What are seals Aegean Seals

Seals
are small objects made of
stone or other materials
, such as metal, bone or glass, carrying
engraved motifs
on one or
more oftheir faces
. These objects are as a rule equipped with a means which allows their attachment to the human body. They either have
a perforation for hanging from a string
or, in the case of
signet rings
,
a hoop for wearing on the finger
.
Seals were popular artefacts in the
prehistoric Aegean
. In a time with no personal IDs and locks, these objects were used as ameans of identification, authorisation and security from unauthorised access. They would, for example, often be used to impress
lumps of clay
attached onto
object openings
, such as wooden boxes, to secure them from opening (
sealings
). They were alsoimpressed on formed clay objects, such as
vessels
, to provide some (unknown to us) information. Seals would also function ascharms, jewels and status symbols. This is, on the one hand, suggested by their common manufacture in
semi-precious stones
and
gold
and, on the other, by the fact that they are shown worn on the wrists of
human figures represented in the art of the period
.