 7255 and TF 6293 (photos)

M.As 14

 

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.15 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 14

4.M.As Ie | Contests between heroes and animals | Motif M.As 14 This motif is attested on one or two fragments of clay sealings and in addition on one broken clay tablet envelope. Although larger parts of the original seal design are not preserved on the impressions the motif can be reconstructed through comparison with its duplicate in Tell Khuera. On the left of the scene appears a bare-chested male fi gure who raises his right arm in a smiting gesture while his left arm is stretched out to grasp the feathered tail of an ostrich which is trying to escape from him. A second, smaller ostrich runs in front of the large ostrich and a third, much smaller ostrich runs behind it. The lower body of the hero is not preserved. The muscular torso is turned frontally while the head and arms are rendered in profi le. The details of the face are not clear but by comparison to similar representations of heroes on Middle Assyrian seals (e.g. M.As 16, Matthews 1990: nos. 349, 396; Feller 2009: seal nos. 36, 159, 785) it can be imagined as wearing a beard. The hero has thick hair that puff s outward at the neck. The hand of his raised arm is missing; hence, on the basis of the seal impressions from Tell Fekheriye, it is not possible to determine the weapon he is holding. From comparison with other Middle Assyrian hero-hunter scenes he could be brandishing either a spear or a sword (e.g. Matthews 1990: no. 349, 364, 443; Feller 2009: seal nos. 36, 707, 829). The large ostrich is depicted running to the right with open beak. The single feathers of its large wing are rendered in detail as are the short feathers of its tail.

Of the smaller ostrich in front, only the right leg and the feathered tail are preserved on the seal impression TF-7255. The third and smallest ostrich, placed between the hero and the large ostrich, is only recognizable through the contour-lines of its neck, breast and right leg. However, if the very small fragment of a seal impression on TF-3836 really belongs to the motif of M.As 14, the remnant of the small ostrich visible on this fragment should be identifi ed with the smallest of the three chased ostriches. Ostriches became a popular motif in Middle Assyrian glyptic during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Moortgat 1942: 65). They rarely appear in triangular combats as one of the two opponents (comparison no. 5) but more typically are hunted or attacked by a hero (Matthews 1990: nos. 349, 396), by a bull (Feller 2009: seal no. 773), a griffi n (Feller 2009: seal no. 1027) or by one or two lions (comparison no. 24; M.As 8). Like on M.As 8, where the lion aims its paw at the wing of the ostrich, the plight of the ostrich on M.As 14 is represented with vivid sympathy. The hero who grasps the ostrich’s tail with one hand is going to kill his victim with the weapon in the other hand. The scene much resembles the design of a cylinder seal in the Morgan collection (comparison no. 47) on which a clothed hero who brandishes a sword in his right hand is grasping the tail of an escaping ostrich. The ostrich and its "child" rushing ahead of it turn their heads back toward their slayer.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

39

Comparison 5

Scale 1:2

Comparison 8

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 8

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 16

Scale 1:2

Comparison 24

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.13 | C-1191 | TF-7255 Detail

Comparison 47

Scale 1:4

Not to scale

Important additional information for the reconstruction of motif M.As 14 can be gained from the impressions of the same seal on seven clay envelopes and one ration list found among the Middle Assyrian tablets in Tell Khuera, the ancient Ḫarbe. In the composite of the seal impressions from Tell Khuera (Janisch-Jakob 2009: 185, 188, motif 3) the bodies of the ostriches are nearly completely preserved and the hunting hero becomes identifi able wearing a single-slit skirt or robe.12 There is no doubt that the impressions from Tell Khuera and Tell Fekheriye originate from the same seal. Thanks to the tablet envelope TCH 92.G.206, on which the sender of the enclosed document is written above the horizontal seal impression, and the ration list TCH 92.G.92 from Tell Khuera, which bears several impressions of the same seal as a "watermark," it is furthermore possible to identify the owner of the seal as Sîn-mudammeq (Jakob 2009: 57, no. 19, 95–96, no. 67).13 As already mentioned under M.As 1, this high offi cial, who probably held the title of a sukkallu (vizier) in the Middle Assyrian administrative system, was active for a long time at the side of Aššur-iddin. Further conclusions from the evidence of his seal impressions found in Tell Fekheriye will be discussed in chapter 7.

12 In the description of this seal it is said that the hunter holds a spear in his raised arm (Janisch-Jakob 2009: 185) but this detail is not visible in the reconstruction drawing. 13 The document TCH 92.G.92 dates to the 10th day of the month Sîn in the year of the eponym Aššur-zera-iddina.

Fig. 4.14 | C-1191 | TF-7255

Scale 1:4

Fig. 4.15 | C-1191 TF-7255

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

40

M.As 15 L

4.7

H

2.0

1.5 cm

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.III, 77.25,5,69

M.As 15

   | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

McE III

F150

—

Sealing 1 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

McE III

F163

—

Sealing 5 (sack), Sounding VI, Floor 1

McE III

F175

—

Sealing 25, 52 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

McE III

F204

—

Sealing 69, 7 1 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.16 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 15

4.M.As Ie | Contests between heroes and animals | Motif M.As 15 The impressions on six fragmented clay lumps found during the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye allow the nearly complete reconstruction of the original seal design.

Matthews’ dating to the early 13th century BC. (Matthews 1990: 95) is based on stylistic observations (the “clumsy” and “linear” style) but the parallels in Assur do not necessarily confirm this date, since they run through the 13th century BC.

An archer clothed in a short kilt and shirt turns to the right and points his arrow at an escaping ibex. A previously shot arrow already sticks in the neck of the ibex. Between the archer and his prey a small palm tree is placed on the ground. A second palm tree with thin tilted stem appears behind the galloping forelegs of the ibex. In contrast to the large series of contest scenes which mostly point to a mythological combat, the motif of M.As. 15 rather appears to be a realistic hunting scene. Matthews considers this seal to be a provincial piece because of the heavy linear style and clumsy arm of the archer (Matthews 1990: 95). Yet the motif of the archer as hunter is paralleled on a couple of seal designs from Assur in which he is depicted kneeling (comparison no. 31, Moortgat 1942: fig. 17 = Matthews 1990: no. 313; Moortgat-Correns 1964: fig. 10; Matthews 1990: no. 311, Feller 2009: seal no. 867) and, rarely, standing (Moortgat 1942: fig. 2; idem 1942: fig. 11 = Matthews 1990: no. 424). His prey are ibexes and/or lions. These scenes usually include a tree on a hill which is rendered in the typical Assyrian "naturalistic" manner. As already Kantor noted, the design of M.As 15 is a new version of the archer and his prey motif (Kantor in McEwan et al.1958: 71). In this one, the landscape features – the small palm trees – are rendered in a rather stylized manner. Therefore, the seal seems indeed to be a provincial variant of a theme employed in Assur.

Comparison 31

Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 16 L

N/A

H

N/A

41

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century >TN I

M.As 16

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-78

TF-1428

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.17 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 16

4.M.As If | Contests between heroes and monsters | Motif M.As 16 This motif has been found impressed on both sides of the edge of a clay tablet envelope. The fragmentary state of the impressions does not allow the reconstruction of the complete seal design.

Comparison no. 52 from Assur shows a single striding human-headed monster with two wings: its body and the four legs resemble the body of a bull but the thick downward-bent tail indicates rather a horse.

A bearded hero facing right wields in his right hand a weapon (probably a short sword) over his head while the left outstretched arm grasps at the angled right foreleg of an apparently rampant human-headed bull in front of him. The upper part of the hero’s body is naked; the lower part is missing but it seems that he is wearing a kilt. His thick hair ends in a wide upturned pigtail. The long, straight beard reaches down to the left shoulder. The meticulous carving of the seal gives a particularly detailed rendering of the face, the hairstyle and the muscles and sinews of the naked upper body. Behind the raised right arm of the hero appears the remnant of a star. Of the human-faced bull, only the forepart of the head with the long beard and the angled right foreleg are preserved. The hoofed leg clearly indicates a bull. The fragmentary element at the hero’s back seems to be the pointed tip of this animal’s tail. The posture is clearly that of a rampant monster. It should probably be imagined as winged because bodies of bulls without wings in combination with a human head do not exist in Middle Assyrian seal art. Hence the monster on M.As 16 is a winged bull with human head.14

Consequently, the rampant human-headed and probably winged bull on M.As 16 is quite singular in the repertory of Middle Assyrian monsters. It visually recalls the winged human-headed bull colossi of the Neo-Assyrian palaces and temples called aladlammu or šēdu-lamassu (= the male lamassu). In the Middle Assyrian and Kassite period, however, lamassū are described as protective deities, imagined as human in form (Wiggermann 1992: 216 with references). Hence it is not possible to apply the same mythological name for the monster on M.As 16 although, from a pictorial point of view, it stands as an early prototype for the representations of aladlammu and šēdu-lamassu in the Neo-Assyrian period. Like its lion-bodied counterpart (see comparison no. 50 and Feller 2009: seal no. 848), the human-headed and probably winged bull on M.As 16 is involved in a typical combat scene with a hero. Bearded and partly or fully clothed heroes who brandish a weapon over their head while hunting or fi ghting animals or monsters are common from the reign of Šalmaneser I (e.g. M.As 14, M.As 17, M.As 18; comparison nos. 46, 47; Matthew 1990: nos. 315, 349, 396; Feller 2009: seal nos. 302, 452, 679, 707, 737, 775, 829, 971). On comparisons no. 50 and Feller 2009: seal no. 848 the hero fi ghts against a winged lion with human head. The latter seal impression shows a hero in a long robe and with a dagger in his outstretched hand, but on comparison no. 50 the hero’s naked upper body and the way he is wielding a sword over his head while grabbing at the paw of his adversary are identical to M.As 16.

In contrast to the human-headed winged lions, which are a quite common motif on Middle Assyrian seals (e.g. M.As 1, comparison nos. 22, 50; Feller 2009: seal nos. 291, 678, 749, 848; T98-7/28 from Tell Sabi Abyad [unpublished]), the conceptually close variant of the bull with wings and human head seems to be very rare.

14 Winged human-headed bulls or lions (see M.As 1) are oft en designated "sphinx" in the archaeological literature, e.g. in Feller 2009 with the exception of comparison no. 50, which she designates šedu-lamassu. Yet the term sphinx is misleading because it cannot be rooted in Mesopotamian mythology.

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

42

Comparison 22

Scale 1:2

Comparison 46

Scale 1:2

Comparison 47

Scale 1:2

Comparison 48

Scale 1:2

Comparison 49

Scale 1:2

Comparison 50

Scale 1:2

Comparison 51

Scale 1:2

Comparison 52

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As. 1

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 14

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 17

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 18

Scale 1:2

The hero on comparison no. 50 places his left foot on the back of a recumbent goat, which in the same moment is attacked by the human-faced winged lion. In contrast, the hero on M.As 16 should be imagined standing, since there is no reason to hypothesize a recumbent animal for which the two adversaries are contesting. The closest parallel can therefore be found on comparison no. 48, which shows a standing hero in the same posture as the hero on M.As 16 fi ghting a winged horse or bull. Especially notable is the identical way in which he grasps at the angled foreleg of his adversary. The rosettes behind the hero correspond to the star behind the hero in M.As 16. For the detailed rendering of the muscles of the naked upper body and the identical style of the hair and the long beard, comparison no. 49 provides another striking parallel. Considered together, comparisons nos. 48 and 49 reinforce the conclusion that from a stylistic and iconographic point of view M.As 16 can be dated to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I in the second half of the 13th century.

Fig. 4.16 | Clay Tablet Envelope | C-78 | TF-1428

Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 17 L

N/A

H

3.2 cm

43 N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.IV, 75.82,81

M.As 17



   | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

McE IV

F249

—

Sealing 81 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

McE IV

F249

—

Sealing 82 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.18 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 17

4.M.As If | Contests between heroes and monsters | Motif M.As 17 The two fragments join to form one large curved clay lump on which nearly the complete seal design is preserved. A standing bearded hero on the right is combating a rampant winged ibex on the left side of the scene. A crescent, a star and several dots (symbolizing the Sibitti) are placed above the two antagonists. The hero wears a long, girdled, single-slit robe over a kilt. A flap falls behind his upraised left arm. With this arm he is brandishing a sword over his head. The right outstretched arm grasps at the left foreleg of the winged ibex. This monster is shown fully in profile with only one upward tending wing and a single large curved horn. Parallels for the long-robed hero contesting or chasing an animal or monster are found on two seals in the Morgan collection (comparison no. 47 and Porada 1948: no. 607 = Matthews 1990: no. 364) and on a seal from a collection in Austria (Bleibtreu 1981: no. 91; Matthews 1990: no. 365).15 The type is much less common than the short-kilted hero. It only appears during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I or later (Kantor 1958: 72; Matthews 1990: 103) and it is strikingly absent from the iconographic repertory of seal designs attested in Assur (compare Kantor, ibid.). There is a resemblance with the long robe with dentated fringe of the figure on two seal impressions from Assur who is fighting a lion and is interpreted as a royal lion hunter (Matthews 1990: no. 384. Feller in MARV VII: pl. 5.5c, Feller 2009: seal nos. 175 and 977). These two seal designs date to the 12th century BC.

15 Perhaps also the ostrich-hunting hero in M.As 14 wears a single-slit robe or skirt but here it appears that his upper body is naked.

The hero’s opponent, too, on M.As 17 appears to be quite distinct. While the ibex is a very common motif in Middle Assyrian seal art, in peaceful settings as well as in contest scenes, its mythologized variant with wings is so far uniquely attested on this seal impression from Tell Fekheriye (but also see M.As 18). Despite these variations, the overall composition of the contest in the "triangular format" is very typical of the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. On comparison no. 48 from Assur exactly the same composition and the same posture of the combatants is to be found, except that the hero is apparently wearing a kilt and the monster represents a winged bull.

Comparison 47

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 18

Scale 1:2

Comparison 48

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

44

M.As 18 L

3.9

H

~3.0

1.2 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.V, 75.45

M.As 18

   | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

McE IV

F175

—

Sealing 45 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

Tab. 4.19 | Object of the American excavations with M.As 18

4.M.As If | Contests between heroes and monsters | Motif M.As 18 A striding hero on the left is attacking a striding winged monster on the right of the scene. A rosette is placed at the back of both opponents. The hero wears a short girdled skirt. He brandishes a weapon (a spear or a sword) behind his head while the left arm is outstretched and apparently grasps at the head or horn of the monster in front of him. In the reconstruction drawing of this seal design published by Kantor (1958: pl. 70.V) the monster is reconstructed as a winged ibex in analogy to M.As 17. However, the image is too fragmentary to determine whether the animal with the wing is indeed an ibex, or a bull or horse. As Kantor has pointed out, the details of M.As 18 and M.As 15 (see above) – the costume as well as the elongated tubular arms of the heroes – are so similar as to permit the assumption that both pieces were carved by the same seal cutter (Kantor 1958: 71).

Comparison M.As 15

Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes

45

Under this group are collected scenes which due to their fragmentary state of preservation cannot be reconstructed in their full content but which nevertheless can be assigned to the broad category of contest scenes.

M.As 19 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.IV, 75.82,81

M.As 19

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL

C-1404

TF-6312

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.20 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 19

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 19 A rampant griffi n is facing right. The aggressive posture of the monster indicates that it is combating an adversary, the representation of which is not preserved on the impression. Only the minimal remnant of the outstretched paw or claw of the adversary touching the thigh of the griffi n’s left foreleg is still visible on M.As 19. This detail points to a triangular combat scene similar to comparisons nos. 13, 21 and M.As 4 and so places this seal in the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. In the fi eld drawing of the badly preserved impression the outlines of the griffi n appear rather schematic. However, the photographic documentation shows that there are elaborated details of the upright wing, with a double row of long feathers and the short feathers along the belly. The beak of the griffi n seems to be open, other details of the head are not recognizable. The two forelegs are stretched forward, the left leg in an upwards, the right leg in a downwards position. This is the exact same position that the rampant lion-griffi ns on comparison nos. 13 and 21 assume (see also Feller 2009: seal no. 721). These well-preserved motifs indicate that the griffi n on M.As 19 represents a lion-griffi n too, even though the lion paws are missing on this impression.

Comparison 13

Scale 1:2

Comparison 20

Scale 1:2

Comparison 21

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 4

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.17 | Clay Sealing | C-1404 | TF-6312

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

46

M.As 20 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Mid-13th century ( > TN I / Sa I) PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 71–72, pls. 70.IV, 75.82,81.

M.As 20

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7265

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.1

Tab. 4.21 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 20

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 20 A rampant lion is facing to the right. The lion can be identifi ed by its thick mane and the strands of hair on the belly. The upcurved tail is typical of a lion too.16 The details are not very clear but, since the surface of the impression has been rubbed off , they may have been more elaborated on the original seal. The posture of the lion clearly indicates that he is combating or hunting another animal or monster. The blurred remnant of what could be interpreted as a body part of an animal is visible in front of the lion on the ground. The scene would thus match M.As 7 and comparison nos. 29, 30, 31, on which the lion attacks his prey from behind. This interpretation does not exclude the possibility that the lion is facing another rampant adversary as on M.As 3 and comparison nos. 15, 18, 23 and thus forming a typical triangular combat. The unidentifi able remnant of a motif at the back of the lion could belong to this adversary but it also could be an object such as a tree framing a hunting scene (see comparisons no. 29, 30). Despite all these uncertainties, the design of this seal fi ts in the repertory of 13th-century lion combat scenes.

Comparison 15

Scale 1:2

Comparison 18

Scale 1:2

Comparison 23

Scale 1:2

Comparison 24

Scale 1:2

Comparison 25

Scale 1:2

Comparison 29

Scale 1:2

Comparison 30

Scale 1:2

Comparison 31

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 7

Scale 1:2

16 For a discussion of the motif of the rampant lion in Middle Assyrian glyptic art see M.As 3.

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 21 L

N/A

H

N/A

47

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

M.As 21

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7463

Clay Sealing (door bolt?) with Cylinder Seal Impression > Ch. 6.4

Tab. 4.22 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 21

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 21 The seal has been impressed twice on a clay lump. The preserved remnant of the lower impression shows a rampant animal body facing right. The body ends in a distinctive upright fan-shaped tail. The rest of the body, i.e. the head and the four legs, is missing but it can still be recognized that one of the forelegs is stretched out while the hindlegs are rendered in a striding position. At the back of the rampant animal body appears the remnant of a curved tail belonging to another animal or monster which is visible on the right side of the upper impression. It is depicted in the same rampant position but facing left . Between the two rampant adversaries appears the blurred remnant of an apparently recumbent animal with one leg stretched forward in a bent position. The scene hence can be reconstructed as a typical triangular combat motif which includes the prey of the two adversaries in the middle of the composition. The identity of the opponent on the right in this composition cannot be determined because the head and other indicative details are missing. It has a thin and apparently long curved tail which is diff erent from the fan-shaped tail of its adversary on the left side of the scene. The distinct shape of this tail allows an identifi cation with the so-called lion-monster or lion-demon, which is quite a common motif in Middle Assyrian seal art (comparison nos. 4, 53; Feller 2009: seal nos. 36, 115 = Moortgat 1942: fi g. 56 and Matthews 1991: no. 410, 838, 901; T98-338 et al. from Tell Sabi Abyad [unpublished]). Only this type of monster has a fan-shaped tail, which can be rendered in either a downward or, as in the case of M.As 21, an upright position. The base of an upright wing, which is another distinctive element of the lion-monster’s iconography, can be recognized just over the right shoulder of the lion-monster on M.As 21.

Comparison no. 4 from Assur shows a composition that gives a very good idea of how the original seal design of M.As 21 may have looked: the rampant winged lion-monster on the left is facing a rampant winged bull on the right side of this scene. A small recumbent animal facing right is on the ground between the two adversaries. The proportions and orientations of the monsters’ animal bodies exactly match the bodies of the two adversaries on M.As 21. Comparison no. 53 from Assur provides another good parallel: the lion-monster, depicted also with upright tail, appears on the right side of the scene; he is facing a winged scorpion-man; the two adversaries seem to be struggling for the small recumbent animal set between them. The parallels and the typical composition dates M.As 21 to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, although the fi nd context in C -1191 speaks in favour of the beginning of his reign (see chapter 5).

Comparison 4

Scale 1:2

Comparison 53

Fig. 4.18 | Door Bolt Sealing | C-1191 | TF-7563

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

48

M.As 22 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century

M.As 22

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7480

Clay Sealing (jar?) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7481

Clay Sealing (jar?) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.23 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 22

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 22 Small remnant of a seal impression on two fragments of clay lumps, which most probably belong to the same sealing. Upper part of a rampant lion facing left . The animal can be identifi ed as a male lion because of the typical thick mane indicated by a row of upright curls along the head, neck and shoulder. The rampant posture with outstretched forepaws indicates that the lion is facing an adversary like on M.As 3 or attacking an animal like on M.As 7. For the stylization of the lion’s mane see also M.As 13.

Fig. 4.19 | C-1191 | TF-7480 | Cylinder seal impression

Scale 1:1

Comparison M.As 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 13

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 7

Fig. 4.20 | C-1191 | TF-7481 | Cylinder seal impression

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:1

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 23 L

N/A

H

N/A

49

N/A

DATE

First half of the 13th century probably > Sa I

M.As 23

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-143

TF-1437

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.24 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 23

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 23 The scene represents a contest between at least three animal fi gures. A fourth, probably human or monster fi gure seems to be missing on this impression, so its full content cannot be understood. The rather crude style of the seal design recalls the so-called Middle Assyrian Cut Style (Kühne 1995: fi gs. 1.-2, 11). In the middle of the scene appears the head of a male lion who bites at the chest of an upright goat or gazelle with apparently two long horns. The two forelegs of the animal are stretched upward and its head too faces upward. On the left side of the scene the lion is attacked from above by a bird with outstretched wings. The posture of the goat, with head and body turned upward, seems quite unusual. This is one of the main reasons why one should expect that a now lost fi gure (a hero or monster) is holding up the goat in this extremely uncomfortable position. In the tradition of Old Babylonian and Mittani glyptic goats and gazelles are quite oft en held up by their hindlegs and so with their head downwards (e.g. Beran 1957: fi g. 60 = Feller 2009: seal no. 274). In contrast, the position with the head facing upward is very rare. Only comparison no. 54 from Tell Rimah shows a goat or gazelle in exactly this position being snatched up by a winged bird-genius; from the left a lion is advancing to seize its prey. This seal, which is dated to the reign of Šalmaneser I, thus provides a very good parallel for the reconstruction of M.As 23. The bird on M.As 23 is the only motif that clearly distinguishes the two seal designs from each other. Birds with outstretched wings attacking a lion or another animal from above are a common motif in Middle Assyrian glyptic especially during the reigns of Adad-nirari I and Šalmaneser I (e.g. comparison nos. 27, 30, 55, 56; Matthews 1990: nos. 417, 419, 436; Feller 2009: seal nos. 308, 528 [= Moortgat 1942: fi g. 66], 646 [Beran 1957: fi g. 39]; T97-220/261/262 and T98-172/344 from Tell Sabi Abyad [unpublished]).

Seal designs that especially recall the composition of M.As 23 are comparisons no. 27, 30, 55, 56. They partly include the fi gure of a hero who is challenging the lion for its prey (comparison no. 27) or hunting for the animal attacked by the bird (comparison no. 55). The other scenes set the focus on the lion’s hunting (comparison nos. 30, 56). The bird apparently represents a raptor seeking the fl esh of the slain animal but it is also a narrative element that enhances the dramaturgy of the scene.

Comparison 30

Scale 1:2

Comparison 54

Scale 1:2

Comparison 55

Scale 1:2

Comparison 56

Scale 1:2

Comparison 27

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.21 | C-143 | TF-1437 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

50

M.As 24 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-869

TF-3377

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

DATE

Second half of the 13th century (> TN I)

Tab. 4.25 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 24

PUBLICATION

For F 113: Kantor 1958: 77, pl. 73.XXXIX, pl. 79.113

M.As 24

 | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

XXXIX

F316

—

Sealing 113 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.26 | Object of the American excavations joining M.As 24

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 24 Small remnant of a seal impression on a jar sealing. Perhaps sealing F 113 from the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye represents an impression of the same seal, which is why it is included here. The preserved part of the seal impression shows a hero facing left who has his left arm raised in a smiting position while the right arm is stretched forward. Details of the hero’s face are not visible. Typical, however, is his hairstyle with curved queue at the neck. The upper part of his body seems to be naked with slight indication of the muscles. The lower part is clothed in a belted kilt. The hero’s opponent in this contest scene is not preserved. The curved line in front of his face could indicate a horned animal or monster but from comparison with similar compositions (e.g. M.As 17) the horn would defi nitely be too close spatially to the hero’s face, so the identifi cation of this element remains unclear. The hero in a smiting position is a typical motif in Middle Assyrian contest scenes. For a discussion and comparisons see M.As 14 and M.As 16. Another seal motif from the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye belongs to this group too: M.As 17 depicts a hero in a long belted kilt who brandishes in his left hand a sword over his head while the right outstretched arm grasps at the left foreleg of a rampant winged ibex; the posture and the left facing position of the hero closely resembles the hero on M.As 24 but the proportions of the two fi gures are diff erent. The hero fi gure on M.As 24 is apparently larger than that on M.As 17, so it probably belongs to a diff erent seal design. Sealing F 113 from the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye may perhaps be an impression of the same seal. The preserved remnant of the original seal design is unfortunately also very small.

