File:Sealing with Gem Impressions, Sasanian, 500–600 AD.jpg

English: Bulla or Seal; Unknown; Persia; first half of 6th century A.D.; Terracotta; 5.8× 4.9 × 2.2 cm (2 5/16 × 1 15/16 × 7/8 in.); 82.AD.25; No Copyright - United States (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)

In the ancient Near East, official documents were bound with string and sealed with lumps of clay (bullae) stamped by the engraved gems belonging to various provincial administrators and witnesses. Although the documents themselves rarely survive, numerous clay bullae—all that remains of official archives—have been found at a number of sites in Iran and provide extensive evidence for the administration of the Sasanian Empire.

This bulla is stamped with the impressions of five different gems, including one with the portrait of a priest and local Persian official named Dad-farrox and another naming the administrative office of maguh in the city of Hunan, in the province of Rayy, in northern Iran. The other stamps are less distinct, showing a tamga (personal device) and an animal. Another bulla with the same impressions was found in the vicinity of Khoy, in northwestern Iran.

Place: Sasanian Empire, Persia (Place Created)

Culture:

Near Eastern (Sasanian)