Archaeologists have found an "unparalleled" cache of more than 600 seals and amulets in an ancient temple in Turkey dating back at least 2,400 years.
The works of art, largely of high quality, include stamp seals, cylindrical seals and scarabs fashioned out of glass, stone and quartz. The find came after a season of excavation at a sanctuary dedicated to the storm and weather god Jupiter Dolichenus. The artifacts represent an array of themes ranging from astral symbols and geometric designs to elaborate designs of animals and people.
University of Münster archaeologists Engelbert Winter and Michael Blömer led the excavation atop the mountain Dülük Baba Tepesi, in the Gaziantep region of south central Turkey not far from the Syrian border. In a news release, the researchers said finding such a large collection of seal consecrations is "unheard-of in any comparable sanctuary."
"The amazingly large number proves how important seals and amulets were for the worshiping of the god to whom they were consecrated as votive offerings", Winter said, adding that many of the pieces show scenes of adoration. "Thus, they provide a surprisingly vivid and detailed insight into the faith of the time."
One artifact depicted a group of men praying around astral symbols, another set features a royal fighter battling animals and hybrid creatures.
"Even those images that do not depict a deity express strong personal piety; with their seals, people consecrated an object to their god which was closely associated with their own identity," said Blömer, adding that people wore the amulets found with the seals in everyday life. "Strung on chains, they were supposed to fend off bad luck."
The find also enriches the archaeological history of the area. Up til now, a record of late Babylonian, local Syrian Achaemenid and Levantine artifacts had been established in the region.
"The large find provides new impetus for research to answer unsolved questions of cult practices, cult continuity and cult extension - above all, these are important for the understanding of the early history of the sanctuary in the 1st millennium B.C., which had been unknown until recently," Winter said, adding that in the 2nd century A.D., Jupiter Dolichenus turned into one of the most important deities of the Roman Empire.
"The results are already extending our knowledge of all periods in this holy place's long history. It covers the time span from the early place of worship of the Iron Age and the sacred site of the Roman era, famous throughout the empire, to the long phase of utilization as a Christian monastery, which existed until well into the time of the crusaders," Winter said.