Of the hero only the left arm raised in a smiting position and the top of his curved hair-queue are visible but these details are enough to establish the congruence with the hero on M.As 24. On Sealing F 113, furthermore, two symbols are preserved which appear behind the hero’s raised arm: a star and the omega-symbol which, quite unusually, is depicted upside down. The latter would indicate a date during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (compare Matthews 1990: 104).

Comparison M.As 14

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 17

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.22 | C-869 | TF-3377

Comparison M.As 16

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

4.M.As I | Contest scenes

M.As 25 L

N/A

H

N/A

51

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

M.As 25

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-478

TF-7481

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.2

Tab. 4.27 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 25

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 25 This seal motif has been impressed at least two times on a sack sealing, but the impressions are too faint for the reconstruction of the whole motif. At left is a rampant animal. The head of the animal is missing, as is the rest of the scene. However, the rampant posture and a partly visible outstretched foreleg clearly indicate a contest scene in the typical "triangular format." The animal’s thin tail with short tip has an unusual S-shape. It could be assigned rather to a bull (compare M.As 5) than to any other animal. The slim body-outline of this animal is another unusual feature of this representation.

Comparison M.As 5

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.23 | C-478 | TF-7481 | Cylinder seal impression

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

52

M.As 26 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 75–74, pl. 71.XII, pl. 75.46

M.As 26

 | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

McE XII

F175

—

Sealing 31 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

McE XII

F175

A 344 36

Sealing 46 (jar?), Sounding VI, Floor 1

McE XII

F203

—

Sealing 62 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

Tab. 4.28 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 26

4.M.As Ig | Unspecified contest scenes | Motif M.As 26 A double-winged bird-genius turns to the right. He raises his left leg and stretches his right arm straight upwards. It cannot be seen whether the hand of this arm originally held an object. The left hand grasps at an object which could be either the tail of an animal or the twining tendrils of a plant (compare Kantor 1958: 74). The rest of the scene is missing, so it cannot be determined whether the bird-demon is seizing an animal (or monster) or a tree. H. Kantor mentions the possibility that M.As. 26 could join the very fragmentary seal impression Fakhariyah VIII (Kantor 1958: pl. 70.VIII, pl. 75.95) on which the raised leg of a hero or bird-genius is placed on the right hindleg of a rampant bull, but she ultimately rules out this possibility because the angles of the knees of the raised legs on the two seal designs are too diff erent (Kantor 1958: 74). Hence the action of the bird-genius on M.As 26 cannot be contextualized thematically. The grouping of this motif under the category "unspecifi ed contest scenes" is hypothetical (in the same vein Matthews 1990: 103). The body of the bird-genius is completely naked. As already H. Kantor pointed out (Kantor 1958: 74–75), it is modelled in a masterful manner comparable to the fi nest examples of the Tell Fekheriye seal corpus (e.g. M.As 1). The taut muscles, the feathered crest on his neck and head and the curved beak are carved in minute detail. This makes the bird-genius on M.As 26 very similar to the clothed bird-genius on a cylinder seal in the Morgan Collection (comparison no. 41), who is seizing one fl owering branch from the crown of a stylized tree while his raised left leg is kicking down a fl owering branch at the foot of the tree.

E. Porada has assigned this masterpiece and another cylinder seal from the same collection, which includes the representation of a standing bird-demon combating a lion-griffi n (comparison no. 40), to the 12th‒10th century. On the basis of the Tell Fekheriye seal impression this date was revised by H. Kantor to the 13th century (Kantor 1958: 75) and further specifi ed by D. Matthews to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Matthews 1990: 103)

Comparison 3

Scale 1:2

Comparison 40

Scale 1:2

Comparison 54

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 2

Scale 1:2

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

53

This group comprises representations of monsters and animals in non-violent action. Most of the seal designs in this group show a single large monster or animal as the main motif but oft en combined with plants or trees; a few have two animals fl anking a tree (see M.As IIc). Such designs are alternatively called “animal-and-tree” or “landscape-with-animal” scenes (Kantor 1958: 76; Matthews 1990: 93–94).The motifs in this group are less numerous and variable than those of the contest scenes, but they nevertheless represent one of the most characteristic creations of 13th-century Assyrian seal art. The overall proportion between contest scenes and monsters and animals in peaceful settings is also mirrored in the Tell Fekheriye seal corpus.

M.As 28 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I

M.As 28

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-1035

TF-6187

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.29 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 27

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 27 The size of the monster indicates that it fi lls the complete projection surface of the seal. It is striding to the right with all four legs on the ground. The part of the seal design with the head of the monster is broken off , as are its feet, which makes the identifi cation diffi cult. The body with its drooping tail, however, resembles that of a bull or horse. Two parallel wings protrude diagonally from the shoulders. The outer row of feathers is carved in detail. Close to the wing-line the small remnant of a pair of strands of curly hair is visible. This element of a hairstyle indicates that the monster was human-headed. A close parallel for this type of monster would be comparison no. 51 from Assur. The single striding monster on that seal motif has a bearded human face and bushy hair. It wears an apparently horned crown. The thick pelt at the chest area indicates a lion but the rest of the body with hoofed legs is that of a bull or horse. The proportions of the body and the striding position are very much the same as on M.As 27. Only the left ward direction and the outspread pair of wings are diff erent from the latter. Another parallel from Assur is comparison no. 57. However, this is a human-headed winged lion (sphinx) striding to the left . The motif also resembles M.As 28 and M.As 29.

Comparison 51

Scale 1:2

Comparison 57

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 28

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 29

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.24 | C-1035 | TF-6187 | Clay tablet envelope

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

54

M.As 28 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

13th century

M.As 28

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7430

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.30 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 28

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 28 This motif is very similar to M.As 27. A winged monster strides with all four legs on the ground to the right. The portion of the seal impression on which the head of the monster appears is very blurred. Along the neck, hatched lines of what may be a mane seem to be recognizable, so one is tempted to identify a horse’s head but it could also be another animal such as a bull. The two parallel wings protruding diagonally from the shoulders are the same as on M.As 27. However, the linear style and the disproportional body of the winged horse or bull on M.As 28 is quite distinct from the more elaborate style of M.As 27. If M.As 27 represents a humanheaded winged bull or horse then M.As 28 could be a horse- or bull-headed variant of the single striding monster.

Comparison M.As 27

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.25 | C-1191 | TF-7430 | Jar clay sealing

Scale 1:2

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

M.As 29 L

N/A

H

N/A

55

N/A

DATE

Probably second half of 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 71.XIX, 77.100

M.As 29

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 29 Similar to M.As 27, this seal shows a striding winged monster, which originally must have covered the whole projection surface of the seal. In this case, however, the monster is striding to the left and the wings are spread, like on comparison no. 51 from Assur. Unfortunately, most parts of the head of the monster on M.As 29 are missing. With respect to comparison no. 51, one could assume that it too was human-headed. However, the more slender proportions of the body and the blurred remains of what may have been the ear of the animal at the back of the head rather indicate a horse or a bull.

   | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

VIII

F316

A 344 23

Sealing 100 from Sounding VI, Floor 2 Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.31 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 29 The publication by H. Kantor in McEwan et al. 1958 provides no information on the object type. The personal inspection of the sealing at the Oriental Institute revealed a fragment of a clay tablet envelope.

Comparison 51

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 27

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

56

M.As 30 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

M.As 30

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL

C-1404

TF-6320

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.32 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 30

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 30 A single monster with spread wings faces right. The feathers of the left protruding wing and the ringlets on the chest are meticulously carved, demonstrating the high quality of the seal. Unfortunately, larger parts of the creature are missing. The exceptional size of the preserved body parts makes it quite improbable that it was striding on all four legs. Perhaps it was rendered in a falling position with one extremely high outstretched hindleg. This characteristic posture is found on several seals for single sphinxes, winged lions, bulls and horses, which date from the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I and later (e.g. Feller 2009: no. 678; Fischer 1999: nos. 4, 5, 7, 8; Matthews 1990: no. 441–442). A revealing parallel could be the aesthetically designed comparison no. 59 from Tell Sheikh Hamad on which a falling winged bull appears within an oval frame formed by a festoon. The rendering of the wing feathers and the ringlets on the chest is very similar to M.As. 30. The elongated muzzle of the bull matches the muzzle of the animal on M.As 30, so the monster on this seal may represent a winged bull too. Diff erent, however, is the outspread pair of wings because on comparison no. 59 both wings protrude in parallel behind the shoulder. In contrast, outspread wings on both sides of the animal body occur on M.As 29, on comparison no. 51 and on the seal impression on VAT 20155 from Kar-TukultiNinurta which shows a single lion-dragon with such a distinct wing-posture, which also is rather common in the late 13th and 12th century BC. (see also Moortgat 1944: 32, fi gs. 24–26).

Comparison 51

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 29

Scale 1:2

Comparison 59

Fig. 4.26 | C-1404 | TF-6320 | Clay tablet envelope

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

M.As 31 L

N/A

H

N/A

57

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century

M.As 31

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-78

TF-1247

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.33 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 31

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 31 Only the wing and the hind part of the creature depicted on this seal are preserved. From this fragmentary impression, it can nevertheless be reconstructed that it represents a winged bull (or horse) in a "fl ying gallop" with the long tail and right hindleg loft ily stretched out. The posture recalls representations of galloping bulls (Matthews 1990: nos. 340, 360; Feller 2009: seal no. 463). However, these bulls have both hindlegs placed on the ground and only the forelegs are leaping. The extremely high outstretched hindleg of the animal on M.As 31 rather resembles that of animals or monsters that leap in a falling position. Comparison no. 59 from Tell Sheikh Hamad and the cylinder seal comparison no. 60 show winged bulls in such a position. Especially the dynamic composition of comparison no. 59 is revealing, as it depicts the winged bull leaping towards a tree. In theory, the calculable seal space of M.As 31 would allow the reconstruction of such an additional plant motif. In general, the dynamic action of the monster on M.As 31, matching comparisons no. 59 and 60, yields a date for this seal design of the second half of the 13th century.

Comparison 59

Scale 1:2

Comparison 60

Fig. 4.27 | C-78 | TF-1247 | Sack clay sealing

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

58

M.As 32 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

First half of the 13th century

M.As 32

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

B-MAG XIX

C-1244

TF-7606

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.34 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 32

4.M.As IIa | Single monsters | Motif M.As 32 A winged animal stands or strides beside a stylized tree. Because only the diagonally erect wing and the hind part of the creature are preserved, it cannot be determined which type of monster is represented. The body with curved, upturned tail could belong to a bull, sphinx or griffi n. Upcurved, erect tails occasionally occur for sphinxes and griffi ns (e.g. Feller 2009: seal no. 678; Moortgat 1944: fi g 6 = Feller 2009: seal no. 679). The scene in general recalls compositions in which a single animal strides towards a tree or plant (e.g. Matthews 1990: nos. 333, 334, 337, 343, 359). However, the fact that a winged monster is depicted relates the motif on M.As 32 rather to comparison nos. 57 and 58 from Assur. Both seal impressions show a sphinx with outspread wings striding towards a small plant. The diff erent sort of plant on M.As 32, which has branches with curved ends, resembles the stylized volute-trees of the Mittani period. It is diff erent from the naturalistic trees with globular crown of the mature Middle Assyrian glyptic style (compare Matthews 1990: 91–92, nos. 311–320; M.As 38 and M.As 39) for which reason this motif can be rather assigned to the fi rst half of the 13th century BC.

Comparison 57

Scale 1:2

Comparison 58

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.28 | C-1244 | TF-7606 | Sack clay sealing Scale 1:2

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

M.As 33 L

N/A

H

N/A

59

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

M.As 33

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-212

TF-7300

Clay Tablet Envelope with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.35 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 33 Fragment of a sealed clay envelope with blurred (positive) imprint of cuneiform signs on the reverse

4.M.As IIb | Single animals | Motif M.As 32 A large-sized animal is facing left towards the remains of a cuneiform inscription. The right foreleg of the animal is raised and bent in a similar way to the animals and monsters in a falling position. The preserved minimal remnant of the left foreleg seems to match this posture. The coat on the broad chest and neck has a very detailed rendering. It resembles the thick coat of a sheep or ram for which only a few parallels exist in Middle Assyrian glyptic art. One parallel would be the similar large-sized ram on a seal motif that was found impressed on several tablets from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta (comparison no. 61). The mouth of the ram also resembles that of the animal on M.As 33, making it indeed probable that a ram is depicted on this seal motif too. However, the composition of comparison no. 61 is different because the ram is striding towards a man standing in a gesture of adoration. The seal motif on M.As 33 therefore appears to be quite unique and because of its fragmentary state of preservation it does not yield a conclusive interpretation.

Comparison 61

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.29 | C-212 | TF-7300 | Clay tablet envelope

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

60

M.As 34 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I / TN I

M.As 34

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1100

TF-10032

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.1

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7495

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.36 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 34

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 34 The motif can be reconstructed from impressions on two clay lumps. Two rampant bovids are fl anking a stylized tree. Above the backs of the bovids is placed a stool supporting a winged disc. The tree has a trunk from which three pairs of leaves grow diagonally, curved tendrils surround the trunk and shoots are growing from its foot. Its crown consists of volute branches. Such a highly ornamental tree has its antecedents in the Mittani glyptic; only the pairs of leaves at the trunk are hard to fi nd in this seal corpus. The whole composition with the two animals fl anking a tree recalls antithetical groups of the Mittani-Kirkuk style of the 14th century, several of which were found on seal impressions on tablets from Assur (Beran 1957: 181–188, fi gs. 70, 72, 73, 74, 75). The Mittani style, however, has a clear preference for caprine animals (goats) fl anking the tree and which are depicted in a recumbent, crouching or standing position but not rampant as on M.As 34. Therefore the rampant position and the more dynamic representation of two bovids (bulls?) suggest a date in the fi rst half of the 13th century. Bovids fl anking a tree are also very rare in this period. A cylinder seal in the British Museum (B.M. 129547) shows such a pair of bulls but the tree that they are fl anking has three intertwined trunks with globular crowns and so presents a typical naturalistic tree of the mature Middle Assyrian glyptic style (Collon 1987: 66–67, no. 284). Other parallels, therefore, are three seal impressions on tablets from Assur, two of which show a pair of rampant wild goats fl anking a tree (comparison nos. 62 and 63; compare also Matthews 1990: no. 328), the other one showing two horses fl anking a tree (comparison no. 64). On comparison no. 62, the tree again has a rather naturalistic appearance with intertwined trunk and globular crown; on nos. 63 and 64, however, it is rather of the Mittani type with straight trunk and fan-like branches at the crown.

Special attention must be given to the shoots at the foot of the tree on comparison no. 64. The horses seem to trample into the loops of each shoot with one of their front hooves. The same action is rendered on M.As 34, where the bovids trample into similar loops at the base of the tree. Another connecting element is the fi lling motif behind the animals’ back. On comparison no. 62 it is a palmette cross over a Maltese cross, on comparison no. 63 a thistle-like plant and on comparison no. 64 an attacking bird of prey. The fi lling motif on M.As 34, the winged sun-disc on a stool, at fi rst also recalls representations in the so-called Mittani-Kirkuk glyptic. On these seals, two atlantid fi gures usually raise the stool on which the winged sun-disc is placed (Beran 1957: 188–194; fi gs. 82, 84, 85, 86, 89). This motif regained popularity at the end of the Middle Assyrian period (Matthews 1990: 106–109). The context and the function of the winged sun on a stool on M.As 34 is diff erent, however. It appears as an isolated secondary motif used to divide a scene, like the fi lling motifs on comparisons nos. 62–64. A close parallel is the motif of the winged sun on a stool depicted on a cylinder seal in the Morgan Collection which Porada dates to the 13th century BC. (Porada 1948: 69, no. 598 E; see also Kühne 1995: 290–201, fi g. 14). On this seal, the small fi gure of a kneeling worshipper is placed under the stool and winged sun motif while the main scene shows a winged lion-griffi n attacking a bull. In conclusion, the overall design of M.As 34 shows the attempt to integrate traditional motifs (the stylized tree and winged sun on stool) into the new concept of dynamic compositions. As such, the seal motif may refl ect an experimental or transitional stage of seal art for which, reinforced by the fi nd context, a date at the turn of Šalmaneser’s to Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign can be proposed. See right page 61 for figures and comparanda.

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

M.As 35 L

N/A

H

N/A

61

N/A

DATE

First half of the 13th century > Sa I

M.As 35

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

D-146

TF-1921

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.1

Tab. 4.37 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 35

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 35 An ibex with raised right foreleg strides from the right towards a palmette-topped tree. On the seal impression, the rear of the goat appears to the left of the tree but it is obvious that this body-part belongs to the representation of a single goat fl anking a tree. The head of the goat is turned forwards, its single depicted horn is large and curved inwards. A fragment of a star is visible above the goat’s back. The tree has six elongated palmettes, and a pair of upward curled volutes droop from the base of the palmette crown. The top of a single volute growing from the ground is preserved on the left side of the tree-trunk. The rest of the scene is missing below. The motif is typical of the 13th-century Middle Assyrian glyptic, especially during the reign of Šalmaneser I (compare Matthews 1990: 96). The Tell Fekheriye seal motifs M.As 36, M.As 37 and M.As 38, which were found during the American excavations in 1940, also belong to this group. Comparisons from Assur are no. 65 and Feller 2009: seal no. 285. On comparison no. 65, the head and horn of the goat are identical to M.As 28. The star above the back of the goat also matches in the two scenes. Diff erent from most of the comparisons, however, is the tree because usually it is the typical Middle Assyrian "naturalistic" tree with curved trunk and globular crown. The palmette-topped tree on M.As 35 is rather infrequent in this period. It recalls the stylized palm trees of the Mittani/Kirkuk glyptic but their leaves are usually much shorter and more globular. Like on M.As 35, the Middle Assyrian variant with elongated leaves is found on a seal impression from Assur on which two goats fl ank the palmette-topped tree (Moortgat 1942: fi g. 54, Matthews 1990: no. 448) and in a very close parallel on comparison no. 66, a cylinder seal held at the British Museum. On the latter seal, the single goat beside the tree likewise has one foreleg raised but its head is turned backwards. A star also appears in that scene. The palmette-topped tree is very similar to M.As 35, though in addition it is framed by a garland of smaller palmette fl owers.

Comparison 62

Scale 1:2

Comparison 64

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.30 | C-1100 | TF-10032

1:2

Comparison 65

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 38

Scale 1:2

Comparison 63

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.31 | C-1191 | TF-7495

Comparison 66

1:2

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.32 | D-1921 | TF-1921 Jar clay sealing

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

62

M.As 36 L

3.4

H

3.1

1.1 cm

DATE

13th century > Sa I /TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XII, pl. 78.63,49,28

M.As 36

   | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

XXII

F163

ARCHIVE

Sealing 12 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

ARTEFACT

XXII

F175

Sealing 28, 29, 34 and 49 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

XXII

F203

Sealing 63 and 64 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

XXII

F306

Sealing 98 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.38 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 36

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 36 A rearing ibex advances from the right towards a tree with globular crown and crooked trunk. Three astral symbols – a crescent moon, a star and a seven-dotted circle – fill the space above the animal. The design has already been discussed by H. Kantor (in McEwan et al. 1958: 76), who points to its similarity to a seal from Assur (comparison no. 39). In the same line is the similarity to comparison no. 65 from a seal impression on a clay tablet from Assur. However, a particular feature of M.As 36 is the traces of pendant triangles at the lower border. Such border patterns are typical of Kassite cylinder seals. As H. Kantor (ibid.) stresses, it is quite unusual to find this Kassite feature in combination with a typical Middle Assyrian seal design.

Comparison 39

Scale 1:2

Comparison 65

Scale 1:2

M.As 37 L

2.9

H

N/A

0.9 cm

DATE

13th century > Sa I /TN I

MOTIF

FINDNO.

PUBLICATION

XXIII

F163

Sealing 14 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

XXIII

F306

Sealing 98 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XXIII, pl. 78.14

M.As 37

   | Scale 1:1

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

Tab. 4.39 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 37

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 37 A left-facing ibex strides towards a tree with globular crown and crooked trunk. A crescent moon is placed above the tree and a star above the ibex’s back. The right foreleg of the ibex is raised. The hatched pattern of its coat is remarkably similar to the body details of the ibex hunted by an archer on M.As 15, for which reason H. Kantor (1958: 76) concluded that both seals were cut by the same person.

Comparison 65

Scale 1:2

w

Comparison M.As 35

w

Comparison M.As 36

w

Comparison M.As 38

4.M.As II | Monsters and animals in peaceful settings

M.As 38 L

N/A

H

N/A

TABLET

The seal is impressed several times on the fragment of a legal-economic document, which following to H. Güterbock (1958: 86–87, pl. 84.9) deals with a transaction supervised by Aššur-iddin

N/A

DATE

13th century > Sa I /TN I) EPONYM

Aššur-nadir-apli

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

PUBLICATION

XXI

F269

A 341 54

Tablet 9 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XXI, pl. 78.F 269

M.As 38

 | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.40 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 37

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 38 An ibex seems to prance at the left side of a tree with large globular crown and crooked trunk. The ibex turns its head over its shoulder towards a crescent moon. In this position, not only one but both horns of the ibex are depicted, one curving to each side of the head. A parallel is, for example, an unpublished seal impression from Sabi Abyad (T 97-7) which shows two ibexes that fl ank a tree standing on a small hill in exactly the same position. On M.As. 38, however, the treatment of the leaves of the tree is distinct from the usually hatched leaves of the globular tree crowns in Middle Assyrian glyptic art (e.g. M.As. 36, 37, 39, comparison no. 65). Here the single leaves are carefully rendered and, as H. Kantor concludes (1958: 76), refl ect the lively interest of the 13th-century seal cutters in naturalistic details.

Comparison 65

Scale 1:2

w

Comparison M.As 36

w

Comparison M.As 37

w

Comparison M.As 39

M.As 39 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

13th century > Sa I /TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 75–76, pl. 72.XXI, pl. 78.F 269

M.As 39

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-1704

TF-7832

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.2

Tab. 4.41 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 39

4.M.As IIc | Tree and animal scenes | Motif M.As 39 Only minor parts of the original seal design, which has been impressed at least twice on the clay lump, can be reconstructed. At left is a bush-like tree with three branches ending in globular crowns. The foliage of the crowns is rendered in a stylized way. To the right of the tree appears one hindleg and the tip of the tail of an animal that seems to be a caprine. The exact posture of this animal and other elements of the scene cannot be determined. Due to the large proportions of the hindleg it can be concluded that only one animal is represented. The motif thus fi ts the series of ‘single animal and tree’ designs to which Matthews assigns a date later than Adad-nirari I (Matthews 1990: 94, nos. 336; see also M.As 36–38).

Comparison 65

Scale 1:2

w

Comparison M.As 36

w

Comparison M.As 37

w

Comparison M.As 38

63

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

64

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes In chapter 1, an estimate of 560 published seal designs from the Middle Assyrian period was given (see pp. 11). Within this corpus around 70 seal designs depict so-called ritual scenes. Thus the percentage of ritual scenes in Middle Assyrian seal art is around 12.5 %. In the following chapter, 9 seal motifs classifi ed as ritual scenes will be described and discussed. This raises the total number of ritual scenes in Middle Assyrian seal art to 79, out of altogether 608 Middle Assyrian seal designs, if we include the collection of seals published in this volume. The percentage would then be nearly the same, that is 12.99 %. However, the percentage of ritual scenes within the Tell Fekheriye seal corpus is slightly higher, at 18%. This large proportion demonstrates the theme’s relative signifi cance within the entire corpus of Middle Assyrian seals in general and within the Tell Fekheriye collection in particular.17 As D. Matthews has pointed out, the term "ritual" is vague and oft en means little more than "not a contest" (Matthews 1990: 106). The examples from Tell Fekheriye, however, mostly encompass a clear ritual action. The status of such ritual representations in the context of Middle Assyrian seal imageries will be discussed in chapter 6.

17 This signifi cance was emphasized already by E. Porada (1979: 9).

M.As 40 L

4.6

H

N/A

1.5 cm

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I /TN I

M.As 40

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL I

C-1035

TF-6111

Clay Sealing with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL I

C-1035

TF-6179

Clay Sealing (door peg) with Cylinder Seal Impression > Ch. 6.3

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7416

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7425

Clay Sealing (door peg) with Cylinder Seal Impression > Ch. 6.3

Tab. 4.42 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 40

4.M.As IIIa | Palm tree ritual | Motif M.As 40 The motif can be almost completely reconstructed from its impressions on four clay lumps which were used for diff erent types of sealings. Two standing human fi gures fl ank a palm tree. Both fi gures are identically dressed with a long robe. They are beardless and wear their hair in long ponytails, identifying them as women. They have one arm stretched out so that the hand is touching the tip of one of the palm leaves. The other arm is slightly stretched downwards and with the hand it holds a single leaf, which has apparently been picked from the crown of the palm. The leaves are crescent-shaped and have a smooth surface. Three pairs of downward curled leaves branch off from the trunk, a single upward curled pair protrudes from the top of the palm.

