Old Seals in New Contexts at Kassite Basmaya: Sealing Devices, Collectibles, and Heirlooms

Abstract The seals and seal impressions from the site of Basmaya, a provincial Kassite town close to the Tigris-Diyala river junction, comprise five cylinder seals, a possible ring-seal, a sealed clay lump, and a cuneiform document impressed with a fingernail. All seals were found in domestic contexts, recovered from the floors and fill in the rooms of two large houses. Only two of the seals are contemporary with the context in which they were found. The three others, a Mitanni seal and two Old Babylonian seals, predate the Kassite period. Through a contextual analysis, this paper will propose that the Basmaya seals were conceptualized and used in different ways at the site, including as sealing devices—as expected—but also as collectibles and/or ornaments.