Collection
Category
Archaeological material
Date
Unknown
Materials
Ceramic, Flint, Paper, Plasticine, Shell, Stone
Collection
Greenway, Devon
NT 122335
Summary
Institute of Archaeology 2008: Collection of beads, flakes, fragments, fossil, gold foil fragment. Stuart Blaylock 2006: Numerous amulets, sherds, prehistoric stamp seals, flints (including a Neolithic shafted arrowhead fragment), a polished stone axe (possibly from Chagar Bazar?, compare Mallowan 1936, Fig. 6/9-15 incl) Stuart Blaylock 2008: In one lot, under one number, the remainder of the objects of the bottom shelf of the glazed cupboard: seals, beads, gaming pieces, flints, polished miniature axe, flint and obsidian blades, a fossil, a complete petal from an Eye-Temple rosette (white, again). All in all a real mixture, which ought to be sub-divided, if not renumbered. Includes one envelope labelled ‘G.157, stone stamp from Brak’. Broken down this consists of 48 separately bagged small items, consisting of the following: 1 cylinder seal; 11 stamp seals; 7 amulets; 6 beads; 6 pendants; 1 polished axe; 5 flints/obsidian; 4 metal objects (3 lead; 1 gold); plus miscellaneous objects: one sherd; one rosette petal, complete; one stone fragment; and one fossil sea urchin. Sometime the boundaries blur, i.e. the difference between objects described as stamp seals and those described as amulets is often slight, and the classification here is arbitrary; similarly between pendants and beads: usually the former can be said to be pierced for suspension, the latter for stringing, but it is not always clear which one applies to a particular object. Listed by these classes hereafter: /01 Cylinder seal, buff limestone, very worn, indistinct design (that might be more definable if an impression were made from it?). /02 Black stamp seal, stone, circular, worn at top through piercing, originally low conical; crude incised and hatched motif; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /03 Half a black stone stamp seal, probably kidney-shaped (cf. many examples from Brak), possible hemispherical form, broken at top; broken on the line of piercing; curvilinear motif; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /04 Small, black stone stamp seal, low hemispherical form, abstract incised designs of ‘comma’ or crescent motifs; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /05 Small oval domed black stone stamp seal; abstract design centred on two addorsed semicircles; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08 /06 Domed stamp seal in translucent stone: quartz? chalcedony?; circular motif of six circular incised holes; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /07 Domed, circular (low hemispherical) white stone stamp seal, design of four pairs of double dots; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /08 Domed, low hemisphere stamp seal in blue-grey stone; design of 6-7 adjoined dots; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /09 Domed, low hemisphere stamp seal in white stone; design of four dots in two adjoining pairs, plus one smaller dot off centre; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. Nos 6–9 a group of similar simple motifs made up of pared dots: I wondered if these could be from Arpachiyah, but nothing quite like them is published, in contrast to the cross-hatched seals, of which many are published. /10 Oval, barrel-shaped stone bead/stamp seal; mottled green/brown/white stone; abstract design; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /11 White limestone bead/seal, flat disc form, with irregular radial linear design around a central ‘boss’; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /12 Stamp seal ?blank? or pendant, or possibly a gaming piece; oval cylindrical form with damaged handle on top; no incisions or design or any sort; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /13 Tiny round black stone amulet or stamp seal; circular domed form (obscured by hardened plasticine mount), abstract linear design; not pierced (unless also obscured by plasticine?) ; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. /14 Tiny round black stone stamp seal or amulet? Broken (at piercing?), abstract linear design; sketch in SRB notes of 7.x.08. Items 15-48 unable to add.