Under the lowest pair of downward curled leaves a single pair of thin branches hangs down from the trunk of the palm. These branches usually end in small bunches of dates but the part where this detail would be expected is not preserved on the existing seal impressions. Naturalistic palm tree representations are rare in Middle Assyrian seal art. The sort of palm tree depicted on M.As 40 resembles the palm in a complex off ering or banquet scene on a seal impressed on a document from Assur (comparison no. 67). This palm tree also has three pairs of long downward curled leaves and a pair of downward hanging branches which in this case, however, have bunches of what are apparently dates. In contrast to M.As 40, the leaves are not smooth but frayed.

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes

65

Fig. 4.33 | C-1035 | TF-6611

Scale 1:2

The scene (comparison 67) shows two women bringing food and drink to an enthroned woman. A large bird on the foot of the palm tree accompanies this action. It is not evident if this scene represents a ritual, as A. Moortgat suggested (Moortgat 1942: fig. 73), but the three astral symbols on top of it at least argue for a religious context. On comparison no. 68 from Assur the ritualized religious context is much clearer: two bird-genii flank a palm tree with four pairs of palm leaves and a pair of thick date panicles branching from its trunk; the bird-genii each hold a bucket in the lower hand while the other, upstretched hand points with a cone towards the tip of the leave. The scene unambiguously recalls the palmette tree purification rituals of bird-apkallū depicted on different visual media during the Neo-Assyrian period (e.g. Black and Green 1992: 100–101, fig. 78). These can therefore also be adduced for the interpretation of M.As 33. In Neo-Assyrian rituals, the offshoot of the date palm (Akkad. libbi gišimmari) and the date palm frond (Akkad. ara gišimmari) are used for purification. Sometimes they occur in the hands of bird- and fish-apkallū or exorcists (Landsberger 1967: 26; Wiggermann 1992: 68–69). It is very likely that the scene on M.As 40 also relates to a purification ritual. The palm leaf or palm frond in the hands of the two women should not be understood as a by-product of the palm tree harvested for profane use but as attributes proper to such a ritual. For further thoughts on the meaning of this scene see M.As 41.

Fig. 4.34 | C-1191 | TF-7416

Comparison 67

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 41

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

Comparison 68

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

66

M.As 41 L

2.8

H

2.7

0.9 cm

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I or > TN I

M.As 41

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7386

Clay Sealing (docket) with Cylinder Seal Impression > Ch. 6.6

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7413

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.2

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7444

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7486

Clay Sealing with (sack) Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.2

Tab. 4.43 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 41

4.M.As IIIa | Palm tree ritual | Motif M.As 41 The motif can be nearly completely reconstructed from its impressions on a tablet-shaped jar sealing (TF-7386, see chapter 5). The other impressions on sack sealings can be assigned to this motif too. A palm tree is fl anked by a single female fi gure on the left . The space to the right of the palm tree is empty, as can clearly be seen from the impression on the narrow side of TF-7386. The standing woman with long ponytail is very much the same as on M.As 40. She is grasping with her left hand at one of the palm leaves. The other hand is directed downwards and either holds a bucket, of which only the curved handle is preserved, or else this object represents a palm leaf such as on M.As 40. The palm tree is similar to M.As 40, yet with distinct stylistic diff erences. Its long leaves – again three pairs branching from the upper part of the trunk – are jagged and its trunk has the typical fraying bark of a palm tree. A pair of date panicles with small feathered bushes droop from the trunk. In sum, the artistic rendering of this palm tree is even more naturalistic than that on M.As 40. It is similar to the palm tree on comparison no. 68 from Assur and to another palm tree which is depicted on comparison no. 69 as a scene division motif in a contest scene involving two lion-dragons and their prey. The seal dates to the reign of Adad-nirari I or even slightly earlier and thus confi rms that naturalistically rendered palm trees occur already in the early mature phase of Middle Assyrian seal art. Therefore for stylistic reasons M.As 41 could date to the early or mid-13th century, but its fi nd context (C-1191, see chapter 5) also could indicate a date at the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign.

Apart from these stylistic and iconographic criteria, the action of the woman at the palm tree again recalls similar actions of bird-genii such as on comparison no. 68 but also on comparison no. 41 on which a single bird-genius apparently plucks the panicle of a much more stylized palmette tree. Again one may assume a parallel between the bird-genius (apkallu) and a woman both plucking a purifying leaf or off shoot from the palm tree. Like on M.As 40, the woman on M.As 41 is seemingly harvesting the palm leaf. This motif could be read as the initial step of a purifi cation ritual but probably it is more appropriate to view both scenes as a ritual action in itself. The fact that two variants of the same theme occur in two very close fi nd contexts stresses its importance in the context of the local administration at Tell Fekheriye.

Comparison 40

Comparison 69

w

Comparison M.As 40

Scale 1:4

Comparison 68

Scale 1:2

Scale 1:2

Fig. 4.35 | C-1191 | TF-7444 Scale 1,5:1

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes

M.As 42 L

4.1

H

N/A

67

1.3 cm

DATE

13th century > Sa I / TN I PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 70–72, pl. 70.II, pl. 74.F 197

M.As 42

 | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

II

F197

A 11 84 09 Cylinder seal from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.44 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 42 The lower part of the cylinder seal is broken off.

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 42 At right is a seated male fi gure in front of a table-like altar. He holds in his raised right hand a cup, the left hand is laid on his knees without holding any object. Left of the altar stands another male fi gure. In his right, downward directed hand the man holds a small folded cloth. The gesture of his outstretched left arm can be identifi ed as throwing incense on the altar, so the altar would be better designated as an incense burner (see also Kantor 1958: 70). The short vertical prongs on the dish of the burner seem to indicate fi re. Over the incense burner appear a star with eight rays and on top of it a crescent. The motif clearly represents a worshipping scene, the invocation being made by means of the incense off ering. Although both fi gures in this ritual wear the same sort of long garment and also are not distinguished by their hairstyle, the seated fi gure on the right should in analogy to similar scenes (see below) be interpreted as a god, even though he has no clearly divine attributes. A couple of Middle Assyrian seal designs provide good parallels for this motif. On a cylinder seal in the British Museum (comparison no. 70) the attendant approaches the incense burner with a cup in his hand. The seated god on the other side of the burner holds a thunderbolt, and furthermore a pair of horns at his crown indicates divine status. Another cylinder seal in the British Museum (comparison no. 71) shows a very similar scene. The standing attendant raises one hand over the incense burner, the other holds the omega-symbol, an indication that this seal dates to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Matthews 1990: 111). The enthroned deity on the other side of the burner holds a long staff in his left hand; the object in his raised right hand is no longer visible, as is also the case for the headgear, because the uppermost part of the seal cylinder is broken off . On both seals long fl ames soar from the burner. The type of burner, however, is essentially the same as on M.As 42. It is a stand with a table-like top and a horizontal brace in the middle of the stand.

Fig. 4.36 | Object F 197

Oriental Institute Chicago | Scale 1:1

On M.As 42, the left end of such a brace is still recognizable near the damaged part of the seal. A variant of the off ering scenes with burner or altar is presented by the scenes in which the attendant is kneeling. On two seal impressions, one from Tell Billa (Matthews 1991: no. 10), the other from Assur (comparison no. 73), the kneeling attendant raises one hand towards the incense burner and the seated deity behind it in the typical gesture of adoration. We know this gesture from the Babylonian-Assyrian šu-ila prayers, which emerged in the 13th century BC. (Mayer 1976). In comparison to the šu-ila prayers, one obvious interpretation of the lift ed hands in the seal images is that they are a gesture of supplication used by the worshipper to gain access to higher powers. For the purpose of the ritual, without which the gesture would serve no purpose, the prayers of the raising of the hand deliver short yet concise instructions. For instance, Ištar 1: 39–40 says the following: » Place an incense burner [fi lled] with juniper in front of Ištar. Pour mihhu beer and re[cite] the šu-ila three times… . Prostrate yourself and raise your hand an[d?] … . (aft er Zgoll 2003a: 100) The ritual action described in this passage matches the representations on comparisons nos. 72 and 73 but it also admits an understanding of the action in M.As 42 and related scenes as a diff erent stage in the same ritual.

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

68

Comparison 70

Scale 1:2

Comparison 71

Scale 1:2

Prostrating and standing, offering incense and libation form a related sequence of performative actions that guarantee the success of the ritual. Apart from these iconographic observations, which set the representation on M.As 42 in relation to a distinct group of ritual representations in Middle Assyrian seal art, the style of this seal design has some peculiarities. The figures are less modelled than on the other seals and the whole carving is sketchy and, as H. Kantor noted, even clumsy (Kantor 1958: 71).

Comparison 72

Scale 1:2

Striking, for example, is the very schematic rendering of the incense burner and the short flames on top of it. The overall execution recalls the so-called Middle Assyrian Cut Style although ritual scenes have so far not been assigned to this group (Kühne 1995). However, the rather provincial style of the seal does not help to limit its date. D. Matthews assigns M.As 42 to the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (Matthews 1990: 111) but, given the lack of any characteristic detail such as the omega-symbol, it could have originated already in the reign of Šalmaneser I.

M.As 43 L

2.5

H

N/A

0.8 cm

DATE

13th century > Sa I / TN I

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

ARTEFACT

PUBLICATION

I

F306

—

Clay sealings 94, 101 and 102 from Sounding VI, Floor 2

Kantor 1958: 70–72, pl. 70.I, pl. 74.94,101

M.As 43

   | Scale 1:1

Tab. 4.45 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 43

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 43 The lower part of the original seal design is missing. A standing attendant with unusual long hair is facing right. He raises his left hand towards a star with eight rays above a crescent. Under these two astral symbols an object is placed on the ground that could be a table or incense burner. However, the preservation of this detail is too fragmentary to secure this identification. The ritual aspect of this scene is evident from the gesture of the attendant and the two astral symbols invoked through the gesture of the raised hand (see the discussion under M.As 42). The motif can thus be considered an abbreviation of the usual offering scene.

The deity is replaced by the astral symbols and the incense burner or altar was perhaps moved under these religious symbols. Interestingly, the star has the same number of rays as on M.As 42. Perhaps both seals are contemporary, yet the different headgear of the attendants does not necessarily reinforce this assumption.

Comparison M.As 42

Scale 1:2

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes

M.As 44 L

N/A

H

N/A

69

N/A

DATE

13th century > Sa I or > TN I

M.As 44

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-1300

TF-7826

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.1

Tab. 4.46 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 44

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 44 Only a small part of the original seal design is preserved on this impression. A standing human fi gure faces right, in front of an object, which can tentatively be described as an incense burner with high towering fl ames. The human fi gure wears a long robe; it cannot be determined whether it represents a man or a woman. One hand seems to be raised, the other stretched out frontally. The motif can only be understood in comparison to M.As 43, M.As 45 and the other seal motifs discussed under M.As 42. The incense burner indicates a ritual scene.

Whether another, seated fi gure was originally placed on the other side of this ritual object is not clear. Following from the large proportions of the standing attendant and also the burner, it seems rather that he or she is depicted alone, similar to the standing attendants on M.As 43 and 45. w

Comparison M.As 43

w

Comparison M.As 45

M.As 45 L

N/A

H

2.6 cm

N/A

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I / TN I

M.As 45

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL II

C-1191

TF-7264

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.2

Tab. 4.47 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 45

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 45 The seal impression indicates a relatively high seal measuring 3.0 cm in height. The impression is very faint, hence the details of the fi gures are not clear. At right is a seated fi gure on a stool without backrest. The fi gure seems to wear a long robe and a beard, which indicates a male. The arms, hands and other details of this fi gure are not recognizable. In front of him stands an attendant with one arm outstretched; the second arm is not visible. Behind this fi gure stands another undefi nable fi gure, which apparently is the same one (on the seal) that appears as a second impression at the back of the seated fi gure. The composition is not typical of Middle Assyrian seal art. It recalls the scenario on comparison no. 67 from Assur, in which a seated female fi gure receives two standing attendants. In that scene no table or altar is placed between the seated fi gure and the standing fi gure at the front, as is apparently the case in M.As 45.

However, it should be taken into consideration that the original position of the second standing fi gure on M.As 45 could actually have been at the back of the seated fi gure. The motifs on two cylinder seals, one in the Louvre (Matthews 1990: no. 512), the other in the British Museum (Matthews 1990: no. 515), show how an attendant is serving the seated fi gure from behind while the other standing fi gure performs an action with a bowl in one hand and a cloth in the other in front of the seated fi gure. Due to the lack of other closer parallels and the missing details on M.As 45, the motif cannot be dated on the basis of stylistic and iconographic observations, but the fi nd context C-1191 argues for a date between the end of Šalmaneser’s and the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign. Comparison 67

Scale 1:2

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

70

M.As 46 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Late 13th century or later > TN I or later

M.As 46

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-1250

TF-7745

Clay Sealing with (door peg) Cylinder Seal Impression > Ch. 6.3

Tab. 4.48 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 46

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 46 The upper parts and the left and right edges of the original seal design are missing on this impression. Recognizable is a kneeling worshipper on the left who faces a standing human-bodied fi gure on the right of the scene. At the back of the kneeling fi gure is a standard-like object, behind it an omega symbol. The attendant wears a long robe. His kneeling position is rendered in a rather clumsy way, as the S-shaped lower part of the body has become disproportionately long. Yet the motif is clearly in accord with the posture of kneeling worshippers in other ritual scenes. Comparison nos. 72 and Matthews 1991: no. 10 have already been cited under M.As 42, and comparison no. 75 will be discussed under M.As 47. To these scenes can be added comparison no. 74 from Assur, which depicts two worshippers, one standing, the other kneeling, in front of an incense altar that stands opposite a small shrine in which is inscribed an apparently male deity.18 In all these scenes, the kneeling worshipper is separated from the object of his ritual prayer by the incense altar, though in fact the altar is the medium that enables their ritual interaction. On M.As 46, a connecting medium between the kneeling devotee and the fi gure opposite is missing. The posture thus captures an aspect of supplication that is very closely similar to the altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I, on which the anterior fi gure of the king kneeling is directly addressing his prayer towards the divine symbol on the altar in front of him (Orthmann 1975: fi g. 195).

18 The two worshippers on this seal have to be understood as the same person depicted in two successive actions, fi rst kneeling then standing. This is the required sequence of movements described in the šu-ila texts (cf. Zgoll 2003b:184–185). Consistent with this temporal structure, the fi gure of the king depicted twice on the altar of Tukulti-Ninurta I, too, is shown kneeling and then standing when viewed from right to left (Orthmann 1975: fi g. 195). Only the modern viewer would be inclined to read this image the other way round (left to right).

On the other hand, M.As 46 and comparison no. 74 convey an identical meaning. The worshipper is prostrating himself in order to evoke a positive reaction, which is in fact made clear by the blessing or purifying gesture of the divine fi gure opposite. The identity of the standing fi gure opposite the worshipper on M.As 46 is rather obscure. It wears a slit robe similar to the robe of the deity in the shrine on comparison no. 74. The object in its drooping left hand seems to be a bucket. The hand of the raised right arm was either open or holding another object. Therefore, this fi gure probably represents a deity or genius in a purifying or blessing gesture. The closest Middle Assyrian parallel for such a motif, which recalls the typical representations of bird- and fi sh-apkallū in the Neo-Assyrian period, is found on comparison no. 73 from Assur. On this seal, a winged bird-genius is standing to the right of a stylized tree. He raises a cone in his left hand towards the crown of the tree, while the drooping right hand holds a bucket. On the other side of the tree stands a male human fi gure. The seal was impressed on a tablet, which dates to the reign of Tiglath-pileser I (1114–1076). On a cylinder seal in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin (Moortgat 1940: no. 638; Matthews 1990: no. 499), a genius or priest in a fi sh-costume appears in a very similar posture. He also holds a bucket in his left hand but the right hand is opened and raised towards a winged disc supported by a single kneeling male fi gure. Left of this so-called atlantid scene (Matthews 1990: 106–110) stands a male worshipper. The gesture of his extended left hand with upturned palm and the raised right hand with outstretched fi nger is essentially the same as for the kneeling worshipper on M.As 46.

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes

71

Comparison 71

Scale 1:2

Comparison 72

Scale 1:2

Comparison 73

Scale 1:2

Comparison 74

Scale 1:2

It cannot be decided whether the standing fi gure on M.As 46 belongs to the fi sh- or bird-type genius or to a priest. If the latter, he could equally well have been represented without any animal attributes. Despite these uncertainties, the juxtaposition with a worshipper is a linking mark of all these scenes and stresses their religious-ritual meaning. On M.As 46, paraphernalia associated with such a religious-ritual context are placed at the backs of the two main fi gures. The object behind the kneeling worshipper seems to be a standard or stylized tree with some sort of festoon or fl owering twigs hanging down from the top. Behind is a quite large-sized omega-symbol. The broken-off area above this symbol would have allowed the depiction of one or two other symbols. The arrangement could have been similar to an off ering scene on a cylinder seal from Tyre (Matthews 1990: no. 533) in which the omega symbol is placed together with astral symbols above the worshipper and two altars opposite a deity on a pedestal. In any case, the omega symbol is quite typical of ritual scenes and it indicates a date in the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I or later (Matthews 1990: 111, no. 522, 523 [= comparison no. 72], 533, 534). Therefore M.As 46 must be assigned to the same period. The fi gure of the bucket-carrying genius and its resemblance to comparison no. 73 even raises the possibility that it is the latest piece in the corpus of Middle Assyrian seals from Tell Fekheriye.

Fig. 4.37 | C-1250 | TF-7745 | Door peg clay sealing

Scale 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

72

M.As 47 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Kantor 1958: 70–72, pl. 70.IX, pl.77.109, 26

M.As 47

 | Scale 1:1

MOTIF

FINDNO.

ARCHIVE

IX

F150

IX

F175

IX

F203

—

Clay sealing 59 and 61 from Sounding VI, Floor 1

IX

F306

—

Clay sealing 99 (door peg), Sounding VI, Floor 2

IX

F316

IX

F366

— A 344 25

A 344 29 -

ARTEFACT

Clay sealing 2, Sounding VI, Floor 1 Clay sealing 26, Sounding VI, Floor 1

Clay sealing 109, Sounding VI, Floor 2 Clay sealing 115, Sounding VI, Floor 2

Tab. 4.49 | Objects of the American excavations with M.As 47

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 47 The design of the preserved fi gure on TF-4793 makes it most probable that it comes from the seal that was impressed on altogether seven clay lumps found during the American excavations at Tell Fekheriye. A bearded male person strides to the left followed by an ibex. The man wears a long robe over a short kilt. The robe is opened in the lower part, making visible both the kilt and the man’s forward-stepping naked leg. It is exactly the same type of garment worn also by the heroes on M.As 17 and on two cylinder seals in the Morgan collection (comparison no. 47 and Porada 1948: no. 607 = Matthews 1990: no. 364).19 Therefore, the male fi gure on M.As 47 also falls in the category of heroes depicted in Middle Assyrian seal art (compare Kantor 1958: 71–72), albeit his peaceful action is diff erent from the heroes’ usual fi ghting or hunting pose. His right hand is raised in front of his face, the left arm hangs down behind his back, its hand holding an undefi nable object. It could be a folded cloth or rather the end of a leash with which the hero may have led the ibex. The ibex strides with all four legs on the ground. Its long neck and the head are stretched straight upwards, the pair of horns protruding on both sides of the head. The scene is quite unique in Middle Assyrian seal art. Comparison no. 75 from Assur bears certain similarities because it shows a striding lion at the back of a standing deity. However, in that scene a worshipper kneels in front of the deity. Nevertheless, it implicitly suggests the ritual character of M.As 47 too.

19 See also the discussion under M.As 17.

Like the lion on comparison no. 75, the ibex on M.As 47 appears as an attribute of the fi gure in front of it. It stresses the supernatural character of this fi gure in a peaceful setting, which is much closer to the ritual scenes than to the contest scenes. The stylistic resemblance to the hero on M.As 17 makes it probable that M.As 47 dates to same period and even that it was produced by the same seal cutter.

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-815

TF-4793

Clay Sealing (basket) with Cylinder Seal Impression > see Ch. 6.5

Tab. 4.50 | Object of the Fekheriye corpus integrated in M.As 47

Comparison 47

Scale 1:2

Comparison M.As 17

Scale 1:2

Comparison 76

Scale 1:2

4.M.As III | Ritual Scenes

M.As 48 L

N/A

H

N/A

73

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

M.As 48

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

—

C-1161

TF-7125

Clay Sealing (sack) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.51 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 48

4.M.As IIIb | Worshipping and offering rituals | Motif M.As 48 The seal impression is badly preserved. However, the main elements of a probably two-fi gured scene can be recognized. A standing, apparently male human fi gure turns to the left . The only visible detail of its head is the hair bunch at the neck. The position of this bunch indicates also that the man’s face is looking left . His left arm is stretched backwards and grasps at one horn of a double-horned rampant goat which stands behind the male fi gure. The man wears a long robe with a ribbon or the border of the garment running diagonally across the chest. The scene bears a likeness to M.As 47 on which a man clothed in a long robe leads a striding ibex. On M.As 48 the rampant posture of the animal is indeed rather typical of contest scenes but, considering the peaceful action of the male fi gure, the analogy to ritual scenes seems more convincing. For that reason, M.As 48 is placed in this subgroup.

Fig. 4.38 | C-1161 | TF-7125 | Sack clay sealing

Scale 1:2 / 1:1

4. Style and Iconography of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Motifs

74

4.M.As IV | Others

M.As 49 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

13th century > Sa I / TN?

M.As 49

 | Scale 1:1

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

CTL

C-1191

TF-7440

Clay Sealing (jar) with Cylinder Seal Impression

Tab. 4.52 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 49

4.M.As IV | Others | Motif M.As 49 The impression on this fragment of a jar sealing is too fragmentary for the identifi cation of its original design. Left is a cuneiform inscription in two columns. Only two cuneiform signs are preserved why it is not possible to understand its content. On the right of it stands an animal of which only the hind part is preserved but which nevertheless can be identifi ed as a bovid. Above the bovid is an indefi nable motif. There seems to be space for another standing fi gure on the very right side of the scene but nothing more than that can be assumed about its original design. The composition is not typical for Middle Assyrian seals because the animal in proportion to the inscription is quite small. The fi lling of the space over the animal with another motif (fi gure?) rather recalls compositions in the 14th century Mittani/Kirkuk style such as on the multiple-fi gured seal impression on the document VAT 19691 from Assur (Feller 2009: no. 871). Note that the stylistic rendering of the bull’s tail, which fi rs runs straight and then sharply bents down, is similar as on M.As 49. However, the fi nd context of M.As 49 associates it with seal motifs from the transition of Šalmaneser’s I to Tukulti-Ninurta’s I reign (see chapter 7.2). For the reason of this fi nd context, M.As 49 is included her among the seal motifs used in the Middle Assyrian period.

Fig. 4.39 | C-1191 | TF-7440 | Jar clay sealing

Scale 1:2 / 1:1

4.M.As IV | Others

75

M.As 50 L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

MAH

M.As 50

4.M.As IV | Others | Motif M.As 50 On this fragment of a clay sealing a small shell has been impressed at least fi ve times. This is the only attested use of a shell as substitute for a seal in the corpus of Middle Assyrian seal impressions from Tell Fekheriye. However, shell impressions on clay sealings also are documented in the Middle Assyrian levels at Tell Sabi Abyad.20 Here, in Tell Fekheriye it is interesting to note that the fi nd context of M.As 49 is from an upper deposit in Room 8 in the Middle Assyrian House 1 (see chapters 5.1, fi g. 5.4 and 6.9, fi g. 6.37). This context assigns M.As 49 to the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I when it was used side by side with seals of high ranking offi cials (e.g. M.As 1, M.As 6).

20 Personal communication Kim Duistermaat and Frans Wiggermanns. Shells and also beads as substitutes for seals are attested for the Neo-Assyrian period too (Herbordt 1992: 41–42). For the use of fi ngernail and textile impressions on Middle Assyrian documents from Assur see Feller 2009: 162–164.

 | Scale 1:1

LOCUS

FINDNO.

ARTEFACT

C-72

TF-1252

Clay Sealing

Tab. 4.53 | Objects of the Fekheriye corpus featuring M.As 50

5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions

76

Fig. 5.1 | Overview image of Area C (3D-rendering)

5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions From 2006 to 2010, four excavation seasons were pursued at the western slope of the main mound of Tell Fekheriye (fig. 5.1, fig. 5.2). In this area, which was partly terraced in recent times, architectural remains of the Middle Assyrian period appear directly under the modern surface. The Theodore Marriner Memorial Excavation to Tell Fekheriye in 1940 took advantage of this situation, when the excavators exposed larger parts of a Middle Assyrian building in the so-called Sounding VI, which is located in the northern section of the western slope (McEwan et al. 1958: 4–6, 18–20, pl. 6A, 87). In the publication of the excavation results, Kraeling and Haines rejected the idea that this building was originally a temple but instead argued that it was used domestically as the “house of a wealthy merchant” (Kraeling and Haines 1958: 19–20). The occupation sequence of this house was divided in two phases (Floor 1 and Floor 2), from which a coherent group of objects was collected: cuneiform tablets, seal impressions, wall nails and frit ornaments all typical for the 13th century. On the basis of the legal economic texts with the names of limmu officials, the occupation period was narrowed down to the time of Šalmaneser I and Tukulti-Ninurta I (Kraeling and Haines 1958: 19; see also Güterbock 1958: 86). A serious problem concerning the stratigraphic context of the objects from the American excavations in Sounding VI is the ascription to Floor 1 or 2, which results from the entries in the find catalogue.

