#ancient seals

[blueiscoool]

Over 50 Royal Seals Unearthed in Turkey

Archaeological excavations in Kayalıpınar, a Hittite city in the Yildizeli district of Sivas in the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Türkiye, have unearthed over 50 seal impressions from royal family members, including princes, scribes, and local temple lords.

Among the notable finds is the seal of a prince named HattusaRuntiya, which means “Protector of Hattusa,” the ancient Hittite capital. Other seals include Pihaya, a scribe thought to have served Queen Puduhepa, and ArmaTarupasani, a Moon God servant.

Originally a small market for Assyrian merchants, Samuha developed into a prominent trading center in the 18th century BC. The site yielded numerous epigraphic finds and has been identified as the Empire period Hittite city of Samuha. Excavations have shown that Kayalıpınar was an important settlement during the pre-Hittite and Hittite Kingdom periods.

Archeologists Vuslat Karpe and Andreas Muller-Karpe from Germany’s University of Marburg also excavated in Kayalıpınar from 2005 to 2019. With the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the new period excavations in the area continue under the direction of Koç University Archaeology and Art History Department Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Maner.

Head of Excavation Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Maner, AA correspondent, said that the excavations carried out in Kayalıpınar for the last 2 years determined that there was uninterrupted settlement from the Palaeolithic Age to the Seljuk period.

Maner highlighted the architectural discoveries at the site, noting that structures from the Assyrian trade colonies, Hittite, Roman, and Byzantine periods have been unearthed.

“We continued excavating the Hittite administrative building from last year, uncovering more seal impressions. These findings are crucial in reevaluating the history of the Hittite royal family,” said Maner.

The team also discovered new discoveries from various stages of Hittite architecture, a Roman road, and Byzantine-era structures, along with evidence of a significant fire that destroyed buildings from the Assyrian trade colonies era.

“The cuneiform tablets and hieroglyphic seal impressions uncovered here are among the most significant findings,” said Professor Hasan Peker, a Hittitologist from Istanbul University.

The team is currently working in a destroyed archive room, where they found seals belonging to high-ranking officials and members of the royal family.

“Since last season, over 50 seal impressions have been uncovered. This year, we found numerous seals bearing the names of princes, who were either connected to the royal family through marriage or blood ties,” said Peker.

“These seals are not only valuable for confirming the existence of these historical figures, but they also provide essential data on the Hittite administrative system,” explained Peker.

The seals were used to authenticate economic and administrative documents, solidifying Kayalipinar’s importance in Hittite governance.

These discoveries have provided fresh insight into the Hittite royal ancestry and the city’s important function in the governance of the empire.

By Oguz Buyukyildirim.

[ancientstuff]

More on the origins of writing, from a different perspective.

[thecrankyprofessor]

Leda and the Swan

Leda

Detail gold ring depicting Leda and Zeus transformed into a swan from Thessaly, 2nd. BC (Benaki Museum)

Benaki Museum (Athens, Greece)

[uncharted-constellations]

The Princess and Hero of the First Great Calamity

The orange snoot is very important to me….

[im-here-homie]

a happy audience is the key to the academy's heart

shadow milk design by @catxolotlquoise

[shazzbaa]

RECOGNISE LOVE

Like a moment glimpsed through a keyhole - intimate, and distant.

[t-5secondsart]

now that the "what sage would the lu boys be" polls are over, i thought it would be fun to draw the chain as the ancient sages from totk!

[sealbee101]

…uhhmmhghh…hey gusy hey……there’s this game called cookie run kingdom its soo cool guys……it’s really really swag guys it has cookies runniing

[ltwilliammowett]

Crystal rock seal with a Minoan warship, 16th century BC

[yebreed]

Jet-black Polyhedral Seal of The Western Wei General

This multi-faceted jet seal of the Western Wei dynasty, belonged to the famous General Dugu Xin (獨孤信). It has 8 edges and 26 sides: 18 square and 8 triangular ones. It is the ancient polyhedral seal with the largest number of facets.

Among them, 14 sides are engraved with inscriptions. The inscriptions range from one-character to five-character. The functionality is differentiated, including the use in official letters, orders, document labeling, etc.

The jet, a composite organic gem, from which the seal is carved, is known in China as “coal jade” (煤玉).

The total height of the object is 4.5 cm, the width is 4.35 cm, and the weight is 75.7 g.

The seal was accidentally discovered in 1981 by Song Qing, a student from Xunyang county (旬陽縣), Ankang, Shaanxi. While returning home from school, he picked up a weird object in the gravel on the roadside, which aroused his curiosity with its bizarre shape. Song Qing had no idea what it was. Having examined the inscriptions at home, he gave the find for examination to the local archaeological museum, where the artifact was considered not of particular cultural value.

The seal vegetated on the outskirts of the local exposition for another decade, until it was revealed and recognized by a prominent researcher Wang Hanzhang (王翰章) from the Xi'an Institute of Literature and History. On display in Shaanxi History Museum (陝西曆史博物館).

[blueiscoool]

The Sealed 2,000-Year-Old Tomb of Cerberus Discovered in Naples

A sealed tomb that dates back millennia has been discovered in Italy in extremely good condition and contains surprisingly well-preserved artwork.

The 2,000-year-old tomb, which is in near perfect condition, was discovered during archaeological surveys ahead of construction works in the municipality of Giugliano in Campania, near Naples.

Inside the tomb, archaeologists found many frescoes covering the walls depicting various scenes from ancient mythology, the Italian Ministry of Culture said in a statement detailing the finds.

