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SEAL OF KING JOSIAH COURT OFFICIAL FOUNDLarry Dziubek forwarded this article from the Jewish Press. Thanks. Seals are closely related to coins and studied and collected alongside them in many circles. -Editor
A bulla (seal impression) and a 2,600-year-old stamp dating back to the First Temple and bearing Hebrew names were recently uncovered as part of the archaeological excavations of the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The dig was conducted by archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University. Both artifacts will be presented in the Israel Exploration Journal, published by the Israel Exploration Society. Bullae were small pieces of clay impressed by personal seals, used in ancient times to sign letters. While the parchment they sealed didn't survive the fires that devastated ancient Jerusalem, the bullae, which are made of ceramic-like material, were preserved, leaving evidence of the correspondence and those behind them. Private stamps were used to sign documents, and were often set in signet rings carried by their owners. In ancient times these stamps noted the identity, lineage and status of their owners. For another article about ways people authenticate documents, see the piece elsewhere in this issue about the artist Banksy. -Editor
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Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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