However, in the original documentation by McEwan, the division into Floor 1 and 2 is only mentioned in relation to Sounding VI but not precisely to the excavated parts of the building. When McEwan refers to floors within the building, up to four floors are mentioned. Despite this discrepancy, the team, which later and after the death of Calvin McEwan published the excavation results on the basis of the field documentation, decided to consider Floors 1 and 2 as the two main occupation phases of the building.1 The results from the recent excavations, however, suggest that objects from Floor 1 or 2 do not necessarily belong to the occupation phase of this building. This is especially true of objects (e.g. the clay tablets!) from the lower Floor 2, which apparently indicates a context below the foundations of the house.2 Further arguments for this reinterpretation will be presented in this and the following chapters.

1

See the comment by Haines in McEwan et al. 1958: 4, n. 2. None of the scholars who contributed to this volume were members of the excavation team. They had to fully rely on the documentation and objects of the excavation, which were transferred to Chicago after the work at Tell Fekheriye came to a sudden end in 1940.

2

A. Pruß, who pursued excavations in the same area in 2001, recognized the same problem and concluded that the tablets from Floor 2 actually belong to a level below the house (Pruß/Bagdo 2002: 322)

5.The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions

77

Fig. 5.2 | Overview photograph of Area C and D

Excavations close to the fi lled-in trenches of Sounding VI were resumed by A. Pruß and Abd al-Masih Bagdo in 2002 (Pruß and Bagdo 2002) and then again in 2006. From the beginning of the work, it was planned to investigate larger parts of the architectural horizon in this area. It was therefore divided and over the years extended into the excavation areas C I-V and D (from north to south) (fi g. 5.3). Until the end of the 2010 season, a total surface of ~1060 m2 was exposed in these excavation areas and the work brought to light diff erent phases of Middle Assyrian occupation. Concerning fi nds of seal impressions, there are certain distinct hotspots mainly in Area C I/II (= House 1), while only a few fi nds were made from Areas C III (House 2) and D. The stratigraphy and building history of the architecture in the whole area will be treated in detail in a separate volume by P. Bartl and P. Camatta (Bartl and Camatta, forthcoming). In the stratigraphic system applied at Tell Fekheriye, the occupation sequence is divided into phases. The preliminary classifi cation of the phases for the purpose of this book are: CTL (Cuneiform Tablet Level), STR (Street Levels), MAH (Middle Assyrian Houses) and B-MAG (Burials – Middle Assyrian Graves). For the convenience of this book, the phase to which each individual seal fi nd has been assigned is indicated in the catalogue of seal motifs in chapter 4. In the following chapter, however, the seal fi nds are discussed in relation to their architectural context.

IV

C

VI

F

Geophysic

D Cemetery

Islamic Tomb

Türbeschnitt

Fig. 5.3 | Excavations at the western slope of Tell Fekheriye Scale 1:2000

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION 5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions

C-222

C-1195

78

C-280 C-925 C-928 C-934 C-946

C-958

685

C-211

470

680

675

667

670

470

LEGEND OF MAPPED OBJECTS

C-952

Clay Sealing Clay Sealing with Seal Impression Clay Object Clay Object baked (intentionally)

C-965

C-904

C-272 C-924 C-279 C-919 C-913

C-1609

Clay Object burned (unintentionally) Local Grid | P. Bartl, F. Wolter

C-1612 C-1176

C-1176

C-1178 C-1179

C-1107 C-1177

465

465

C-964

C-1173 C-1174 C-1180

C-1107

C-1107

C-211

C-211

C-212 C-945

C-1611

C-1175 C-1177

C-1163

C-1601

C-1127

C-969

C-921 C-917

C-1109 460

C-1107

C-910 C-938 C-922

C-939 C-927

460

C-961

C-960

C-346

C-145

C-1105

C-1002

C-338 C-119 C-128

C-358

C-69 C-69

C-74

C-1009 C-338 C-110

C-1108

C-119

C-116 C-118

455

C-127

C-1086

C-1428

C-140

455

C-360

C-1423

C-1006 C-117

C-115 C-391

C-1437

C-390

C-1058

C-389 C-1437

C-1406 C-1057 450

C-1405

450

C-1401

685

680

675

670

667

Fig. 5.4 | House 1 basic ground plan

C-1436

C-1413

C-1084

447

C-1440

447

Scale 1:100

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

C-1184

C-1102 C-1108 C-1111

5.1 Area C I/II: Middle Assyrian House 1 (MAH 1)

5.1 Area C I/II: Middle Assyrian House 1 (MAH 1) Area C I/II was defined to cover the area of the previous American excavation in Sounding VI but also extended its surface in order to uncover larger parts of the already documented building. It was labeled House 1 and shows the following basic ground plan (fig. 5.4): The rooms are grouped around a central pebble-paved courtyard (R 2), which provides access to a large rectangular reception room (R 1) at the southern side of the building. From this room, a series of three smaller rooms (R 4–6) extend to the north. They are connected by an L-shaped corridor (R 7). The small final room at the northern side of the building (R 6) is a mud-brick paved bathroom and toilet with drainage running outside the northern house wall into a gully. The space of the gully and the northern extension of the central courtyard (R 2) is edged by wall, which stands at nearly a right angle to the western house wall but which because of its diagonal course distorts the otherwise symmetrical house plan. The eastern side of the central courtyard is bordered by a small room (R 8), access to which is provided by a second courtyard with pebble paving (R 3), which is situated in the eastern part of the building. As it was not possible to reach the eastern limits of the house until the end of the excavations in 2010, the complete house plan in this part of the building remains unclear. However, due to the evidence of the entrance room (R 9) that was excavated in this building section, it is obvious that the entrance area is located here and the small room R 8 is connected to the activities that took place in this area. Most of the objects with seal impressions in House 1 – i.e. fragmentary clay lumps – are from the floor deposits in Room 8 (contexts C-72, C-145, C-916) and from deposits adjacent to this room (contexts C-78, C-926, C-935, C-956). Unfortunately, the documentation of the American excavation does not provide any information about the archaeological context of the seal impressions that were found in Sounding VI, except for the vague information that they were collected either from Floor 1 or Floor 2. Therefore, it is impossible to say if seal impressions were also found in the southern reception room (R 1) or the rooms in the western part of the building (R 4–7).

79 However, there is much reason to believe that the eastern part of the building and mainly its entrance area was the place where economic activities were pursued, including the use of sealings for different kinds of containers (see chapter 6).3 In this regard, the small Room 8, which only has a surface of 4.2 m2, obviously functioned as storeroom. The few tablets with seal impressions from the American excavations are reported to come from Floor 1 or Floor 2 in Sounding VI (M.As 2, M.As 8, M.As 38). However, as mentioned above, it is not certain if Floor 2 means that they belong to the occupation phase of House 1. The only fragment of a tablet with a seal impression (M.As 4) found during the later excavations comes from context C-145 in Room 8.

3

A similar situation can be found in the dunnu of Tell Sabi Abyad where high concentrations of broken clay sealings were found in small room units close to the entrance of the complex and in small room units detached from the central building parts (Klinkenberg 2016: 208–210, fig. 4.19).

5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions

671

351.08 

351.07 



456 669

667

666

665

351.12

668

456 TF-6102

TF-10108



351.11

TF-6116

TF-6120

TF-6118

TF-10104

455

C-1040

C-1042

TF-6115

TF-10103 TF-10106 TF-10102 TF-10097 TF-10094

TF-10085

455

TF-10090 TF-10077 TF-10101

351.13 

TF-10107

TF-10058

351.09 

TF-10110 351.06 

671

351.04

670

669

668

667

666

665



80

454

454

Clay Sealing

Sealing w. Motif-No.

Glass Bead

Ostrich Shell

Clay Sealing w. Impr.

Clay Object

Glass/Frit Bead

Copper Pendant

Clay Sealing w. Impr. baked

Clay Counter / Token

Gemstone/Bead

Iron Object

Fig. 5.5 | Middle Assyrian street level, Finds from STR VI (C-1042, C-1040)

Scale 1:40

5.2 Area C I/II: Middle Assyrian street levels (STR) Immediately to the west of House 1 and the monumental Building D runs a street with pavement made from small pebbles, potsherds and other refuse materials, to which a few broken clay lumps with seal impressions belong. The Middle Assyrian street has several levels and deposits (figs. 5.3–5.6; see also Bartl and Camatta, forthcoming). The street levels STR IV and V (C-1040 and C-1042), which contained three clay sealings with impressions of M.As 9, lay over a street level (STR VI) that is contemporary with the monumental Building D. The street level STR V (C-1042) also yielded two Mittani period seal impressions (TF-10101 and TF-10107, see chapter 7.1).

Fig. 5.6 | State of excavation of the street levels in 2010

5.3 Area C I/II: Levels prior to the construction of House 1

5.3 Area C I/II: Levels prior to the construction of House 1 As already discussed in the publication of the preliminary excavation results (Bonatz et al. 2008: 114–115; Bonatz 2013: 220–225; idem 2014: 68–71; idem 2015: 18–21), the levels below the foundations of House 1 in Area C I/II show an interesting transition from monumental scale architecture to rather private house architecture at the last stage of the Middle Assyrian occupation. This transition also reflects the change from the Mittani to the Assyrian hegemony at this site. The western part of a monumental building with massive walls (labeled Building D) was exposed in this area (fig. 5.7). Four roughly equal-sized rooms were recognized within this architecture and one of them was excavated down to its lowest floor level. The fill of this room, which had at least three different floor levels, contained pottery that documents the gradual change from Mittani to Middle Assyrian types (see Coppini, forthcoming). We assume that the building was erected by the end of the Mittani period but was kept in use for the initial phase of the Middle Assyrian occupation until the whole area was filled up and the walls were leveled in order to provide the basis for a new sort of architecture that is represented by the building layout of House 1. The fill from the excavated room in Building D did not contain any objects with seal impressions. These were only found in a deep trench below the lowest level under the Middle Assyrian street – that is, in front of the western façade of Building D. Here, several Mittani-period seal impressions were found on sealings for containers and doorpegs (Bonatz 2013: 222–223; idem, 2020). Middle Assyrian seal impressions, however, appear in two distinct contexts, which mark the activities in the course of the architectural reorganization of the area during an advanced stage of the Assyrian occupation. Two deposits, which are directly superimposed on each other in order to fill the terrain of the previous Building D for the construction of House 1, were excavated in the extreme eastern part of Area C I/II. They lay under the foundations of the courtyard R 3 and the small storeroom R 8, and thus in a certain way function as the base of these structures. The upper deposit C-1191 contained a large number of seal impressions on broken clay lumps, while the lower deposit C-1035/C-1199 yielded nearly 40 clay tablets and envelopes of tablets, three of which bear seal impressions (M.As 7, M.As 10 and M.As 11). In both cases, these objects were mixed with other refuse such as potsherds, bones, pieces of clay and ashy soil. They thus represent nothing other than waste in a tertiary context of use.

Fig. 5.7 | State of excavation of the Building D and Clay Tablet Layer in 2010

A point of reference for the date of the text corpus from C-1035/C-1199 is the eponym Mušabši`ū-Sebetti, who is mentioned on the document TF-6243, which represents a sort of royal edict (Cancik-Kirschbaum 2019). The līmu office of Mušabši`ū-Sebetti must have taken place around the midpoint of Šalmaneser’s reign, or ca. 1245 BC (ibid: 34; see also Salah 2014: 60).4 Another document (TF-6350, see M.As 10) mentions the eponym Adad-bēl-gabbe, who dates to the fourth year of Tukulti-Ninurta's reign, around 1230/1229 BC (Freydank 2005: 49–50; Bloch 2010: 31). Thus, the approximate time span for the text corpus from C-1035/C-1199 is around 15 years from the midpoint of Šalmaneser’s reign to the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign. Several of the other texts, especially food distribution lists, indicate that during this time a local palace was situated in Tell Fekheriye. This leads to two alternative conclusions. One is the identification of the monumental Building D with this palace – i.e. with a palace from the late Mittani period that was reused by the Assyrian provincial administration. The other possibility is that the excavated parts of Building D belonged to a large granary called a karmu by the Assyrians. The institution of a karmu is known as a state store of grain that was used for sustaining state personnel (Lloop 2005: 46). This is exactly the picture that emerges from the distribution lists because they record the distribution of large amounts of grain to families and cohorts of workers who were employed by the local palace (Bonatz 2014: 74). But it also should be mentioned that no finds from the single excavated room in Building D, such as storage jars or botanical remains of grain, prove its function as a granary.

4 The suggestion by Y. Bloch that Mušabši`ū-Sebetti could be dated to the beginning of Šalmaneser’s reign (Bloch 2008: 146, 151–152) does not seem plausible.

81

5. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Fekheriye Seal Impressions

82

5.4 Area C III: House 2 (MAH 2)

5.5 Area D

The Middle Assyrian House 2 directly abuts the south of House 1 (fig. 5.9). It follows the same floor plan, with the reception room in the south, a series of smaller rooms ending in a bathroom in the west and a larger court in the center of the building. Since it was not possible to excavate the eastern part of the house until the end of the 2010 season, the entrance area remains undocumented. In analogy to House 1, this is the area where most of the objects with seal impressions would have been expected. However, the few scattered finds of clay sealings with seal impressions from other parts of this house indicate economic activities similar to House 1. These are, for example: TF-3394 (= M.As. 5) from the fill of a pit (C-478) at the northern edge of the house 5 ; TF-7746 (= M.As 1) from a deposit (C-1285) under collapsed mud bricks at the western edge of the courtyard; TF-7745 (= M.As 46) from the deposit (C-1250) over the floor of the reception room; TF-7792 (= M.As 5) from an ashy deposit (C-1293) between the walls of the norther building part; and TF-7826 (= M.As 44) from the upper floor (C-1300) of one of the smaller rooms (Room 2) in the western part of the building

Remains of a Middle Assyrian building were uncovered on the lowest step of the slope trench in Area D (see fig. 5.8). The excavated parts of the building are too small to provide an idea of its floor plan. In Square 6736, rather massive walls enclose a rectangular room with several floor deposits that contain Middle Assyrian pottery but no objects with seal impressions. These were only found in two separate contexts to the north of this room. One is the earthen deposit (D-146) close to the room entrance, which yielded the single clay lump fragment TF-1921 bearing an impression of M.As 35. The other is from Square 6737, which borders to the north and into which the very eroded architecture of what is probably the same building continued. Here a compact earth deposit (D-156) over a floor, which abuts the mud-brick wall (D-135) in the eastern part of the square, contained the single clay lump fragment TF-2084 bearing the impression of M.As 5.

The heterogeneous distribution of clay sealings in House 2 is augmented by the fact that their contexts are from different building phases. The material is therefore not eligible for any functional interpretations of the excavated room units, but it at least provides points of reference for the dating of the building and its subphases. South of House 2 the Middle Assyrian architectural complex continues into the Squares 6744, 6643/6743 and 6642/6742. From this excavation area (C IV), no objects with seal impressions were recovered.6

Fig. 5.8 | State of excavation of Area D in 2007

5

The tablet TF-4772 is from the same context. On the basis of the eponym Sarniku mentioned in the text, it can be dated to the middle or end of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (see Bonatz 2014: 75). On the obverse of this tablet, the remains of a seal impression are visible; however, they are completely obscured by cuneiform so that nothing can be said about the seal design.

6

For a preliminary report on the Middle Assyrian occupation phases in this area see Hulínek 2015.

5.4 Area C III: House 2 (MAH 2)

449

680

675

670

665

449

83

C-0878

445

445

C-0807 C-0804

C-0046

C-0047

C-0803 440

440

C-0165

C-1287

C-0048

C-0872 435

435

C-0880

C-1282

430

430

680

675

Fig. 5.9 | Ground plan house 2

670

665

429

429

Scale 1:100

6.Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts This chapter deals with the evidence gained from the objects that bear cylinder seal impressions. They can be divided into the group of clay lumps, which were used to seal different types of containers, and the group of clay tablets and envelopes with cylinder seal impressions.

15

The material from Tell Fekheriye was documented during the excavations from 2006 to 2010. As it was not possible to return to the site and continue the study of the reverse sides of the clay lumps after 2011, the results presented in this chapter are based only on the initial documentation phase. Therefore, only those objects are included that could have been assigned to a specific sealing type with certainty or a high degree of probability. The identification of a clay tablet or envelope with a seal impression generally does not pose a problem. Hence, all of the relevant objects are included in this study. A large part of the material from the American excavation in 1940 was personally inspected at the Oriental Institute of Chicago in 2007. This material is included in our analysis, but information about the type of sealing can only be provided for a few of the clay lumps with seal impressions (see table on pages 96ff.).

sack

33

clay tablet and envelopes door peg docket (1)

26

As for the clay lumps, their state of preservation is always fragmentary because they were broken into pieces when the container was opened and possibly further fragmented later on in the course of secondary depositing processes. Hence, the original size and exact shape of the object usually remains hard to reconstruct. Also, the identification of the type of sealing presents difficulties if the reverse does not provide sufficient information. In general, there are three distinct characteristics that have to be considered when the reverse of a clay sealing is inspected: first, the impressions of a string or rope; second, the impression of a rim in the case of a jar sealing; and third, the impressions of organic materials such as cloth, wood or basketwork. In combination with the shape of the clay lump, these features ideally allow for the reconstruction of the type of sealing of a movable container or door.

jar

5

basket (1) door bolt (1)

In total, 87 objects were analyzed.1 They are listed in the table page 96ff. The categorization is in “jar sealing” (total: 33), “sack sealing” (total: 26), “door peg sealing” (total: 5), “door bolt sealing” (total: 1?), “basket sealing” (total: 1?), “docket” (total 1), “clay tablets and envelopes” (total: 15). The relevance of these statistics can be questioned. On the one hand, they provide a rather erratic overview of the different ways cylinder seals were employed in economic and administrative practices at Tell Fekheriye – though without proving that these were the only possible ways. The analysis and interpretation are indeed limited to contexts at the western slope of the site (Areas C and D), which constitute only a small segment of the entire settlement. However, several of these contexts can be connected to certain household units, and it is important to understand which activities were pursued there. The specific type of clay sealing or tablet/envelope with a seal impression is a valuable piece of evidence for the reconstruction of the economic, administrative and – in the broadest sense – cultural practices that took place at these particular places in the Middle Assyrian settlement at Tell Fekheriye. In addition, the motif of the seal employed may relate to these practices in a certain way. Therefore, in the table on pages on 96ff., the objects are listed in the numerical order of the motifs of the seal impressions in order to make clear which specific objects the specific seal motifs have been applied to.

1

One is a cylinder seal, three are clay lumps the function of which cannot not be determined, therefore, these four objects do not appear in the statistic interpretation.

85

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

86

The chapter starts with a discussion of the diff erent types of objects sealed and with a reconstruction of the sealing method. It concludes with a summary that focuses on two possible interpretation methods: fi rst, the relations between the diff erent types of sealings and their contexts; and second, the distribution of seal motifs in relation to the sealed objects in a spatial and diachronic perspective. Only a few comparable studies exist for such an approach. Apart from the general overview in “Siegelpraxis” in Reallexikon der Assyriologie (Otto 2009–2011), there are important contributions on sealing practices in Late Prehistoric Arslantepe (Frangipani 2007), the Uruk period (Brandes 1979; Rigillo 1992), Ur III period Nippur (Hattori 2001), Old Babylonian Tell Bi’a/Tuttul (Otto 2004), the Neo-Assyrian and Late Neo-Babylonian Tell Sheikh Hamad/Dur-Katlimmu (Fügert 2015: 7–18, 132–149) and Achaemenid Persepolis (Garrison and Root 2001; Root 2008). For the Middle Assyrian period, they are still lacking. Some useful information concerning the Middle Assyrian sealing practices on clay tablets can be gained from the publications on seal impressions on tablets from Assur (Feller 2009) and Tell Billa (Matthews 1991). One particularly profound study on the seal impressions on clay lumps from Tell Sabi Abyad is in preparation. Thanks to Kim Duistermaat, a number of the preliminary results of this study can be taken into account here. Regarding the Middle Assyrian material from Tell Fekheriye, the following general remarks can be made in advance: One sample of clay raw material (TF-6412), taken from the depositional clay tablet context (C-1035) in Area C I, was petrographically analyzed at the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn and compared with the clay of fi ve Middle Assyrian tablets from the same context (TF-6105, TF-6121, TF-6203, TF-6239 and TF-6345). The results of these analyses prove that all the tablets were made using a clay paste taken from the clay bed of the sample TF-6412. They were thus produced locally. This clay is of a light brown or orange-brown color and usually has a very fi ne texture. If there are any inclusions, they are generally very small and limited to vegetal inclusions. Macroscopically observed, the clay closely resembles that of the sealings. Therefore, it can be assumed that the clay tablets/envelopes and the clay sealings were made from the same clay paste. Most sealings as well as the tablets are unbaked, only few are accidentally fi red. Tab. 6.1 | Results of the petrochemical analysis carried out by Hans Mommsen at the University Bonn. Samples Fech 1-5 are from clay tablets, Fech 6 from clay raw material, all found in context C-1035

Sample

Factor

As

Ba

Ca%

Ce

Co

Cr

Cs

Eu

Fe%

Ga

Fech 1: 6105

1.018

11.2

280.

12.1

46.9

23.3

234.

3.76

1.00

4.26

11.7

Fech 2: 6121

0.873

12.2

229.

9.07

54.2

24.0

261.

2.84

1.14

4.57

11.7

Fech 3: 6203

0.862

14.0

227.

6.18

47.8

27.0

273.

3.19

1.05

4.89

13.8

Fech 4: 6239

0.878

13.3

250.

9.43

52.7

25.8

253.

2.86

1.13

4.50

14.4

Fech 5: 6345

1.449

14.7

243.

30.3

49.1

19.6

290.

3.30

1.04

3.94

14.2

Fech 6T: 6412

1.120

14.4

264.

15.8

48.2

21.2

318.

3.10

1.06

4.20

11.4

0.098 0.7

31. 12.

0.20 2.0

0.35 0.7

0.13 0.5

1.1 0.4

0.097 0.022 0.014 3.1 2.0 0.3

13. 1.4 10. 6.

248. 31. 12. 6.

10. 3.6 34. 5.

50. 2.9 5.9 6.

23. 2.8 12. 6.

272. 29. 11. 6.

3.2 0.34 11. 6.

ave. meas. error in %

ave. value M spread in % #

1.1 8.0

1.1

4.4

5.2 6.

7.6 6.

13. 1.3 9.5 6.

0.056 0.33

Sample

Factor

Hf

K%

La

Lu

Na%

Nd

Ni

Rb

Sb

Sc

Fech 1

1.018

3.47

2.03

22.6

0.31

0.48

18.5

211.

68.3

0.89

14.8

Fech 2

0.873

4.54

1.73

23.7

0.33

0.49

20.7

141.

56.6

0.71

13.9

Fech 3

0.862

3.92

1.97

21.3

0.33

0.37

19.8

156.

63.0

0.87

16.5

Fech 4

0.878

4.18

1.72

23.2

0.34

0.45

20.7

154.

55.1

0.79

14.3

Fech 5

1.449

4.27

1.59

24.6

0.36

0.33

14.9

263.

57.3

1.82

13.7

Fech 6

1.120

3.75

1.79

23.1

0.34

0.38

19.9

127.

61.7

0.88

14.3

ave. meas. error in %

0.055 0.012 0.062 0.011 0.002 1.4 0.7 0.3 3.2 0.5

1.1 5.9

29. 17.

2.2 3.6

0.090 0.020 11. 0.1

ave. value M spread in % #

4.0 0.38 9.5 6.

0.42 0.067 16. 6.

19. 2.1 11. 6.

173. 50. 29. 6.

60. 5.0 8.3 6.

0.82 0.090 11. 5.

1.8 0.16 9.1 6.

23. 1.1 4.7 6.

0.34 4.8 6.

15. 1.0 7.1 6.

Sample

Factor

Sm

Ta

Tb

Th

Ti%

U

W

Yb

Zn

Zr

Fech 1

1.018

3.69

0.79

0.51

0.61

0.43

1.27

1.55

2.08

87.8

145.

Fech 2

0.873

4.12

0.91

0.62

6.55

0.55

1.37

1.19

2.21

84.5

178.

Fech 3

0.862

3.81

0.82

0.62

6.37

0.55

1.36

1.13

2.14

88.4

131.

Fech 4

0.878

4.04

0.91

0.67

6.40

0.55

1.27

1.27

2.24

86.0

154.

Fech 5

1.449

3.49

0.79

0.56

6.40

0.58

1.20

1.22

2.36

70.3

191.

Fech 6

1.120

3.55

0.70

0.61

6.66

0.42

1.34

1.38

2.25

77.6

163.

ave. meas. error in %

0.015 0.046 0.054 0.060 0.050 0.18 0.4 5.6 9.2 0.9 9.8 13.