One painting represents the three-headed dog, Cerberus-a creature from Greek mythology, described as the hound of Hades, the god of the underworld. In mythology, Cerberus famously guarded the gates to the underworld.

The tomb has therefore been named the "Tomb of Cerberus." The specific scene depicted in the tomb tells the tale of when Hercules came to Hades to capture Cerberus.

Other frescoes show more scenes from Greek mythology, including one featuring ichthyocentaurs- sea creatures that had the upper body of a human, the lower body of a horse, and the tail of a fish.

This painting shows two of the creatures turned towards each other, holding a shield. A cupid-like creature is also in the painting, near the creature's arm.

"The emotion aroused by the privilege of such a discovery is indescribable. The work that keeps the superintendency engaged in its tireless protection actions and the passion shown by archaeologists in the field have finally received worthy recognition today," a statement from the superintendent of archeology, fine arts and landscape said.

The territory of Giugliano, after years of oblivion, is finally returning significant vestiges of its glorious past, to be preserved and protected, thanks to a common effort," the statement continued.

Burial practices 2,000 years ago were often grand, depending on the person being buried. Nobles and people of importance were usually interred in multi-roomed tombs, adorned with decorations and objects.

There is not yet any indication of who this tomb may have belonged to, but archaeologists will continue to excavate in order to learn more about its history and purpose.

Aspects of Greek mythology depicted in the tomb were widely adopted by the ancient Romans thousands of years ago.

Around 2,000 years ago, when many people worshiped the ancient Greek gods, art and other objects were often inspired by the gods and the surrounding mythology.

[arthistoryanimalia]

Happy #InternationalDayOfTheSeal ! 🦭

Sea Lion Effigy Stirrup Vessel

Moche, Peru, 50-800 CE (Early Intermediate-Middle Horizon)

Earthenware (Blackware), H: 6 1/4 x W: 9 1/2 x D: 6 1/4 in. (15.9 x 24.1 x 15.9 cm)

The Walters Art Museum 48.2842 https://art.thewalters.org/detail/79387/seal-effigy-stirrup-vessel/

“This vessel shows a swimming sea lion, an animal commonly found on islands in the Pacific Ocean close to Peru. Apart from being an important source of food for Andean people, sea lions commonly swallow beach pebbles, which they later vomit up. These stones were considered to have powerful medicinal qualities, and could be ground to make herbal remedies in ancient Peru.”

🆔 South American Sea Lion (Otaria byronia)

[jq37]

I have to get my thoughts together but I'm wondering about Kipperlily and how she was asking Jawbone about the details on how Kristen made a god including where it happened. And how we learned from Lydia this episode about gods needing to come back in a specific spot. This feels obviously related but my question is, is there actually any evil plot here like in Season 1 or is this just a case of, "Hmm looks like the Bad Kids found an exploit. Let's Fantasy Google some faded gods and see if we can conjure ourselves a personal deity like Applebees somehow managed to. That's gotta be worth a ton of points." Like, it's way too soon to say and the Helioic cleric obviously wouldn't be down for this but I think the idea of accidentally unleashing an ancient evil because you're trying to minmax the best transcript possible is extremely funny.

[bet-on-me-13]

Bruce dies in the Past

So! When Bruce was sent back in Time and got stuck in the Past, he was never saved. Tim failed to bring him back to the future, and Bruce was stuck in the Past for the rest of his Natural Life.

Then he died, came back as a Ghost, and regained his Lost Memories.

He didn't really know what to do, he was stuck Millenia in the Past, his Family won't be born for Literal Ages, and most of all he is Dead. He doesn't really have alot of options.

If you go with the Idea that Batman is a Liminal, then you could say that his Obsession was Protection. And that Obsession was focused primarily on Gotham and his Family.

So what is a Ghost to do when the object of his Obsession had been ripped away from him? He breaks a little. Bruce kind of goes Insane.

He decides that if he is going to he stuck in the Ghost Zone, he may as well protect it as if it were Gotham. So, he finds the quickest way to do that...by becoming the Ghost King.

So, he finds the Castle of the Ghost King, and challenges him to Single Combat. And he manages to Win. But the King needs to choose their Title, and he doesn't think he wants to include the name of Batman in the distant Past. It may affect the Future.

So, he chooses the name, Pariah Dark.

Bruce Wayne, is Pariah Dark.

He started as a Good King, but gradually he let his Broken Obsession get to him. Becoming King did nothing to fill the void in his Core, so he fell more and more into Insanity. It didn't help that he became the King in such a vulnerable emotional state. The sudden Power Increase caused his mind to fracture even more.

The Seven Ancients didn't seal away Pariah Dark just to save the Zone, they also did it to save Pariah himself.

Then one day, Pariah's Seal is Broken and he is presented with a Portal to the Human Realm. A Human Realm where enough time has passed that Gotham finally exists again. He may have gotten a little overexcited, he'll admit.

Thankfully, Danny was there to knock some sense into him.

He took the Throne and the power associated with it from Pariah, leaving him as just Bruce Wayne again. The existence of Gotham and his Family in the present world helped mend a few of the Cracks in his Core, and for the first time in Centuries Bruce Wayne felt somewhat whole again.

...

Basically, Bruce dies in the Past, goes Insane because his Liminal Obsession was broken, and becomes Pariah Dark when he takes the Throne of the Ghost Zone.

Unfortunately, his Broken Obsession was only aggravated by the sudden Influx of Power, and he went Insane. When Danny took the Throne from him, he took the power that was clouding Bruce's Mind and helped him heal a bit.

Thoughts?

[tennesseeroulette]

We NEED a time travel esque kirby game