0.11 0.052 8.8 2.3

2.0 2.4

21. 14.

ave. value M spread in % #

1.3 0.51 6.6 0.82 0.59 3.8 0.26 0.083 0.057 0.27 0.068 0.18 13. 13. 4.1 9.7 10. 6.7 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6.

2.2 1.3 0.16 0.096 4.4 12. 6. 6.

83. 7.0 8.5 6.

159. 21. 14. 6.

6.1 Jar sealings

For the clay sealings, the clay lumps were shaped to fi t below the rim of a vessel, on the neck of a corded sack, on a door peg or on the angle between a door peg and the wall of the door. In all these cases, it is very rare that the cylinder seal was later completely unrolled on the obverse side(s) of the clay lump (e.g. TF-7264). Most oft en, only part of the seal was impressed either horizontally or vertically on the surface. Sometimes the impression was repeated one or two times so that one impression overlaps the other. Usually, the clay tablets and envelopes were fi rst sealed, generally on all six sides, and then inscribed. Many seal impressions are therefore superimposed by cuneiform, but in almost all cases, a space on the tablet remains uninscribed in order to make the complete seal impression visible (see chapter 6.7 below: “Clay tablets and envelopes”).

6.1 Jar sealings

87

Fig. 6.2 | D-146 | TF-1921, Jar sealing

M.As 35 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.3 | C-1100 | TF-10032, Jar sealing

M.As 34 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.4 | C-1704 | TF-7832, Jar sealing

M.As 39 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.5 | C-1300 | TF-7826, Jar sealing

M.As 44 | Scale 1:2

33 objects

To seal the contents of a storage jar, usually the opening of the vessel was covered with a piece of cloth that was fi xed with a piece of string wrapped several times around the neck of the vessel just under the rim. Aft erward the clay lump was attached to the rope, oft en at the place where it was knotted together. The reverse of this type of clay sealing can thus show impressions of the lower part of the rim of the vessel, a few windings of the s-plied string (in general between 3 and 5 mm thick) and of some loose folds of the cloth under the rope impression. If all three elements are preserved on the archaeologically recorded clay sealing, its identifi cation as a jar sealing is clear. But the evidence of the rope impressions in combination with only one of the other two elements and with the shape of the clay lump can also lead to this identifi cation. On the basis of these criteria and in comparison with the well-documented sealing practice at Tell Sabi Abyad, we can defi ne the following characteristics for jar sealings at the Middle Assyrian Tell Fekheriye: Oval-shaped or oblong clay sealings are common that were placed longitudinally over a double or triple row of strings. Sometimes the cross-shaped winding of the strings indicates a knot to which the clay sealing was attached. The obverse of the clay sealing is fl at or slightly convex. The seal is either impressed horizontally or vertically on the clay sealing. There is no recognizable preference for the choice of either one of these orientations.

The clay sealing can be placed directly under the rim of the vessel so that none or only one minor impression of the rim is visible on the reverse. Or it was attached on the lower side of the rim leaving a clear impression (e.g. TF-1921, fi g.6.2, TF-10032, fi g.6.3).

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

88

In a few cases it can be concluded that the rope was apparently not knotted because a hole runs through the clay. This indicates that a loose end of the string stuck out on either side of the front of the clay sealing (see TF-3129, TF-3164, fi gs. 6.7 [reconstruction], 6.8 and 6.9). This method of fi xing the rope was observed in Tell Sabi Abyad. K. Duistermaat describes it as a method for preventing slippage of the unknotted rope and as an easy way to remove the sealing when the jar needed to be opened: a person could easily have pulled the two ropes to the side and cracked the sealing in one movement instead of breaking the hard dried clay “piece by piece” from the rope and the rim.2 One variation is the bulla-shaped clay sealing TF-7450 (see chapter 4, fi g. 4.11), where the string runs along the axis and comes out at the end of the bulla. The remains of a rim impression on the reverse indicates that the bulla was attached to a pottery vessel, so it is indeed a jar sealing. In this case, it seems that the clay lump was fi rst modeled around the string and aft erward attached to the vessel when the string was fi xed around its neck.

Fig. 6.7 | Reconstruction of general jar sealing practice

Fig. 6.8 | C-145 | TF-3164, Jar sealing

 | M.As 1 Scale 1:3

M.As 1 | Scale 1:2

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression, hole where the rope was running through the clay, rim impression

Fig. 6.6 | Reconstruction of sealing type as TF-7265

 | M.As 20

An exceptional type of jar sealing is TF-7265, which was directly attached to the rim of a large jar with a thick ribbon rim. The impression of the complete rounded upper part of the rim indicates that the sealing was indeed placed near the top of the rim and thus sticking out diagonally from it (fi g. 6.6 [reconstruction] and fi g. 6.10). It is hard to imagine how such a sealing would have remained fi xed at the vessel’s rim because no string impressions are visible below the rim impression. However, as the fi ne grooves of the wheelmade rim are clearly visible in the impression and no cloth could have been stretched between the rim and the sealing, the stocking eff ect of the dried clay must have been effi cient enough to join the sealing with the rim. The function of such a sealing was probably to mark property rather than to properly seal the contents of the vessel.

2

Kim Duistermaat, in discussion with the author, February 2017.

Fig. 6.9 | C-145 | TF-3129, Jar sealing

Fig. 6.10 | C-1191 | TF-7265, Jar sealing

M.As 1 | Scale 1:2

M.As 20 | Scale 1:2

6.1 Jar sealings

12 cm

89

T

T

The most common types of sealed vessels are large jars without a neck and with a ribbon rim (fi g. 6.12).3 Numerous rim fragments of such jars are attested in the Tell Fekheriye contexts where the bulk of the clay sealings with a seal impression were found (e.g. C-0145, C-0926, C-1191). As described in chapter 5, all of these contexts are refuse deposits, yet the occurrence of broken jar sealings together with the fragments of these types of large storage vessels suggests that they had a functional relation. In comparison to the complete jars excavated in Tell Sabi Abyad,4 the storage capacities of these jars vary between 20 l and 50 l, with a mean capacity of around 30 l (Duistermaat 2008: 575–576). The suggested function of such large-sized jars is the long-term storage of liquids and grain, with frequent pouring or access to content (Duistermaat 2008: 577).

12 cm

Fig. 6.11 | Reconstructed complete storage jar (CTL)

Scale 1:4

C-1035 | TF-6141.67 (rim) 3

Fekheriye rim types 4.2 b, 6 a, 6.1 b, 6.3, 6.4 b, 6.4.1 b (see Coppini, forthcoming); and types 322 and 323 according to Duistermaat 2008: e.g. fi gs. IV.30a–g, IV.31a–d, IV.32.b–e, IV.81a–g, IV, 82.a–e, IV.83.a–k, IV.84a–g, IV.85a–i, IV.86.a–e, IV.87.a–f).

4

See footnote 36.

+ C-0138 | TF-1376.22 (base)

13 cm

12 cm

16 cm T

T

C-926 | TF-3853.166

Height: 38,8 cm

C-145 | TF-1432.18 5 cm

C-1035 | TF-6141.67 10 cm

12 cm

T

T

15 cm

T

C-1035 TF6141-68

5 cm

C-1035 | TF-6141.68 C-926 | TF-3853.187

C-145 | TF-1432.21

T

13 cm

10 cm T

T

16 cm

C-1035 TF6141-69

C-1035 | TF-6141.69

5 cm

T

16 cm

C-926 | TF-3853.98

C-1035 | TF-6141.16 C-1035 TF6141-71

C-1035 | TF-6141.71

5 cm

T

12 cm T

10 cm

T

14 cm

C-926 | TF-3853.174

Fig. 6.12 | Different jar rim types from Tell Fekheriye

C-1035 TF6141-66

C-1035 | TF-6141.66

C-1035 TF6141-72

5 cm

C-1035 | TF-6141.72

5 cm

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

90

6.2 Sack sealings

26 objects

A cloth sack was usually sealed by swathing its opening two or three times with a string and then placing the clay lump over the strings. The clay lump covers parts of the strings and the cloth of the sack below and above the strings (fi g. 6.13 reconstruction).Sometimes the impression of a knot is visible on the reverse side of the clay lump, indicating that it was attached to the place where the lacing of the sack was knotted together (e.g. TF-3394, TF- 7264). The string used to tie the sack necks usually was between 3 and 5 mm thick, and all of the strings are s-plied. Only TF-3304 has a string thicker than 5 mm.

Fig. 6.13 | Reconstruction of general sack sealing practice

 | M.As 1

In order to identify a sack sealing, the reverse side of the clay lumps must bear the impression of the strings and the cloth showing folds below and/or above the string impressions. If the impression of folds above the strings is missing, it is oft en diffi cult to distinguish sack sealings from the jar sealings that lack jar rim impressions. However, sack sealings oft en show deeper fold grooves than jar sealings because the cloth of a sack tends to wrinkle strongly at both sides of the lacing. Thin folds and plaits of cloth impressed on the reverse sides of the sealings indicate a fi nely woven cloth. Such fi ne cloth does not point to large sacks. It thus seems that rather small packages were stored and sealed in sacks.

Amorphous clay lump, deep single string impression, impressions of cloth at both sides of the string impression

Fig. 6.14 | C-145 | TF-3263, sack sealing

M.As 1 | Scale 1:2

The shape of the sack sealings can vary from oval to oblong/ bulla-shaped clay lumps. These are usually thicker than the jar sealings because the clay lump needs to have more volume to be affi xed to the sharp angle of the laced sack neck and to off er an accessible surface for the seal impression. As for the jar sealings, the cylinder seal motifs were applied either parallel or perpendicular to the direction of the string windings around the sack neck. In some cases, the cylinder seal impression was rolled out, while in others one side of the cylinder seal was stamped on the clay lump (e.g. TF-3263, fi g. 6.14). The type of sack and peg sealing attested at Tell Sabi Abyad is not present in material from Tell Fekheriye.

Convex shaped clay lump, thick string impression with knot, impressions of cloth

Fig. 6.15 | C-478 | TF-3394, sack sealing

M.As 5 | Scale 1:2

6.2 Sack sealings

A—A'

A'

A

Oblong clay lump, three parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below and above the string impressions

Fig. 6.16 | C-478 | TF-4803, sack sealing

91

Bulla-shaped clay lump, folded around a string, impressions of cloth

M.As 25 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.19 | C-1191 | TF-7413, bulla-shaped sack sealing

Fig. 6.20 | C-1191 | TF-7486 | sack sealing

M.As 41 | 1:2

M.As 41 | Scale 1:2

Convex shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below and above the string impressions

Fig. 6.17 | C-1042 | TF-10103, sack sealing

M.As 9 | Scale 1:2 Irregular shaped clay lump, two parallel thick string impressions, impressions of cloth

Oval-shaped clay lump, two string impressions with knot(?), impressions of cloth with deep grooves

Fig. 6.18 | C-1191 | TF-7264, sack sealing

Fig. 6.21 | C-926 | TF-3812 | sack sealing

M.As 6 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.22 | C-1293 | TF-7792 | sack sealing

M.As 5 | Scale 1:2

Conical clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth

M.As 45 | Scale 1:2

Fig. 6.23 | C-1404 | TF-6293 | sack sealing

M.As 14 | Scale 1:2 / 1:1

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

92

6.3 Door peg sealings

5 objects

The few Middle Assyrian door peg sealings found in Area C at Tell Fekheriye all show on their reverse side the impression of a cylindrical wooden peg with a smooth surface. They also have string impressions. In one case, the impression of the rough surface of a mud-brick wall is recognizable on the reverse side of TF-7425 (fi g. 6.24). On TF-7425 and TF-7431 (both from C-1191), the end of the string can be seen running from the peg toward the door.

Oblong and curved clay lump, impression of wooden peg, single string impression, impression of mudbrick wall ( )

Fig. 6.24 | C-1191 | TF-7425, door peg sealing

M.As 40 | Scale 1:2/1:1

WALL DOOR

Fig. 6.28 | Reconstruction of door peg sealing

Rectangular clay lump, three parallel string impressions, impression of wooden peg

| M.As 46

Because three fi nd contexts of these fragmented clay lumps lay close together (see below), it can be assumed that all of them belong to the same type of door sealing system. The method can be reconstructed as follows: A wooden peg was inserted into the mud-brick wall next to the door. When the door needed to be closed, the rope that was fi xed to the door was wound around the peg but apparently not knotted. The clay lump was placed over the rope and close to the angle with the wall. Then the seal was impressed up to three times at a right angle to the peg. It must be noted that the diameter of the wooden peg is only around 3–3.5 cm. These very thin pegs also are attested at Tell Sabi Abyad, but the majority of wooden and stone pegs there measure 5–5.5 cm.5 On the one hand, it seems more practical to use thicker pegs for a door sealing system. On the other, since the peg did not really need to hold the rope tightly, it did not need to be thick and set deeply into a mud-brick wall. Its purpose was to bear the clay sealing with a seal impression, which was an effi cient way to protect the commodities in the storeroom against unauthorized access.

Fig. 6.26 | C-1191 | TF-7431,door peg sealing

M.As 50 | Scale 1:2

A

A—A'

A'

Fig. 6.25 | C-1035 | TF-6179, door peg sealing

Kim Duistermaat, in discussion with the author, February 2017.

M.As 40 | Scale 1:2

Oval-shaped and convex clay lump, impression of wooden peg, three parallel string impressions

Fig. 6.27 | C-1250 | TF-7745, door peg sealing 5

Small fragment of oblong clay lump, impression of wooden peg, two parallel string impressions, impressions

M.As 46 | Scale 1:2

6.3 Door peg sealings | 6.4 Door bolt sealing | 6.5 Basket sealing

6.4 Door bolt sealing

1 object (?)

TF-7463 has a fl at reverse side with an impression of what seems to be a wooden surface with linear striations from the wood grain. The fragment is very small (3.4 x 2.8 cm) and bears no other impressions such as from string or a wall. However, the fl at wood impression on the reverse side could indicate a specifi c type of door sealing attested at Tell Sabi Abyad.6 Here it was identifi ed as a sealing placed on a rectangular wooden bolt that was stuck through two metal rings in order to seal a door. The relevant clay sealing from Sabi Abyad also shows the impression of one of these rims. As TF-7463 shows no traces on the reverse side other than that of a wooden plank or bolt, the identifi cation as a door bolt sealing remains speculative.

6

93

A

A—A'

A'

Fig. 6.29 | C-1191 | TF-7463, Door bolt sealing

M.As 21 | Scale 1:2

Kim Duistermaat, in discussion with the author, February 2017.

Fig. 6.30 | Reconstruction of a door bolt sealing

6.5 Basket sealing

| M.As 21

Fig. 6.31 | Reconstruction of a basket sealing

| M.As 47 | Scale 1:1

1 object (?)

TF-4793 is a small rectangular and almost fl at clay sealing whose reverse shows a very clear and thick (~0.7 cm) single string impression and the impression of organic material that was either a permeable woven (or broadloom?) cloth or fi ne basketwork. Given the direction of the seal impression on the obverse side, the clay sealing must have been placed with its lower end over the string and with its upper part over the cloth or basketwork. Otherwise the seal would have been impressed with its motif upside down, which is a very unusual way to show a cylinder seal impression. One can also see how the clay was neatly formed around the string and horizontally straightened just below it. If it had been the cloth of a sack, the shape of the clay sealing certainly would be more irregular and also show some fold impressions. It is therefore more likely that the clay sealing was attached to basketwork, the exact shape of which, however, remains impossible to determine.

Fig. 6.32 | C-815 | TF-4793, basket sealing

M.As 47 | Scale 1:1

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

94

6.6 Docket

1 object

TF-7386 (see catalogue M.As 41) is a small rectangular block with impressions of the same seal on the obverse side and on one of the narrow edges. The block is not inscribed and lacks any imprints of the sealed object. It has therefore been classifi ed as a docket for which the specifi c function, however, remains hard to determine. The motif of the seal (M.As 41) impressed on the docket also appears on three sack sealings found in the same context (C1191). A variation of the same motif (M.As 40) appears on a jar sealing and a door peg sealing from the same context. This, at least, documents the use of the docket in an administrative context that concerned the storage of some movable commodities. Perhaps it was enclosed in one of the sacks in order to provide further proof of the owner of the stored commodity aft er the sack was opened.

6.7 Clay tablets and envelopes

1:1 Fig. 6.33 | C-1191 | TF-7386, docket

M.As 41 | Scale 1:2

15 objects

During the excavations at Tell Fekheriye between 2006 and 2010, a total of 107 clay tablets and envelopes were found in a complete or fragmentary state of preservation. In addition, 12 tablets and fragments of tablets are documented from the American excavation in 1940 (Güterbock 1958). Of these inscribed objects, only 15 bear legible impressions of a cylinder seal.7 There are three legal economic documents, three receipts, one tablet fragment of unspecifi ed content and eight fragmentary envelopes that were found detached from the tablets. All of the receipts (TF-7477, TF-6241 and TF-6405) were found packed in their envelopes, which have the impressions of the same seal as the clay tablet. In addition, the texts inscribed on the tablet are repeated on the envelope. No other document types attested at Tell Fekheriye such as distribution lists and letters were sealed. In the case of the legal economic documents and receipts, a single cylinder seal was fi rst impressed several times on the clay, and then the text was inscribed. This causes the effect of “undersealed” tablets, which was a common practice in the Middle Assyrian period (e.g. Moortgat 1942: 50, 52–53; Matthews 1991: 18–19; Feller 2009: 170–172). For the receipts and their envelopes, however, the rule was to leave certain spaces uninscribed so that the complete seal impression remained visible. This seems to be a local practice

2:1 Fig. 6.34 | C-1199 | TF-7477, clay tablet with envelope

M.As 7 Scale 1:3

7

Two of the fragmentary tablets from the 1940 excavations bear traces of a seal but no information on the design can be gained from the publication (Güterbock 1958: 90, pl. 85.10 and 12).

6.6 Docket | 6.7 Clay tablets and envelopes

because in the 13th century BC, there was already a trend in Assur and elsewhere to obscure the seal impressions completely with the text (Feller 2009: 171). The legal economic document F205 with the impression of M.As 8 is the only document from Tell Fekheriye on which the seal impressions are completely superimposed by cuneiform. Most of the envelopes were inscribed with a text of varying length, but in at least one case (TF 6311, seal M.As 3), the obverse of the envelope has no inscription but just a single cylinder seal impression. The fact that the documents (receipts and legal economic texts) only bear impressions of the same cylinder seal emphasizes that these are documents issued by the state administration and not private legal documents, which were usually sealed by diff erent witnesses (Feller 2009: 157–158). This means that the seal impressions on a tablet or envelope from the Tell Fekheriye corpus can mostly be identifi ed as the seals of the offi cial in charge of the administrative process.

95

Fig. 6.35 | C-1035 | TF-6241, clay tablet with envelope

M.As 10 Scale 1:3

Fig. 6.36 | C-1035 | TF-6405, clay tablet with envelope

M.As 11 | Scale 1:3 / 1:1

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

96

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

MAH R8

C-78

TF-1314 M.As 1

MOTIF

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

SEAL

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

Sack sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, single string impression, impressions of cloth

2x

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3271 M.As 1

1x

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3128 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression, rim impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3129 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression, hole where the rope ran through the clay, rim impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3159 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3164 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, hole where the rope ran through the clay, single string impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3165 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression with knot, rim impression, impression of cloth

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3173 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, three parallel string impressions, rim impression

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3174 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions with knot (?), rim impression

MAH R8

C-145

2x

2x

Irregular-shaped clay lump, single string impression, whole where the rope ran through the clay

? 1x

C-145

TF-3262 M.As 1

Sack sealing

Amorphous clay lump, two string impressions with knot, impressions of cloth

? 1x

C-145

TF-3263 M.As 1

Sack sealing

Amorphous clay lump, deep single string impression, impressions of cloth at both sides of the string impression

MAH R8

MAH R8

C-145

C-145

TF-3266 M.As 1

TF-3269 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Sack sealing

Rectangular clay lump, impressions of cloth, the flat reverse and convex obverse indicates that this sealing was attached to a jar Amorphous clay lump, deep single string impression, impressions of cloth

DESCRIPTION

Amorphous clay lump, deep single string impression, impressions of cloth

B-MAG IV

C-255

TF-3664 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, rim impression

MAH R8

C-916

TF-3747 M.As 1

Sack sealing

Amorphous clay lump, deep single string impression with knot, impressions of cloth

1x

2x over lapping

1x

2x stamped

C-916

TF-3764 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression 1x with knot, rim impression

MAH R8

C-916

TF-3767 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression 1x with knot, rim impression

MAH C2

C-926

TF-3809 M.As 1

Sack sealing

Thick convex clay lump, single string impression, impressions of cloth

MAH C2

C-926

Sack sealing

Amorphous clay lump, single string impression, impressions of cloth

MAH C2

C-926

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, string impressions with knot, rim impression

2x

MAH C2

C-926

TF-3832 M.As 1

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, thick single string impression, rim impression

1x

—

C-1285

TF-7746 M.As 1

Sack sealing

Thick convex clay lump, two string impression, impressions of cloth

1x

—

Sound- F 271 ing VI, Floor 2

M.As 2

Clay tablet

"Legal-economic document" Rectangular tablet with several seal impressions under the inscription. On the obverse and reverse a space remains uninscribed to make the seal impression visible.

CTL

C-1404

TF-6311 M.As 3

Clay tablet envelope

Upper half of a rectangular and uninscribed clay tablet envelope

1x

MAH R8

C-145

TF-3169 M.As 4

Clay tablet & envelope

Small fragment of a clay tablet. Remains of seal impression on the edge

1x

—

C-478

TF-3394 M.As 5

Sack sealing

Convex-shaped clay lump, thick string impression with knot, impressions of cloth

—

D-156

TF-2084 M.As 5

Sack sealing

Convex-shaped clay lump, thick string impression with knot, impressions of cloth

MAH C2

C-926

TF-3812 M.As 6

Sack sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, two parallel thick string impressions, impressions of cloth

TF-3825 M.As 1

TF-3826 M.As 1

2x

over lapping

2x

1x

SEAL

MAH R8

1x

Jar sealing

C-145

TYPE

Sack sealing

1x

TF-3260 M.As 1

MAH R8

MAH R8

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions with knot, impressions of cloth

2x

Irregular-shaped clay lump, single string impression, impressions of cloth

C-145

TF-3257 M.As 1

Jar sealing

2x

Jar sealing

MAH R8

MAH R8

TF-3178 M.As 1

1x

MOTIF

2x

over lapping

? 2x

over lapping

over lapping

~8x

2x

1x

1x

6.8 Overview of all Objects

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

MAH R8

C-935

TF-3938 M.As 6

Sack sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, single thick string impression, impressions of cloth

CTL

C-956

TF-3949 M.As 6

Sack sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, two parallel thick string impression, impressions of cloth

CTL

C-1199

TF-7477 M.As 7

Clay tablet & envelope

“Receipt.” Nearly square tablet with its envelope. 8x Seal impressions under the envelope inscription and on blank surface on all sides of the 8x tablet envelope and the tablet

—

Sound- F 204 ing VI, Floor 1

Clay tablet

"Legal-economic document." Rectangular tablet with several seal impressions under the inscription.

STR V

CTL

CTL

CTL

C-1042

C-1035

C-1035

C-1035

TF10103

Convex-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below and above the string impressions

Clay tablet

“Receipt.” Nearly square clay tablet with several seal impressions under the inscription and on blank surface on all sides of the tablet Nearly square clay tablet envelope (of TF-6241) with several seal impressions under the inscription and on blank surface on all sides of the envelope

Clay tablet & envelope

"Receipt." Nearly square clay tablet envelope (unopened, including a tablet) with several seal impressions under the inscription and on blank surface on all sides of the envelope

M.As 12

Jar sealing (?)

Oval-shaped clay lump, string impression

TF-7417 M.As 13

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, three parallel string impression, hole where the rope ran through the clay

Jar sealing

Bulla-shaped clay lump, single string impression, hole where the rope ran through the clay, rim impression, the seal is unrolled around the edge of the sealing.

TF-6405 M.As 11

C-1191

C-1191

Sack sealing

Clay tablet envelope

CTL

CTL

M.As 9

TF-6350 M.As 10

Sound- F 306 ing VI, Floor 2

C-1191

M.As 8

TF-6241 M.As 10

—

CTL

MOTIF

TF-7450 M.As 13

TF-7255 M.As 14

Clay tablet envelope

Upper half of a rectangular tablet envelope with seal impressions on the obverse and on the edge(s), only a few cuneiform signs on the obverse of the envelope

SEAL

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Sack sealing

Conical clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth

Jar sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impression, impressions of cloth

Clay tablet envelope

Left edge of a clay tablet envelope with a few cuneiform signs

2x

M.As 17

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, rim impression

1x

M.As 18

?

Irregular-shaped clay lump

? 1x

TF-6312 M.As 19

Sack sealing

Irregular-shaped clay lump, single string impression with knot, impressions of cloth

? 1x

C-1191

TF-7265 M.As 20

Jar sealing

Rectangular clay lump, thick rim impression

CTL

C-1191

TF-7463 M.As 21

Door bolt sealing

Fragment of a flat clay lump, striations of wood grain on the reverse

CTL

C-1191

TF-7480 M.As 22

Jar sealing

Two fragments of the same flat and Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression

? 1x

CTL

C-1191

TF-7481 M.As 22

Jar sealing ?

Two fragments of the same flat and Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression

? 1x

CTL

C-143

TF-1437 M.As 23

?

Fragment of a irregular clay lump (fired), single string impression

? 2x

—

C-869

TF-3377 M.As 24

Jar sealing

Very thin rectangular clay lump, deep single string impression, impression of bow-taut cloth, rim impression

1x

—

C-478

TF-4803 M.As 25

Sack sealing

Oblong clay lump, three parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below and above the string impressions

1x

—

Sound- F 175 ing VI, Floor 1

Jar sealing ?

Rectangular clay lump, two string impressions with knot

CTL

C-1035

TF-6187 M.As 27

Clay tablet envelope

Fragment of a clay tablet envelope

CTL

C-1191

TF-7430 M.As 28

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two string impressions 1x with knot, rim impression

1x

1x

PHASE

LOCUS

FINDNO.

CTL

C-1404

TF-6293 M.As 14

—

Sound- F 163 ing VI, Floor 1

—

C-78

—

Sound- F 249 ing VI, Floor 2

—

Sound- F 175 ing VI, Floor 1

CTL

C-1404

CTL

~8x

3x

8x

8x

MOTIF

M.As 15

TF-1428 M.As 16

8x

1x

M.As 26

1x

SEAL

1x

2x

1x

2x

1x

2x

1x

1x

obverse

2x

edges

97

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

98

PHASE

LOCUS

—

Sound- F 316 ing VI, Floor 2

FINDNO.

MOTIF

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

M.As 29

Clay tablet envelope

Fragment of a clay tablet envelope

1x

1x

CTL

C-1404

TF-6320 M.As 30

Clay tablet envelope

Fragment of a clay tablet envelope

—

C-78

TF-1247 M.As 31

Sack sealing

Oblong clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below and above the string impressions

Sack sealing ?

Irregular-shaped clay lump, string impressions with knot, impressions of cloth

Clay tablet envelope

Fragment of a clay tablet envelope

Jar sealing

Longitudinal clay lump , rim impression, double string impression

TF-7495 M.As 34

Sack sealing?

Irregular-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth

TF-1921 M.As 35

Jar sealing

Oblong and thin clay lump, single string impression, impressions of cloth below string impression, rim impression

B-MAG C-1244 XIX

TF-7606 M.As 32

—

C-212

TF-7300 M.As 33

CTL

C-1100

TF10032

CTL

C-1191

—

D-146

M.As 34

Sound- F 163 ing VI, F 175 Floor F 203 1-2

M.As 36

—

Sound- F 163 ing VI, F 306 Floor 1-2

M.As 37

No Information about the reverse of these objects

—

Sound- F 269 ing VI, Floor 2

M.As 38

Clay tablet

Fragment of a clay tablet, the impression is placed above the inscription

—

C-1704

Jar sealing

Fragment of a probably oblong clay lump, four parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth below, rim impression above

—

CTL

C-1035

TF-7832 M.As 39

TF-6179 M.As 40

SEAL

Small fragment of an oblong clay lump, impression of wooden peg, two parallel string impressions

LOCUS

FINDNO.

C-1191

TF-7386 M.As 41

MOTIF

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

Docket

Small rectangular block of fine clay

SEAL

1x

obverse & reverse

CTL

C-1191

TF-7413 M.As 41

Sack sealing

Bulla-shaped clay lump, folded around a string, impressions of cloth

CTL

C-1191

TF-7444 M.As 41

Sack sealing

Fragments of a bulla-shaped clay lump, folded around a string, impressions of cloth

CTL

C-1191

TF-7486 M.As 41

Sack sealing

Bulla-shaped clay lump, folded around a string, impressions of fine cloth

—

Sound- F 197 ing VI, Floor 2

M.As 42

Cylinder seal

—

Sound- F 306 ing VI, Floor 2

M.As 43

No Information about the reverse of this object

—

C-1300

TF-7826 M.As 44

Jar sealing

Small fragment of a convex clay lump, single string impression, rim impression

2x

CTL

C-1191

TF-7264 M.As 45

Sack sealing

Oval-shaped and convex clay lump, impression of 2x a wooden peg, three parallel string impressions

1x

—

C-1250

TF-7745 M.As 46

Door peg sealing

Small fragment of a flat clay lump, single thick string impression, reticular impression of cloth or basketwork

—

C-815

TF-4793 M.As 47

Basket sealing

Small fragment of a flat clay lump, single thick string impression, reticular impression of cloth or basketwork

—

Sound- F 306 ing VI, Floor 1

Door peg sealing?

Fragment of a curved clay lump, impression of a wooden peg

—

C-1161

TF-7125 M.As 48

Sack sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, impressions of cloth on both sides of the string impressions

CTL

C-1191

TF-7440 M.As 49

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, single string impression, impression of cloth, rim impression

MAH R8

C-72

TF-1252 M.As 50

No Information about the reverse of this object

1x

1x

1x

2x

No Information about the reverse of these objects

Door peg sealing

PHASE

CTL

1x

M.As 47

2x

3x

CTL

C-1191

TF-7416 M.As 40

Jar sealing

Oval-shaped clay lump, two parallel string impressions, hole where the string ran through the clay, impression of fine cloth

CTL

C-1191

TF-7425 M.As 40

Door peg sealing

Oblong and curved clay lump, impression of 3x wooden peg, single string impression, impression of mudbrick wall

1x

2x

? 1x?

2x

1x

1x

1x

1x

1x

1x

6.9 Conclusion

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION C-945

685

68 4

683

682

681

68 0

463

C-1163 C-1184 462

462 C-1127 C-969

461

461 C-921

C-917

C-910 C-938

C-939 C-927

460

460

Two Door Socket Stones

C-922

TF-3164 TF-3747 TF-3171

C-961

C-960

C-346

C-145

TF-4182

TF-3167

TF-3165 459

459

C-1002

TF-3129 TF-3128

C-69

C-358

C-69

458

458

C-1009 457

457

C-110 Pruß B/15

685

684

683

682

681

456

680

679

The most remarkable fi nd site for clay sealings was the small storeroom R 8 in House 1 and the adjacent deposits over the surrounding courtyards (R 2 and R 3), which probably contain the discarded material from Room 8 (see fi g. 6.37).11 The many fragments of jar sealings and sack sealings found here form a very homogeneous corpus as they only show two diff erent impressed seal motifs. At least 44 show M.As 1, and three show M.As 6.12 From this distribution it can be concluded that during this phase, most of the commodities stored in House 1 fell under the authority of the owner of the seal M.As 1, who, as argued in chapter 4 (M.As 1), can be identifi ed as the sukallu rabiu Aššur-iddin. This high offi cial controlled commodities packed in large jars (16 identifi ed fragments of jar sealings) and in sacks (7 identifi ed fragments of sack sealings).

463

679

The sealing practice attested at Tell Fekheriye is limited to the sealing of jars, sacks and doors and to the marking of legal economic documents and receipts with seal impressions. In contrast to Tell Sabi Abyad, where the majority of clays sealings are door peg sealings, only a few clay sealings of this type were found at Tell Fekheriye. Instead, the most common examples are jar and sack sealings (see fi g. 6.1).8 Other distinctive sealing methods such as the sealing of wooden boxes, sackand-peg sealings, sealings on bundles of reed or the use of stone pegs for door sealings, which are all documented at Tell Sabi Abyad,9 were not found in the Tell Fekheriye material.10 This is not to say that other sealing methods did not exist at Tell Fekheriye. Rather, the excavated contexts provide evidence only of the specifi c use of certain sealing methods in specifi c functional household contexts.

456

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

6.9 Conclusion

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

8

In contrast to Tell Sabi Abyad, only 5 percent are jar sealings and 7 percent are sack sealings; personal communication from Kim Duistermaat.

9

Kim Duistermaat, in discussion with the author, February 2017.

10 There is also the category of jar stoppers. Although they seem quite rare in the Middle Assyrian period, a single well-preserved example (TF-5085) was found on a pebble fl oor (C-515) in the area of House 3 at Tell Fekheriye. The object is of circular shape with a concave obverse side. It bears the impression of the rim of a jar with a narrow mouth on the reverse. The object has no seal impressions, which is why it is not included in the object list here. 11 Only one fragment of a tablet (TF-3169), with the impression of M.As 4, was found in a deposit (C-145) in Room 8.

Clay Sealing

Clay Object burned

Copper Pin

Clay Sealing w. Impr.

Clay Figurine baked

Copper Coin

Sealing w. Motif-No.

Architectural Element

Copper Object

Clay Object

Gemstone Bead

Bone Object

Clay Object baked

Glass Bead

Fig. 6.37 | Distribution of clay sealings and other objects in Room 8 1:75

The other motif, M.As 6, which shows two rampant horses facing each other and is attested in the same economic contexts, was impressed on three sack sealings. The household activities refl ected in the use of M.As 1 and M.As 6 in the residential context of an Assyrian high offi cial will be further discussed in chapter 7.3.

12 There are more fragments of clay sealings from the area of Room 8. Context C-145 has the highest number of clay sealings, a total of 70. However, these are in part too fragmentary to determine the motif of the seal impression or the specifi c function of the clay sealing. M. As. 50 with the impressions of a shell is from the upper deposit (C-72) in Room 8.

99

6. Objects with Seal impressions, Sealing Practices and their Functional Contexts

100

A few scattered finds of clay sealings with seal impressions were also collected from the area of House 2 and from the house in the southernmost Trench D (see chapters 5.4 and 5.5). The only seal motif that is attested twice in the context of House 2 is M.As 5. However, the relatively small number of objects with seal impressions cannot be taken as evidence that economic and administrative activities were less intensive in these house areas. After all, only the western parts of these houses were excavated, and the material from the eastern part with the house entrance, which in the case of House 1 yielded most of the objects with seal impressions, could not be taken into account. For now, it must be assumed that every house unit had an equal range of economic and administrative activities and duties, which lay in the hands of those officials who used the house unit permanently or temporarily as their residence. The movement of sealed commodities within the settlement of Tell Fekheriye is documented in a few cases. A sack sealing (TF-7746) with the seal impression of M.As 1, which was found under collapsed mud bricks at the western edge of the courtyard in House 2, may indicate that Aššur-iddin sent commodities from his domain to the house in his immediate neighborhood. Impressions of M.As 5 were found on three clay sealings from three different contexts. Two of these can be identified as sack sealings. Of the three, one came from a pit at the northern edge of House 2 (TF-3394 from C-0478), the second from the room fill in House 2 (TF-7792 from C-1293), and the third from the building in excavation Area D (TF-2084 from C-0156). The third find demonstrates how a seal was used to seal packages that were distributed across different locations along the western part of the settlement. As for the material from occupation levels prior to the construction of the residential area at the western part of the upper town, interpretations can be made solely on the basis of the evidence from tertiary deposit contexts. Context C-1191, for example, is a deposit situated below the foundations of Room 8 and the pebble floor of the eastern court (R 3) of House 1. This find spot is of special importance as it yielded the second highest number of clay sealings from a single context (a total of 28, after C-0145, which has 70 fragments of clay sealings). In addition, it showed the richest variety of seal impressions from one context.

Ten different seal motifs (M.As 13, M.As 14, M.As 20, M.As 21, M.As 22, M.As 28, M.As 34, M.As 40, M.As 41, and M.As 45) come from this context. They were impressed on six jar sealings, five sack sealings, three door peg/bolt sealings, one clay tablet envelope13, and one docket. It is impossible to say where this mixed material was taken from when the deposit originated – the aim was apparently to fill in the abandoned terrain in order to secure the ground for the consequently erected House 1 (see chapter 5.3). 13 This envelope bears the impression of Sîn-mudammeq’s seal (see M.As 14 in the catalogue). Since the broken upper part of the envelope was found and detached from the enclosed tablet, it is reasonable to assume that it was sent from outside the area and opened after the addressed official in Tell Fekheriye received the document. Stratigraphically, however, it is now proven, that these seals must have been in use during a period when the whole area was yet not turned into a residential quarter, an event which probably took place several years after Tukulti-Ninurta’s throne accession. Immediately under C-1191 is the context C-1035/C-1199, which contained completely different material. Here the three receipts with envelopes bearing the seal motifs M.As 7, M.As 10 and M.As 11 were found together with around 40 clay tablets or fragments of tablets that have no seal impressions. These tablets are evidently the discarded remains of the archive kept by the local palace during the reign of Šalmaneser I and the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (see chapter 5.3). The iconography of the three seal motifs is in line with this dating. The material from two stratigraphically related deposits (C-1191 and C-1035/C-1199) must therefore have originated from two different functional and spatiotemporal contexts. This does not mean that the two deposits are chronologically separated from each other. After all, in theory, they could have accumulated during the same construction process through the use of refuse as fill from two different sources. Another example of intentionally used discard are the three clay sealings with impressions of motif M.As 9, one of which identified as sack sealing (TF-10103), which were found in the pavement of the street west to the walls of the monumental Building D (context C-1040/C-1042).

13 This envelope bears the impression of Sîn-mudammeq’s seal (see catalogue M.As 14). Since the broken upper part of the envelope was found and detached from the enclosed tablet, it is reasonable to assume that it was sent from outside and opened after the addressed official in Tell Fekheriye received the document.

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications

VAN

EUPHRA

T

Giricano Dunnu-ša-uzibi

38° 00' 00''N

TIGRIS

Tell Amuda Kulišhinaš 37° 00' 00''N

Tell Mohammed Diyab

Tell Fekheriye Aššukanni(?)

Tell Halaf Guzana

Tell al-Hamidiya Taite Tell Khuera Ḫarbe Tell Sabi Abyad Dunnu

Tell Barri Kaḫat

Tell Billa Šibaniba Tell Rimah Karana

Tell Ta'ban Tabetu

Mosul Niniveh

36° 00' 00 00 00''N ''N

EUPHRA

N 0

10

Qalat Sherqat Assur

Tulul al-Aqr Kar-TukultiNinurta

Map data: NE 2 / OSM / HiGeoMes 50 39° 00' 00''E

Periods Occupied:

Tell Sheikh Hamad Dur-Katlimmu

T

Middle Assyrian

100km 40° 00' 00''E

Middle Assyrian — Early Iron Age

41° 00' 00 00''E

42° 00' 00''E

Middle Assyrian — Neo Assyrian

Fig. 7.1 | Location of Middle and post- Middle Assyrian sites in the Tigris region and Iraqi-Syrian Jezirah

Assyria’s rise as a territorial state began in the second half of the 14th century BC. Under the regent Aššur-uballit I (1353– 1318), the city-state of Assur, situated on the Tigris, liberated itself from its vassalage to the Mittani Kingdom and successively seized Mittani-controlled areas extending to the border of the Syrian Euphrates. Assyria’s westward expansion reached its peak in the 13th century under the rulers Adad-nirari I (1295–1264), Šalmaneser I (1263–1234) and Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233–1197). During this period, Assyria emerged most clearly as a state structure characterized by political, economic and cultural unity.

43° 00' 00 00''E

post Middle Assyrian — Neo Assyrian

 | Not to scale

Historical and political processes were instrumental in the development of early Assyrian art. They provide a backdrop for understanding infl uences, appropriations and delimitations in the repertoire of motifs and in the style of the art objects (e.g. Feldmann 2006). The following discussion focuses on the imagery of the seal impressions found at Tell Fekheriye. My primary interest in this context is not the arthistorical aspect but rather the political, economic and social implications of this imagery and the extent to which it can be understood on the basis of an archaeological anthropology of images.

101

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications

102

7.1 Seal motifs during the period of Šalmaneser I The archaeological evidence from Tell Fekheriye proves that the site was under direct Assyrian control at least from the reign of Šalmaneser I. The tablets found in the refuse layers of Area C I-II give testimony to a fully developed local state administration in the earlier reign of this king (Bonatz 2013: 224–225; Bonatz 2014: 74–75). Several of these tablets, i.e. the food distribution lists, were issued in the name of the “palace.” The discarded tablets thus seem to have been part of a central palace archive, which perhaps was located in the area of the so-called monumental Building D (see fi g. 5.8 ). This was where the refuse was taken when the whole area was fi lled in and prepared for the new building constructions. Further observations made on the basis of the onomastics of the texts indicate that the Assyrian colonization was a longer, fl uid process because the personal names are in AssyrianAkkadian, Hurrian and a few unknown ethnolinguistic affi liations. Some of the Assyrian names use, as a topical element, “Khabur,” which provides evidence of second- or thirdgeneration Assyrians living in this region.1 In this sociopolitical context, the seal impressions on tablets and clay lumps refl ect new forms of Assyrian governance and identity. Nine seal motifs can be assigned with a high degree of certainty to the period of Šalmaneser I. These are M. As 7, M.As 9–12, M.As 23, M.As 24, M.As 27, M.As 32, and M.As 35. A number of other motifs such as M.As. 2 and M.As 36–42 might have been produced during the period of Šalmaneser I, but still used during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. Furthermore, M.As 10 clearly continued to be in use in the fi rst years of Tikulti-Ninurta’s reign. First, from a stylistic and iconographic perspective, this small but signifi cant corpus greatly contrasts with the design of the Mittani seal impressions that were mostly collected from the building level below the monumental Building D, the lower street levels and a pit in front of the western façade of Building D – in others words, from purely Mittani period contexts (see Bonatz 2013: 222–223, fi gs. 8 and idem, 2020). A few other items, however, were found in contexts that also include Middle Assyrian material. Such is the case with the street deposit C-1042, in which Mittani seal impressions (e.g. TF-10106 and TF-10107) appear together with impressions of the Middle Assyrian seal motif M.As 9.

1

For the personal input on the onomastics in the Tell Fekheriye texts I wish to thank E. Cancik-Kirschbaum.

M.As 9

  | Scale 1:1

Such intermixings are not surprising. They also occur in the repertoire of ceramics from early Middle Assyrian contexts in which Mittani types appear side by side with newly introduced types of Assyrian pottery.2 Contexts such as the diff erent street levels in front of the monumental Building D in fact document a transitional phase, during which material culture from the Mittani period was only gradually replaced by distinctly Middle Assyrian materials. The case of the seals is nevertheless diff erent from that of pottery. Here, the contrast in the imagery is very sharp. Regardless of whether the imagery is considered from a diachronic or synchronic perspective, it can be summarized that everyone who used a seal with an image in the mature Middle Assyrian style of the Šalmaneser period held a distinct sign of its institutional and personal identity in his hand. In this context, the imagery had a clear affi rmative and persuasive function, as exemplifi ed by the group of contest scenes that include the image of the laḫmu (see chapter 4.9, M.As Id). The laḫmu in combat with a winged lion-griffi n (M.As 10) and the laḫmu fi ghting a centaur (M.As 11) are seal motifs impressed on two legal documents (“receipts”) that were found in their sealed clay envelope together with other discarded tablets from the local palace administration. In addition, the laḫmu fi ghting a lion (M.As 9) appears on three broken jar sealings found on two superimposed street layers (C-1040 and C-1042); and another monster-fi ghting laḫmu (M.As 12) is attested on a clay sealing from the American excavation. The laḫmu in his pictorial and historical context clearly symbolizes the sovereignty of the Assyrian state. As I have already argued elsewhere (Bonatz 2015; idem 2019), his image must have had an apotropaic function and was incorporated into a mythologized landscape that obviously paralleled the conquest of foreign territories.

2

See the forthcoming work by C. Coppini on the pottery from Tell Fekheriye.

7.1 Seal motifs during the period of Šalmaneser I

103 The local and mostly hostile environment in which such an image was used by Assyrian officials stressed its positive and protective meaning. The different versions of the motif introduced an auratic imagery, which can be read as a response to the emblematic style of the Mittani glyptic. In chapter 4, the parallels between the group of laḫmu seals (M.As 9–12) and contemporary seals from Assur (comparison nos. 32–35) have been highlighted. Among these similar laḫmu designs, two can be assigned to Bābu-aḫa-iddina, a high-standing official in the Middle Assyrian state (see the discussion under M.As 11). It cannot be said that the officials in Tell Fekheriye who used seals with the image of a laḫmu had a similarly high rank. However, it can be assumed that these individuals belonged to the Assyrian state elite. For example, the “receipt” (TF-6405) that bears impressions of the contest between a laḫmu and a centaur (M.As 11) documents the delivery of a large quantity of grain to a certain Aššur-dammeq, son of Qibi-Aššur. The latter might be identical with the Qibi-Aššur who was the first to hold the title sukallu rabiu ("grand vizier") in the Assyrian state administration. He was a member of the royal family as well (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 21; idem: 221). Qibi-Aššur also appears as the sender of a “letter order” (TF-6375) that was found in the same context as the tablets TF-6350 and TF-6405 with the impressions of M.As 10 and M.As. 11 (see also Bonatz 2014: 74). The connection with such a salient person remains speculative; however, within the framework of the pictorial evidence and the strongly related seal designs, much speaks in favor of a closely interacting group of Assyrian officials.

In this context, the development of a distinct iconographic seal repertoire is progressive. It should be not understood as a linear process starting from the capital in Assur but as a mutual interaction, with experiences gained outside Assur exerting a strong impact on the creation of iconographic themes. It is no coincidence that in the course of the political developments from Adad-nirari I to Šalmaneser I, trends in seal design changed remarkably. The increased number of contest scenes featuring monsters, animals and “heroes” obviously reflects the aggressive nature of Assyrian expansion. However, it also mirrors the Assyrian perception of the conquered landscape. Notably, the visual message of the seals is not channeled through depictions of human action, such as battles or military pomp, but through the clash of animals, monsters, “heroes” and laḫmu figures. In this respect, the period of Šalmaneser I also proved to be innovative insofar as it introduced the laḫmu figure into the iconographic repertoire of seals and provided, as his opponents, not only animals such as lions (M.As 9) and bulls (comparison no. 33), but also monsters such as the lion-griffin (M.As 10) and the centaur (M.As 11).3 This shift strongly mythologizes a pictorial theme and turns it into a mirror of the period’s political developments.

3

As D. Matthews noted, most of the monsters and animals that became typical of the Tikulti-Ninurta period were already attested in the reign of Šalmaneser (Matthews 1990: 100).

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications

104

7.2 Seal motifs during the Šalmaneser I - Tukulti-Ninurta I transition During the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, the layout of the occupation in Area C changed completely. The monumental Building D was abandoned, filled up with debris and used as a sort of terrace for a new series of Middle Assyrian houses (see chapter 5, figs. 5.4 and 5.9). The question of when exactly this event took place is difficult to answer. Three līmu officials who date to the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I are attested in texts from the area of Houses 1 and 2: Aššurnādin-apli, mentioned in text no. 9 from the American excavations (Güterbock 1958: 86); Sarniqu, mentioned in the document TF-4772 from House 2 (Bonatz 2013: 234); and Eru-apla-iddina, mentioned in the text fragment TF-3168 found in House 1 (Bonatz 2014: 75). Aššur-nādin-apli, who might be identical with the son of the king, was līmu in the seventh year of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (Saporetti 1979: 116–117; Freydank 1991: 42, 194; idem 2016: 9), while the two other eponyms probably mark the end of his reign (Saporetti 1979: 118–119, 121; Freydank 1991: 194; idem 2005: 52; idem 2016: 9).4 Based on this chronological evidence, it seems reasonable to assume that the new buildings were constructed several years after Tukulti-Ninurta’s accession to the throne and that they were mainly in use during the middle and end of his reign. This interpretation is further validated by the observation that the activities of Aššur-iddin, who became a very prominent figure in the administration of the western part of the Middle Assyrian state by the middle of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign, were assigned to the area of House 1. I will discuss this important point below. The reason for the spatial reorganization of the Assyrian settlement at Tell Fekheriye apparently also lies in the reorganization of the western provinces during this period. Tukulti-Ninurta I secured the conquests of his father, expanded the borders of Assyrian-controlled territories as far as the Balikh in the west and defined a new series of districts (pāḫutu) (Cancik-Kirschbaum 2000: 6–7; Jacob 2003: 8, Llop 2011; idem 2012).

4 Recently H. Freydank began having doubts about the position of Eru-apla-iddina in the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta and instead tentatively assigned him to the reign of Aššur-dan I (1168–1133) (Freydank 2016: 27, 48). This, however, would result in an improbably late date for the document TF-3168.

The chief administrator of the western territories, or grand vizier (sukkallu rabi’u), now also received the title of “King of the Land of Ḫanigalbat” (šar māt Ḫanigalbat), and Dur-Katlimmu at the Lower Khabur became his place of residence as governor. However, it is unclear whether these developments necessarily contributed to diminishing the rank of Tell Fekheriye in the political system of the state. However, at a certain point in history, the king or his delegates decided to place on top of the former palace area a series of domestic buildings that, as I will argue later, served as the private residences of high-ranking officials. A continuous development from the end of Šalmaneser’s reign to the beginning of Tukulti-Ninurta’s rule at Tell Fekheriye is indicated by finds from the deposits between the monumental Building D and House 1. One of these is a single tablet and its envelope (TF-6241/ TF-6350, see M.As 10) from the group of around 40 tablets that were found in refuse context C-1035/1199. As already pointed out, several of these tablets can be dated on the basis of their eponyms to the middle of Šalmaneser’s reign. This tablet, however, mentions the eponym Adad-bēl-gabbe, who was one of the first līmu officials during Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign (Freydank 2005: 49–50; idem 2016: 9; Bloch 2010: 31). The second piece of evidence is provided by the many fragments of clay sealings and a few seal impressions on tablet envelopes collected from the deposit C-1191, which lay directly above the deposit containing the tablet finds. Eleven different seal motifs were identified within this corpus (M.As 13, M.As 14, M.As 20, M.As 21, M.As 22, M.As 28, M.As 34, M.As 40, M.As 41, M.As 45 and M.As 49). Their find context is directly under the foundations of the eastern courtyard area of House 1, and they thus provide insight into the development of the stylistic and iconographic seal repertoire during the transition from Šalmaneser I to Tukulti-Ninurta I. Seal motifs M.As 20–22 show animal contest scenes, the complete design of which cannot be reconstructed because of their fragmented state of preservation. However, the compositions clearly follow the triangular format, which is a typical stylistic characteristic of the Tukulti-Ninurta period. By contrast, the contest between a lion and a human-like being, probably a laḫmu, on M.As 13 shows elements of the Šalmaneser period because the two contestants appear in a more open composition

7.2 Seal motifs during the Šalmaneser I - Tukulti-Ninurta I transition

105 and because of the botanical elements forming the background of the scene. Similarly, the composition of the ostrich hunt on M.As 14 recalls the Šalmaneser style, yet the ostrich is a typical animal for the Tukulti-Ninurta period. The seal has some historical significance because it can be assigned to the sukallu Sîn-mudammiq. It is tempting to assume that the motif of the ostrich hunt was introduced when he received his office as sukallu – an event that plausibly could have taken place in the accession year of Tukulti-Ninurta I. As an animal of the steppes, the ostrich indeed matches the natural environment of Sîn-mudammeq’s sphere of political agency in the Upper Khabur region (see below). On M.As 14, three ostriches are hunted and apparently slain by a hero. This image can easily be interpreted as a symbol of the dominating power, which was connected to his office in this specific geographic context. Traditional elements of the former glyptic styles and iconographies, i.e. the Mittani-Kirkuk style resembling a stylized tree and the winged sun on a stool, are also found on M.As 34. By contrast, the two rampant bovids, which flank the stylized tree, are depicted in a dynamic and almost triangular composition that points to the style of the Tukulti-Ninurta period. Yet the overall design of this seal motif is distinct from the aggressive nature and powerful symbolism of the other seal motifs. Would it therefore be possible that such a seal motif was used by a person, i.e. an official, who was not a proper Assyrian but affiliated with the Assyrian state apparatus? Another group of seal motifs that stands out from the generic and innovative character of the Middle Assyrian contest scenes depicts ritual scenes. These are rooted in previous iconographic traditions and retained their rather conservative image through all the stages of the Middle Assyrian period. This is the reason they are generally hard to draw on for chronological conclusions. Three of the ten seal motifs attested on the seal impressions found in context C-1191 represent ritual scenes, which reflects the relatively high proportion of ritual scenes in the entire corpus from Tell Fekheriye (see the introduction to chapter 4.9, M.As III). Apart from the typical worshipping scene on M.As 45, the two versions of the unparalleled palm tree ritual depicted on M.As 40 and M.As 41 require special attention. In chapter 4, I argued that a purification ritual was the thematic background of this scene.

It is impossible to explain why such a scene was intentionally used in the political, economic and geographic context of Tell Fekheriye. The area has no discernible importance for palm economies, and there is no compelling reason to assume such a connection in the first place because of the ritual character of the scene. As is the case for the other ritual representations in Middle Assyrian seal art, it might be the personal choice of the seal owner, who was not obliged to use a seal design in line with the new ideological conventions of this time, but in accordance with the perception of something helpful and protective, i.e. the purification to which this scene alludes. Against this backdrop, the rituals depicted on the seals, in particular, leave the impression of being a form of psychological release for their owners. Furthermore, it must be kept in mind that in another area of the settlement, at least one important religious institution is said to have been situated. This was the temple of the regional storm god, the “Lord of the Khabur,” which has not yet been located but which is well known from the bilingual text of the Neo-Assyrian Tell Fekheriye statue.5 Priests and officials involved with the temple could be candidates as owners of the seals depicting a palm tree ritual, and they would have been in regular contact with the palace institution at Tell Fekheriye, which apparently still existed when the seals were originally used. One could indeed imagine a space within the palace compound in which commodities related to the economy of the temple or destined for its consumption were stored. In this respect, it is interesting to note that two of the seal impressions of M.As 40 were found on door peg sealings and one on a jar sealing while three impressions of M.As 41 are on sack sealings and one is on a “docket” (see chapter 6.6). Such an ensemble points to a closed functional context, even if the actual circumstances of the find in a refuse deposit do not allow any conclusive interpretations.

5

The epithet “Lord of the Khabur” is mentioned in line 16 of the Aramaic inscription and line 25 of the Akkadian inscription of the statue, which was erected by Hadad-Yis’i, the Aramaean “king” appointed as governor of the region by the Assyrians (Abou-Assaf, Bordreuil and Millard 1982). There is further evidence that the cult of the storm god at this site goes back to the Late Bronze Age and even to the Ur III period (Bonatz 2014: 62–63, with further references).

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7.3 Seal motifs during the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I Excavations in the eastern part of House 1 yielded a high number of seal impressions on clay lumps, which were used to seal either jars or sacks. Few seal motifs were found impressed on fragments of clay tablet envelopes. The largest concentration is from Room 8, which is interpreted as a storeroom. Other finds are from the adjacent courtyard areas and the entrance area (see chapters 5 and 6). Eleven different seal motifs were identified from these collections (M.As 1, M.As 3, M.As 4, M.As 6, M.As 16, M.As 19, M.As 23, M.As 25, M.As 30, M.As 31 and M.As 49). In addition, there are about thirteen seal motifs from the American excavation, which are said to come from Floors 1 and 2 of the same house. However, as explained in chapter 5, the documentation of the American excavation does not allow us to decide if the indicated find context of the objects with seal impressions really pertains to the occupation layers of House 1 or if they actually come from the deposits below House 1. Certain objects and their seal impressions could therefore date to the period prior to the construction of House 1 (e.g. M.As 36–38). House 2 is the other area in which significant finds of seal motifs impressed on clay lumps were found (M.As 5, M.As 32, M.As 44 and M.As 46), yet their distribution is much more random than in House 1 (see chapter 5). The overall picture of all these finds clearly reflects the canonical style of the Tukulti-Ninurta period. The contest scenes are in a clear triangular format (M.As 1, M.As 3, M.As 4, M.As 5, M.As 6, M.As 19, M.As 25 and M.As 26). A single winged bull (or horse) on M.As 31 is rendered in the “flying gallop” position, and in the ritual scene on M.As 46, for example, the omega symbol is also a typical sign of this period. The latter seal impression, together with M.As 44, proves that ritual scenes continued to be in use, although the majority of seal motifs follows the stylistic and thematic conventions of the Tukulti-Ninurta period. The most significant seal motif in this context is M.As 1. In chapter 4, it was explained why the owner of this seal can be identified as the grand vizier (sukallu rabiu) Aššur-iddin. The iconography of this meticulously carved seal reflects the high status of its owner. The human-headed winged lion and its opponent, the winged bull, meet in a dynamically composed struggle in which the human-headed monster apparently takes the dominant position.

As a figure recalling the Assyrian lamassu, this monster clearly represents a protective and apotropaic force related to the importance of the seal owner and his office. Forty-four impressions of his seal were found in contexts associated with Room 8 of House 1, and an additional four are from the American excavation in this area. A single find is from the area of House 2. All impressions are on clay lumps that were used to seal jars or sacks. These finds clearly attest to the presence of Aššur-iddin at Tell Fekheriye, at least for a certain period. The question is to what extent he was involved in the political and economic affairs of the settlement and what function House 1 had in relation to his office. We know that around the middle of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign, Aššur-iddin was promoted from the rank of sukallu to sukallu rabiu, that he then held the title šar māt Ḫanigalbat and that, at the same time, he resided at Dūr-Katlimmu at the Lower Khabur (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 19–29; idem 1999: 220– 221). The texts from Dūr-Katlimmu (Tell Sheikh Hamad) shed important light on his activities as the administrator of Assyria’s western territories (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 19–29). Several of the letters he received while based in Dūr-Katlimmu were sent from his delegate in Waššukanni/Aššukanni, Sîn-mudammeq (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 29–32). These letters reflect a few critical moments in the political governance of the western part of the Khabur Triangle, including the constant threat by semi-nomadic tribes, plagues, famines, problems with refugees and insufficient labor forces and military (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: texts nos. 2 and 3; see also Bonatz 2014: 75–78, Jacob 2015: 182; idem 2017: 128–129). This historical background leaves room for a few alternative scenarios, which are of extreme importance for the historical identification of Tell Fekheriye and the role that prominent figures such as Aššur-iddin and Sîn-mudammeq might have played at the site. The identification of Tell Fekheriye with Waššukanni/Aššukanni has long been an issue of discussion that I will not touch upon in detail here. 6 One new argument that speaks in favor of this identification is indeed the existence of documents that seem to prove the activities of Aššur-iddin

6

See chapter 2, p. 14 and Bonatz, forthcoming.

7.3 Seal motifs during the period of Tukulti-Ninurta I

107 and Sîn-mudammeq at Tell Fekheriye. Apart from the glyptic evidence, the name Aššur-iddin also appears in three very fragmentary texts from the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye (Güterbock 1958: 87, texts nos. 3, 4, 9). Since these tablets were collected from Floor 2 of Sounding VI, it is rather doubtful that they can be assigned to the occupation phase of House 1. Instead, they should be assigned to the period prior to the erection of this building (see chapter 5). As for Sîn-mudammeq, two objects, one clay tablet envelope and one sack sealing bear the impression of his seal (M.As 14). More impressions of the same seal have been found on the clay tablets in Tell Khuera, which is identified as the Middle Assyrian district town of Ḫarbe. Many of the texts represent orders to Sutī’u, the ḫazi’ānu (“major”) in this district town (Jakob 2009: 42–53, texts nos. 2–15). They mirror Sînmudammeq’s activities as a civil and military coordinator of the region. Tell Fekheriye, which lays approximately 74 km east of Tell Khuera/Ḫarbe, is the most suitable candidate for the place from which Sîn-mudammeq sent his letters. Hence, it would identical with Waššukanni/Aššukanni (see also Bonatz 2014: 77–78). In this case, what would have been the relationship between Sîn-mudammeq and Aššur-iddin at this site? We can assume that, before moving to Dūr-Katlimmu, Aššur-iddin was first based in Aššukanni, where he still held the office of a sukallu (Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996: 24). One document from Tell Sheikh Hamad (DeZ 2529) and a letter from Tell Khuera (TCH 92.G.218) attest that he later returned to the northern districts to carry out administrative duties in Waššukanni and Ḫarbe as well. Text no. 9 from the American excavation at Tell Fekheriye mentions his name together with the eponym Aššur-nadin-apli, who, as noted above, is associated with the seventh year of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign. This document may therefore confirm the earlier activities of Aššur-iddin at the site during a period that predates the construction of the house area. Given the fact that the broken clay envelope (TF-7255) that bears the impression of Sîn-mudammeq’s seal (M.As 14) was also found in a context predating the occupation of House 1 (see above), it can be concluded that this official was also in a certain way concerned with the site during the earlier part of Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign. All the other bits of evidence are from contexts that mark the occupation phase(s) of House 1. Apart from the many

impressions of Aššur-iddin’s seals on clay sealings, there is one impression of Sîn-mudammeq’s seal on a sack sealing that was found in the entrance area of this building. What conclusion can be drawn? The one sealing of Sîn-mudammeq is not proof that he was among the occupants of this house. The commodity under his authority, which was packed and sealed in a sack, could have been brought from outside. By contrast, the many clay sealings with Aššur-iddin’s seal show that he was very active at this place. He apparently used Room 8 as a storeroom for commodities in his possession. This interpretation makes sense since it is attested that Aššur-iddin regularly returned to the northern districts. He could have used House 1 as his temporary residence in a town that was actually the seat of his delegate Sîn-mudammeq but which still served him as an outpost for his own political and commercial activities.7 If this scenario is accurate, Tell Fekheriye again would be the ideal candidate for an identification with Waššukanni/ Aššukanni. Even without definite proof of the site’s historical name, the documented activities of Aššur-iddin in the area of House 1 invite further reflection on the function of this building unit in relation to the importance of Tell Fekheriye during Tukulti-Ninurta’s reign. The excavated layout plan of House 1 (fig. 5.4), which was described in chapter 5, encompasses a surface of ca. 280 m2. An unexcavated but apparently not very large part of the building extends to the east. Therefore, the complete area of the house might have been between 320 to 360 m2. The layout resembles the so-called Hauptsaal or Mittelsaal houses in Assur (Miglus 1996: 58–59, pl. 10.a). It has a large reception room, private rooms, a bathroom, two courtyards and an economic area in the eastern and probably also northern part of the building to which the storeroom R 8 belongs.

7

In this respect, it is interesting to refer to Wiggermann’s observation that the administrator of Aššur-iddin mentioned in two of the texts from Tell Fekheriye (Güterbock 1958: texts nos. 3 and 4) also received orders from a certain Ninuajû who, according to Wiggermann, was the brother of Aššur-iddin (Wiggermann 2000: 172, n.2). Furthermore, another brother of Aššur-iddin, Aššur-dammeq, is mentioned in the document TF-6405 that bears the impressions of M.As 11, which is probably his seal (see the discussion under M.As 11) It therefore seems possible that other members of the Aššur-iddin clan were also involved in activities at the site and that the family as a whole had a continuous influence and presence there.

7. The Use of Seals in Tell Fekheriye: Political, Economic and Social Implications

108

All told, the building contained a combination of private, representational, domestic and economic spheres, which led to the appearance of a proper household. In comparison to the Middle Assyrian houses in Assur, which can be twice as large (e.g. Miglus 1996: pl. 121), the scale of this household seems to be quite modest. However, with respect to the status of its assumed occupant, the description as a residence still seems justified. Texts from the private residences of other high-ranking officials such as Bābu-aḫa-iddina in Assur (Freydank and Saporetti 1989; Miglus 1996: 203–204) or Ilī-pâda (the son of Aššur-iddin) in the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad (Wiggermann 2000; idem 2006) demonstrate how these figures acted in two different capacities, as agents of the Assyrian king and promoters of their own and their families’ interests. The texts from the area of House 1 in Tell Fekheriye also represent family documents (Güterbock 1958: 87; see also Wiggermann 2000: 172, n. 2). Concerning the case of Aššur-iddin in Tell Fekheriye, two different scenarios can be developed. The nearly fifty impressions of his seal on jar and sack sealings that were found in or close to Room 8 in House 1 indicate that he was either one of the residents of this house or had a special connection to the household, for which he sent goods from outside. It is generally assumed that in the economic context of a Middle Assyrian household, sealed portable goods came from elsewhere (Akkermanns and Wiggermann 2015: 113–114). However, in the case of House 1 in Tell Fekheriye, the large number of sealings with the same seal impression point to activities located in this house. It should also be kept in mind that apart from Aššur-iddin’s seal (M.As 1), only one other seal motif (M.As 6) has been attested on three sealings from the same archaeological context. At a place that regularly received goods from the outside, one would expect a smaller number and greater variety of seal motifs, as is the case with the seal impressions on clay sealings from building level 5 in Tell Sabi Abyad (Akkermanns and Wiggermann 2015: 114). I would therefore suggest a different scenario. Encompassing 4.2 m2, the storeroom R 8 is quite small. However, it would have been able to store sufficient goods to cover the needs of a private household or perhaps also a smallscale business. Conversely, it certainly was not large enough to conclude that more extensive economic activities took place here, such as the storage and redistribution of stateowned products.

In conclusion, House 1 may be interpreted as the private residence and household of Aššur-iddin, who resided there while carrying out duties in the region. Perhaps Room 8 was also meant to store and lock commodities while he was absent and while other residents (family members?) were charged with taking care of the household. In any case, the numerous impressions of his seal on jar and sack sealings point to his personal involvement in the private economy of this place. The same seal was used to mark highly official letters and documents when he acted as sukallu rabiu – for instance, in the correspondence with his delegate Sîn-mudammeq. Regardless of its functional context, either official or private or a mixture of both, the seal remained a powerful sign of its owner’s authority. The many documented impressions of this seal at Tell Fekheriye provide vivid evidence of the practical use of such a powerful image in an Assyrian provincial center.

7.4 Aftermath After the violent end to Tukulti-Ninurta’s rule at the beginning of the 12th century, Assyrian power underwent a period of destabilization and decentralization (Jakob 2017: 132–194). The effects on the northwestern provinces initially were not very drastic. The region retained its semi-autonomous status as the “Land of the King of Ḫanigalbat” for about two decades (Akkermans and Wiggermann 2015: 120). It was only after 1180 BC that the Assyrians progressively lost control over the region as a whole. The excavations at Tell Fekheriye show what one of the results of this development might have been. The Middle Assyrian houses exposed in Area C were abandoned. Yet the area was still used as cemetery. There were a total of 32 burials. Some of these, especially in double pots, might have been dug from the floor of the buildings when they were still inhabited, but the majority clearly dates to periods afterward.8 The people who buried their dead at this place probably lived in other parts of the settlement. There is no reason to believe that these people no longer considered themselves Assyrians. After all, their burial customs and the grave finds are not essentially different from other Middle Assyrian sites. However, they had to cope with the arrival of the new settlers who occupied the mound of Tell Halaf, which is within sight of Tell Fekheriye and became the seat of the Aramaean dynasty of Guzana. However, nothing more is known about the remaining Assyrian population at Tell Fekheriye other than their graves. As these contain no seal finds, the development of Middle Assyrian seal motifs at Tell Fekheriye can, for the moment, not be followed beyond this point.

8

Bartl and Bonatz 2013: 276-280. The publication of the Middle Assyrian and post-Middle Assyrian graves by Peter Bartl is in progress.

7.4 Aftermath

PERIOD

PHASE AREA C

SEAL MOTIF / GROUP

Šalmaneser I Middle Assyrian ‘Palace‘ Period

CTL I

M.As 7 / Ic

M.As. 9 / Id

M.As 10 / Id

Mušabši’ū-Sebitti (c. 1245)

STR IV-V

M.As 11 / Id

M.As. 12 / Id

M.As. 23 / Ig

TF-6243 / text no. 10, McEwan exc.

B-MAG

M.As 27 / IIa

M.As 32 / IIa

M.As 2 / Ib

M.As 36 / IIc

M.As 37 / IIc

Mas 38 /II c

M.As 39 / IIc

M.As 40 / IIIa

M.As 41 / IIIa

M.As 42 / IIIa

M.As 10 / Ic

M.As 13 / Id

M.As 14 /Ie

Adad-bēl-gabbe (1230/1299)

M.As 20 /Ig

M.As 21 / Ig

M.As 22 / Ig

TF-6350, M.As 10

M.As 28 / IIa

M.As 34 / IIc

M.As 40 / IIIa

M.As 41/ IIIa

M.As 45 / IIIb

M.As 1 / Ia

M.As 3 /Ic

M.As 4 / Ic

M.As 5 / Ic

M.As 6 / Ic

M.As 16 / If

M.As 19 / If

M.As 23 / Ig

M.As 30 / IIa

M.As 31 / IIa

M.As 32 / IIa

M.As 44 / IIIb

Šalmaneser I – Tukulti-Ninurta I Transition

CTL II

Late Middle Assyrian Period ― Building Phase of Middle Assyrian Houses

Tukulti-Ninurta I Middle Assyrian Houses

MAH

EPONYM /SOURCE

M.As 46 / IIIb

Aššur-nādin-apli (1227/1226) Text no. 9, McEwan exc. Mudammiq-Nusku (TN I) Text no. 5, McEwan exc., M.As 8 Eru-apla-iddina (later part of TN I oder Aššur-dān I ) TF-3168 Sarniqu (later part of TN I) TF-4772

Tab. 7.1 | Chronological table of seal motifs in Tell Fekheriye. Seals, which apparently originated in the Šalmaneser period but continued to be used through the earlier part of the Tukulti-Ninurta period, may appear twice in this table.

109

8. Comparisons 1–4

Comp 1 L

3.1

2.9

H

Triangular composition with a bull (left ) and lioness (right), small recumbent animal (horse?) with outstretched right hind leg on the ground.

~1.0 cm

EPONYM

Abattu >Sa I or TN I DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 8596 from Assur.

Mid-13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: figs. 22a, b; Feller 2009: seal no. 58; Matthews 1990: no. 375

Comparison 1

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 2 W

4.7

2.5

H

Triangular composition with two winged horses; the lower part of the seal design is not preserved.

~1.5 cm

EPONYM

Aššur-šumu-lešir >Sa I

Seal impression on tablet VAT 11116 from Assur.

DATE

Mid-13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2004: seal 13, pl. 9.28,29; 10.3–32; Feller 2009: seal no. 664

Comparison 2

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 3 L

3.4

H

2.3

A double-winged genius on the right daggers with his sword a rampant lion on the left side. The face of the genius is not preserved but it most probably had the griffi n-like features of the bird-genius. A bentover wild goat appears between the two opponents.

1.1 cm

EPONYM

Haburraru >after TN I ˘ DATE

End of the 13th or beginning of the 12th century

Seal impression on tablet VAT 14474 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 10; Matthews 1990: no. 366; Feller 2009: seal no. 688

Comparison 3

Scale 1:2

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 4 EPONYM

Triangular composition with a winged lion-monster (left ) and winged bull (right), remnants of a small recumbent animal on the ground.

DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 15477 from Assur.

L

4.4

H

1.8

1.4 cm

Aššur-balaššu > TN I Probably late 13th century. PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 18 Matthews 1990: no. 373 Feller 2009: seal no. 719

Comparison 4

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

111

8. Comparisons 5–8

112

Comp 5 L

5

H

3.6

Triangular composition, rampant lioness (left ) facing an ostrich (right).

1.6 cm

EPONYM

Etel-pi-Aššur >TN I

Seal impression on VAT 16367 from Assur.

DATE

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 26 photo Matthews 1990: no. 379 drawing Feller 2009: seal no. 740

Comparison 5

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 6 L

~4.7

H

2

Triangular composition with a horse (left ) and winged lion with a scorpion’s tail (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

~1.5 cm

EPONYM

Abattu >Sa I or TN I DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 16376 from Assur.

Mid-13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 24 Feller 2009: seal no. 743

Comparison 6

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 7 L

4.1

2.3

H

Triangular composition with a winged bull (left ) and winged bearded centaur (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

~1.3 cm

EPONYM

Kaštiliašu >Sa I DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 19543 from Assur.

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 846

Comparison 7

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 8 L

0.0

H

0.0

Triangular composition with two lionesses and an ostrich on the ground with a back-turned head.

0.0 cm

EPONYM

Kaštiliašu >TN I

Seal impression on tablet VAT 19827 from Assur.

DATE

Second half of the 13th century. PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 884

Comparison 8

| Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum

8. Comparisons 9–12

Comp 9 L

4.7

H

2.5

Triangular composition with two winged horses; the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

~1.5 cm

DATE

13th century

Seal impression on tablet VAT 20060 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Feller 2004: seal 13; pl. 9.28,29; 10.30–32; Freydank / Feller 2007: pl. 5 Feller 2009: seal no. 983

Comparison 9



Scale 1:1

Comp 10 L

~2.5

H

2.4

Triangular composition with two animals/monsters. Only the horse (left) can be identified. The lower part of the seal is not preserved.

N/A

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Seal impression on tablet VAT 20082 from Assur.

Feller 2009: seal no. 989 Freydank / Feller 2010: pl. 3

Comparison 10



Scale 1:1

Comp 11 L

3.8

H

3.2

Triangular composition with a winged scorpion-man (left) and a winged lion monster (right); a small recumbent animal appears on the ground.

~1.2 cm

EPONYM

Bel-Išmanni > TN I DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 20417 from Assur.

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 1071

Comparison 11



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 12 L

N/A

H

N/A

Triangular composition with two animals (probably horses); remnants of a small animal on the ground.

N/A

DATE

13th century

Seal impression on tablet VAT 20929 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 1132

Comparison 12



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

113

8. Comparisons 13–16

114

Comp 13 L

4.1

H

2.4

Triangular composition with a winged griffin (left) and bull (right), apparently no animal on the ground.

~1.3 cm

EPONYM

Šamaš-apla-eriš > Ari I (1132–1115) - Tp I (1114–1076)

Seal impression on tablet VAT 15581 from Assur.

DATE

12th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 17 Feller 2005: seal 17, pl. 19, 55–57 Feller 2009: seal no. 734

Comparison 13



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 14 L

3.7

H

2.2

Triangular composition with a lion (left) and winged bull (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

~1.2 cm

EPONYM

Abi-ili > TN I DATE

Seal impression on tablet VAT 18094 from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Fischer 1999: no. 12 Fischer 2001: seal 4 Feller 2009: seal no. 817

Comparison 14



Scale 1:1

Comp 15 L

4.1

H

2.9

Triangular composition with a winged lion-monster (left) and lion (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

~1.3 cm

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Seal impression on tablet VAT 18092 from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.

Fischer 1999: no. 10 and 32 Fischer 2001: seal 12 Feller 2009: seal no. 816 Freydank / Feller 2010: 143

Comparison 15



Scale 1:1

Comp 16 DATE

Triangular composition with a winged lion-monster (left) and horse (?) (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

PUBLICATION

Seal impression on a tablet from Tell Billa.

L

4.1

H

2.4

~1.5 cm

TN I, second half of the 13th century Matthews 1991: no. 32

Comparison 16



Scale 1:1

8. Comparisons 17–20

Comp 17 L

N/A

H

N/A

Triangular composition with a winged lion-monster (left ) and winged bull (?) (right); the lower part of the seal is not preserved.

N/A cm

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century

Seal impression on the tablet TR 2058 from Tell Rimah.

PUBLICATION

Parker 1977: no. 21, pl. XX.21

Comparison 17

Scale 1:1

Comp 18 L

5.0

H

4.1

Triangular composition with a lion (left ), a winged horse (right), and a recumbent horse on the ground. An omega symbol appears between the heads of the two contestants.

1.6 cm

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Collon 1987: no. 282 photo Matthews 1990: no. 399 drawing

Cylinder seal in the collection of James, ninth Earl of Southesk, London, BM 129572.

Comparison 18

Scale 1:1

Comp 19 L

N/A

H

N/A

Triangular composition with a winged horse (right) and a winged human-headed griffi n with a scorpion’s tail (left ); no animal on the ground. There is an inscription to the right of the horse’s head.

N/A

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 401 drawing and photo

Cylinder seal in the Walters Art Gallery, New York .

Comparison 19

Not to scale

Comp 20 L

4.7

H

2.5

Standing winged bird-genius (left ) facing a rampant griffi n (right).

~1.5 cm

EPONYM

Ina-illija-allak > Tp I

Seal impression on VAT 15482a from Assur.

DATE

12th-11th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 48 Feller 2005, MARV VI, seal 9, pl. 8.19,20 pl. 9,21 Feller 2009: seal no. 725

Comparison 20

Scale 1:1

115

8. Comparisons 21–24

116

Comp 21 L

4.7

H

2.1

Triangular composition with a lioness (left) and lion-griffin (right); remnants of a small animal or monster on the ground.

~1.5 cm

EPONYM

Sin-šeja >Aššur-dan I (1178–1133)

The seal was reused and probably dates to the end of the 13th century.

DATE

End of the 13th century. PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 15 Feller 2009: seal no. 701

Seal impression on VAT 15400 from Assur. Comparison 21



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 22 EPONYM

Rampant lioness facing a human-headed winged lion in a falling posture with an outstretched left hind leg.

DATE

Seal impression on VAT 15471 from Assur.

L

3.5

H

1.5

~1.1 cm

Ber-kena-šalimmi > TN I Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Comparison 22



Moortgat 1942: fig. 20 Matthews 1990: no. 442 Feller 2009: seal no. 714

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 23 L

4.9

H

3.1

Triangular composition, rampant winged lion (left) facing a lion (right).

~1.6 cm

SEAL OWNER

Aššur-iddin, son of Urad-ilani

Seal impression on VAT 18068 from Kar-TukultiNinurta.

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Fischer 1999: no. 10 Feller 2009: seal no. 804

Comparison 23



Scale 1:1

Comp 24 L

N/A

H

N/A

Two rampant lions (probably a male lion on the left and a lioness on the right) attack an ostrich from both sides. Cuneiform signs are inscribed over the ostrich.

N/A

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 1088

Seal impression on VAT 20592 from Assur. Comparison 24



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

8. Comparisons 25–28

Comp 25 L

3.5

H

2.8

Rampant lioness attacking a cow in a falling posture with an outstretched left hind leg.

1.1 cm

DATE

TN I, second half of the 13th century.

Cylinder seal. BM 89605, London.

PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 390

Comparison 25

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 26 L

~4.7

H

Striding hero facing a rampant bull; the lower part of the seal impression is not preserved.

2.8 cm

EPONYM

Ha/ ijašaju, ˘ Tp I (1114–1076) >

Seal impression on VAT 13084 from Assur.

DATE

Late 13th-early 12th century The seal is probably older than the tablet on which it was sealed PUBLICATION

Comparison 26

Feller 2009: seal no. 669

| Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum

Comp 27 L

4.1

H

2.0

~1.3 cm

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 829

Comparison 27

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 28 L

5.0

H

2.0

A right-facing lion leaps at an unidentifi able animal. The lion is attacked from above by a bird. On the right side of the scene, a hero brandishes with his left hand a weapon over his head while his right arm holds an object (a shield or a blanket?) over the recumbent animal. Seal impression on VAT 18116 from Assur

A hero with outstretched arms grasps at the crests of two rampant horses. The horses face each other and form a triangular composition framed by the hero on both sides.

1.6 cm

EPONYM

Libur-zanin-šušur > TN I DATE

13th century. PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 58 Feller 2009: seal no. 554

Comparison 28

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Seal impression on VAT 9002 from Assur.

117

8. Comparisons 29–32

118

Comp 29 L

3.2

1.7

H

A rampant lion attacks a recumbent ibex from behind. To the right of this scene stands a tree on a small hill.

~1 cm

EPONYM

Kidin-ilani >Sa I DATE

Seal impression on VAT 8581 from Assur.

13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 32 Matthews 1990: no. 317 Feller 2009: seal no. 567

Comparison 29



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 30 L

~4.6

H

2.4 cm

A rampant lion attacks a rampant ibex (or wild goat) from behind, while a large bird (eagle?) attacks the lion from above. The wild goat leans toward a tree on a small hill.

N/A

EPONYM

Aššur-mušabši son of Anu-mušallim > Sa I - TN I SEAL OWNER

Seal impression on VAT 9754 from Assur.

Babu-aha-iddina ˘ DATE

Comparison 30

13th century



PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 640

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 31 L

4.2

H

3.4

A male archer shoots at a rampant lion attacking a recumbent goat from behind.

1.3 cm

EPONYM

Ištar-eris, son of Šulmanu-qarrad > Sa I

Seal impression on VAT 8581 from Assur.

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 12 Feller 2009: seal no. 48

Comparison 31



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 32 L

3.7

H

N/A

A naked laḫmu (“Sechslockiger Held”) wielding a sword fights a forward-falling bull with an upstretched left hind leg.

~1.2 cm

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Seal impression on VAT 8897 from Assur.

Feller 2009: seal no. 370

Comparison 32



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

8. Comparisons 33–36

Comp 33 L

N/A

2.2 cm

H

A naked laḫmu (“Sechslockiger Held”) brandishing a weapon in his raised hand grasps at the outstretched left hind leg of a wild goat that tries to escape to the left. Behind the hero is a tree.

N/A

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 534

Comparison 33



Scale 1:1

Comp 34 L

0.0

3.5

H

A naked laḫmu (“Sechslockiger Held”) brandishing a short sword in his raised left hand grasps with his right hand toward the outstretched left arm of a four-winged laḫmu to his left. His winged opponent also brandishes a sword in his raised right hand.

1.3 cm

SEAL OWNER

Babu-aha-id˘ also dina (see Freydank 1974) DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I

Seal impression on VAT 12993 a–c from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Weber 1920: AO 15/16, fig. 36 Moortgat 1942: fig. 21 a-c Matthews 1990: no. 357 Feller 2009: seal no. 666

Comparison 34



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 35 L

~3.5

H

1.7 cm

An apparently naked and four-winged laḫmu (“Sechslockiger Held”) brandishing a short sword in his raised left hand grasps with his right hand at the outstretched left foreleg of a rampant bull. The lower part of the seal motif is missing.

N/A

SEAL OWNER

Babu-aha-id˘ also dina (see Freydank 1974) DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I

Seal impression on VAT 12994 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Weber 1920: AO 15/16, fig. 37 Moortgat 1942: fig. 31 Matthews 1990: no. 358 Feller 2009: seal no. 667

Comparison 35



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 36 L

4.7

H

3.9

Seal impression on VAT 8989 from Assur.

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

A laḫmu (“Sechslockiger Held”) wearing a short kilt and wielding a sword over his head attacks a forward-bending horse. A thunderbird symbol appears above the back of the horse.

1.5 cm

DATE

13th century. PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 403

Cylinder seal Newell 685.

Comparison 36



Scale 1:1

119

8. Comparisons 37–40

120

Comp 37 L

3.5

H

1.0

A clothed bearded hero wielding a sword over his head grasps at the outstretched right foreleg of a rampant lion-griffin. An “Išhtar star” and the seven globes (“Siebengestirn”) fill the scene. The seal is apparently older than its find context and was probably in use from the 13th century.1

~1.1 cm

EPONYM

Erib-Aššur (around 1150) DATE

From 13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 6 Feller 2009: seal no. 679

Comparison 37



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Seal impression on VAT 14463 from Assur.

1

Comp 38 L

5.4

H

3.0

See Feller 2009: seal no. 679

A clothed hero wielding a weapon over his head on the right fights a rampant lion-griffin on the left. The remnants of an apparently recumbent wild goat are visible between the two adversaries.

~1.7 cm

EPONYM

Libur-zanin-Aššur > TN I DATE

13th century

Seal impression on VAT 15451 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 2 Feller 2009: seal no. 708

Comparison 38



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 39 L

4.4

H

2.8

A rearing bull advances from the left towards a tree. Astral symbols fill the space above the animal.

1.4 cm

DATE

13th century >Sa I / TN I

Cylinder Seal VA Ass. 1680 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1940: Seal 588 Moortgat 1942: fig.44

Comparison 39



Scale 1:1

Comp 40 DATE

A rampant lion-griffin on the left faces a standing bird-genius on the right. There is a recumbent calf on the ground between the two adversaries.

PUBLICATION

Cylinder seal 608, Piermont Morgan Library.

L

9.5

H

7.0

3.0 cm

Second half of the 13th century >TN I Porada 1948: 608 Matthews 1990: no. 369

Comparison 40



Scale ~1:2

8. Comparisons 41–44

Comp 41 L

9.0

H

6.7

A double-winged bird-genius on the left seizes with both hands one of the five flower branches crowning a stylized tree on the right. His left leg is upraised, and with his foot he tramps down one of the flower branches growing from the base of the tree. Next to the image is a two-columned inscription.

0.0 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I PUBLICATION

Porada 1948: 609 Matthews 1990: no. 493

Cylinder seal 609, Piermont Morgan Library. Comparison 41



Scale 1:1

Comp 42 L

4.8

H

2.4

Wielding a bow and arrow, a winged bearded centaur shoots at a striding winged horse that is distinctly smaller than the centaur.

1.5 cm

DATE

13–12th century (?) PUBLICATION

Seal impression on VAT 18079 from Assur.

Moortgat 1944: fig. 44 a,b Feller 2009: seal no. 814

Comparison 42



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 43 L

N/A

H

N/A

A leaping winged centaur brandishing a sword over his helmeted head attacks three wild goats.

N/A

DATE

Mid-13th century > Sa I

Cylinder seal de Clerq Collection no. 363.

PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 355

Comparison 43



Not to scale

Comp 44 L

5.0

H

2.25

A rampant centaur on the right fights a rampant lion on the left.

1.6 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

Seal impression on tablet TR 2903 from Tell Rimah.

PUBLICATION

Parker 1977: 264, fig. 28 Matthews 1990: no. 371

Comparison 44



Scale 1:1

121

8. Comparisons 45–48

122

Comp 45 L

5.7

1.8 cm

H

A rampant lion attacks from behind a recumbent deer held by its antler by a hero (or laḫmu?). There is an ear of corn between the back of the lion and the back of the hero.

N/A

EPONYM

Urad-ilani, son of Išme-Adad > TN I DATE

Second half of the 13th century

Seal impression on VAT 16359 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 737

Comparison 45



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 46 L

5.6

2.8 cm

H

A striding bearded hero brandishing a sword over his head grasps the outstretched left hind leg of a wild goat that is falling to the ground. A bird attacks the wild goat from above. Two different trees and a monkey near the top of the left tree fill the scene.

N/A

EPONYM

Mušallim-Adad, son of Šhulmanuqarrad > TN I DATE

Second half of the 13th century

Seal impression on VAT 8610 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 7 Matthews 1990: no. 444 Feller 2009: seal no. 78

Comparison 46



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 47 L

10.5

H

7.8

A striding hero in a long robe with a sword in his raised hand chases one large and one small ostrich.

3.3 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century

Cylinder seal, Piermont Morgan Library London, CANES 606.

PUBLICATION

Porada 1948: no. 606 Matthews 1990: no. 396

Comparison 47

Scale 1:2

Comp 48 L

4.3

H

1.9

Facing left, a bearded standing hero brandishing a sword over his head grasps the outstretched left foreleg of a rampant winged horse or bull. Two rosettes appear behind the hero.

1.4 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century. PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 159

Seal impression on VAT 8756 from Assur. Comparison 48



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

8. Comparisons 49–52

Comp 49 L

4.7

2.0

H

Facing right, a standing bearded hero with his left arm raised behind his head grasps the long straight horn of a goat. A crescent-shaped standard and an additional rampant goat appear on the right.

1.5 cm

DATE

End of the 13th or beginning of 12th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 5 Feller in Freydank/ Feller 2005: seal 5, pl. 7.16–18 Feller 2009: seal no. 727

Seal impression on VAT 15486 from Assur. Comparision 49



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 50 L

N/A

H

N/A

Facing right, a striding bearded hero brandishing a long sword over his head grasps the outstretched paw of a human-headed winged lion. The outstretched left foot of the hero treads on the back of a recumbent goat on the ground between the two adversaries. The left paw of the human-headed winged lion strikes at the back-turned head of the goat. The monster wears a jagged tiara.

N/A

EPONYM

Ina-ilija-allakdate DATE

12th-11th century PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 781

Comparison 50



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 51

Seal impression on VAT 18021 from Assur.

EPONYM

A single winged bull or horse with a bearded human head and what looks like a horned tiara strides to the left.

DATE

Seal impression on VAT 14475 from Assur.

L

2.8

H

1.6

0.9 cm

Marduk-apla-eriš (Mid of 12th century) 13th-12th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 25 Feller 2009: seal no. 689

Comparison 51



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 52 L

5.0

H

3.2

Facing right, a striding bearded hero brandishes a weapon (not visible in the reconstruction drawing) over his head. He raises his left arm toward the head of a rampant winged horse. A small recumbent horse or bull appears on the ground between the two adversaries. Behind the hero stands a stylized tree with pomegranates.

1.6 cm

DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

MoortgatCorrens 1964: fig. 4 Feller 2009: seal no. 785

Comparison 52



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Seal impression on VAT 18031 from Assur.

123

8. Comparisons 53–56

124

Comp 53 L

N/A

H

N/A

Triangular composition with a winged scorpion-man (left), a winged lion-monster (right) and a winged bull (right); traces of a small recumbent animal on the ground.

N/A

EPONYM

Bel-išmanni > TN I DATE

Second half of the 13th century

Seal impression on tablet VAT 20417 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 719

Comparison 53



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 54 L

3.7

H

2.1

In his outstretched right arm, a winged bird-genius holds a gazelle by the horn. The head of the gazelle is turned upward. The unprotected body of the gazelle is attacked by a striding lion on the left side of the scene.

1.2 cm

DATE

First half of the 13th century > Sa I PUBLICATION

Parker 1977: pl. 37.7 Matthews 1990: no. 362

Comparison 54



Scale 1:1

Comp 55 L

2.8

H

2.0

A left-facing hero grasps at the left outstretched hind leg of an escaping wild goat that is attacked from above by a bird. There is a small recumbent gazelle on the ground between the hero and the wild goat.

0.9 cm

EPONYM

Ninurta-emuqaja > Adn I /Sa I DATE

First half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Comparison 55



Moortgat 1942: fig. 8 Feller 2009: seal no. 452

Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 56 L

3.5

H

2.3

Seal impression on VAT 8948 from Assur.

A right-facing lion leaps at an escaping wild goat with a back-turned head. The lion is attacked from above by a bird.

1.1 cm

EPONYM

Lullaju > Sa I DATE

Seal impression on VAT 8832 from Assur.

First half of the 13th century. PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 36 Kühne 1995: fig. 11 Feller 2009: seal no. 300

Seal impression on TR 2015 from Tell Rimah.

Comparison 56



Scale 1:1

8. Comparisons 57–60

Comp 57 L

4.4

H

2.2

A human-headed winged lion (sphinx) strides to the left. Its head is bearded and crowned with a horned cap. Its wings are spread, the left wing protruding backward, the right protruding forward from its shoulders. In front of the sphinx, a small plant grows from the ground.

~1.4 cm

EPONYM

Tukulti-apil-ešarra > 1114? DATE

12th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 24 Feller 2009: seal no. 749

Comparison 57



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 58 L

3.8

H

2.9

A human-headed winged lion (sphinx) strides to the right toward a small plant. Its head is bearded and crowned with a tall cap. Its wings are spread, the right wing protruding backward, the left protruding forward from the shoulders.

~1.2 cm

EPONYM

Aššur-ketti-ide, son of Abi-ili > Sa I DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1944: fig. 26 Feller 2009: seal no. 291

Seal impression on VAT 8823 from Assur. Comparison 58



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 59 L

4.6

H

4,9 cm

Seal impression on VAT 16394a from Assur.

A single left-facing falling winged bull is depicted within a festooned oval frame.

N/A

DATE

Second half of the 13th century > TN I

Seal impression on tablet DeZ 2532 from Tell Sheikh Hamad/Dur Katlimmu.

PUBLICATION

Kühne 1984: fig. 17 photo Matthews 1990: no. 411 drawing Bonatz/ Kühne/ As’ad Mahmoud 1998: cat.no. 106 photo and drawing

Comparison 59

Scale 1:1

Comp 60 L

3.8

H

3.1

Facing left, a single falling winged bull leaps toward a tree.

1.2 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century >TN I

Cylinder seal, B.M. 89557.

PUBLICATION

Collon 1987: no. 281

Comparison 60



Scale 1:1

125

8. Comparisons 61–64

126

Comp 61 L

3.5

H

2.5

A bearded male figure stands with a raised right hand in front of an oversized ram.

1.1 cm

EPONYM

Abatu > TN I

Seal impression on VAT 18012, VAT 18088, VAT 20240 and VAT 20624 from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.

DATE

Second half of the 13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat-Correns1964: fig. 3 Fischer 1999: no. 2 Feller 2009: seal. nos. 772, 1046, 1069, 1091

Comparison 61



Scale 1:1

Comp 62 L

3.5

H

1.8

Two rampant wild goats with back-turned heads flank a tree with a twisted stem and globular crown. A Maltese cross and, above it, a palmette cross divide the scene.

~1.1 cm

EPONYM

Aššur-šumu-lešir > Sa I DATE

13th century

Seal impression on VAT 19551 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 850

Comparison 62



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 63 L

4.2

H

1.4

Two rampant wild goats flank a tree with a straight trunk (the crown is not preserved). Next to the animals, a plant with a rosette-shaped crown (a thistle?) divides the scene.

1.3 cm

EPONYM

Šulmanu-ašared > Sa I DATE

13th century

Seal impression on VAT 8967 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942, fig. 50 Matthews 1990: no. 327 Feller 2009: seal no. 503

Comparison 63



Scale 1:1

Comp 64 EPONYM

Two rampant horses flank a tree with a straight trunk and fan-like crown. The right horse is attacked from above by a bird of prey.

DATE

Seal impression on VAT 8845 from Assur.

L

3.8

H

2.4

1.2 cm

Agi-Tešup >And I - >Sa I Late 14th - 13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 51 Matthews 1990: no. 326 Feller 2009: seal no. 309

Comparison 64



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

8. Comparisons 65–68

Comp 65 L

3.5

3.2

H

A goat strides from the left toward a tree with a globular crown. A star and a crescent moon appear above the tree. The lower part of the scene is missing.

1.1 cm

EPONYM

Aššur-kašid >Sa I DATE

13th century

Seal impression on VAT 8969 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 42 Feller 2009: seal no. 505

Comparison 65

Scale 1:1

Comp 66 L H

A goat which looks back toward a “Maltese cross” strides from the left towards a palmette-topped garland tree.

~4.5 3.0 1.5 cm 4.5 object height H

DATE

13th century >Sa I

Cylinder seal, British Museum, BM 102535.

PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 335

Comparison 66

Scale 1:1

Comp 67 L

5.2

H

3.0

An enthroned female figure is given food and drink by two servants, probably female. The scene is flanked by a palm tree, and a bird stands at its base. A fringed (textile?) roof is stretched overhead. A star, a crescent and the seven-star symbol appear over the roof.

1.6 cm

EPONYM

Aššur-balaššu > TN I DATE

Probably late 13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 73 Matthews 1990: no. 505 Feller 2009: seal no. 423

Seal impression on VAT 8939 from Assur.

Comparison 67



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 68 L

0.0

H

2.5

Two bird-genii with single wings flank a palm tree with bunches of dates. The bird-genii hold a cone in their upstretched hands and a bucket in their downturned hands.

1.1 cm

EPONYM

Libur-zanin-Aššur >TN I DATE

13th century

Seal impression on VAT 8740 from Assur.

PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 55 Matthews 1990: no. 489 Feller 2009: seal no. 156

Comparison 68



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

127

8. Comparisons 69–72

128

Comp 69 L

4.0

H

2.4

Two antithetically placed winged lion-dragons lift a deer by its hind legs such that the head of the deer extends down to the ground. The scene is divided by a naturalistically rendered palm tree with a pair of drooping date clusters. Astral symbols and two cuneiform signs fill the upper part of the seal image.

1.3 cm

EPONYM

Adad-nirari (the king himself) >And I DATE

Late 14th / early 13th century PUBLICATION

Beran 1957: fig. 23 Matthews 1990: no. 288 Feller 2009: seal no. 243

Comparison 69

Scale 1:1

Comp 70 L

5.0

H

4.5

Seal impression on VAT 8791 from Assur.

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

A male deity with a horned crown and a thunderbolt in his raised hand is seated to the left of an incense burner, opposite of which stands an attendant holding a cup in one hand and lifting the other hand toward the burner. A crescent appears over the hand of the attendant.

1.6 cm

DATE

13th century >Sa I ? PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 521

Cylinder seal, British Museum, BM 85486.

Comparison 71

Scale 1:1

Comp 71 L

4.7

H

3.1

The uppermost part of the seal is broken off. A male deity with a long staff in his hand is seated to the right of an incense burner, opposite of which stands an attendant holding an omega symbol in one hand and lifting the other hand over the burner. A rack on which two jars are mounted stands behind the attendant.

1.5 cm

DATE

Second half of the 13th century >TN I PUBLICATION

Matthews 1990: no. 523

Comparison 72

Scale 1:1

Comp 72 L

4.2

H

2.9

A male deity with a horned crown and a saw in his raised hand is seated to the right of an incense burner, opposite of which an attendant kneels with this left hand lifted toward the burner. A “stir-up” symbol appears between the deity and the burner, and a sun-disc, a star and a crescent fill the upper part of the image.

1.3 cm

EPONYM

Abi-ili, son of Aššuršuma-lešir >Sa I DATE

13th century PUBLICATION

Moortgat 1942: fig. 70 Matthews 1990: no. 503 Feller 2009: seal no. 267

Cylinder seal, British Museum, BM 89417.

Comparison 73



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Seal impression on VAT 8801 from Assur.

8. Comparisons 73–76

Comp 73

DATE

A standing male figure on the left and a double-winged bird-genius flank a stylized tree. The bird-genius holds a cone in his raised hand and what is probably a bucket in his drooping hand. The male figure on the left wears a conical hat.

PUBLICATION

Seal impression on VAT 15482a from Assur.

L

N/A

H

N/A

N/A

EPONYM

Ina-illija-allak >Tp I, 1114–1076 Late 12th / early 11th century Moortgat 1942: fig. 31 Matthews 1990: no.494 Feller 2005: seal 10, pl. 10.24, 25, pl. 11, 26–28 Feller 2009: no. 726

Comparison 73



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Comp 74 L

4.1

H

2.5

1.3 cm

EPONYM

Adad-šumu-lešir, son of Sin-ašared >Sa I DATE

13th century

Comparison 74

PUBLICATION



Moortgat 1942: fig. 11 Matthews 1990: no. 504 Feller 2009: seal no. 293

Comp 75 L

3.1

H

1.1

1.0 cm

EPONYM

Tur-kenu >between 1390–1150 DATE

13th century (?) PUBLICATION

Feller 2009: seal no. 865

Comparison 75



Scale 1:1

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Two worshippers with raised hands, the rear worshipper standing, the front one kneeling, face an incense altar in front of a small shrine topped with crenellations . A small male figure, probably a deity, stands in the architectural frame of the shrine with one hand lifted in blessing. Seal impression on VAT 8826 from Assur.

A worshipper with a conical hat kneels in front of a standing figure who is apparently a male deity. The worshipper appears to be holding a ring in his raised hand. The standing god holds a staff in his outstretched hand, and his other hand is raised in blessing. A lion strides behind him, and a star apScale 1:1 Staatliche Museen zu Berlin pears above the lion’s head. Vorderasiatisches Museum Drawing: Barbara Feller

Seal impression on VAT 19654 from Assur.

129

9. Bibliography

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10. Arabic Summary

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