The Romans used many locks for many purposes, as we do. There were door locks, chest locks and padlocks in great variety, but there were situations in which it was awkward to use any of these. Bags of newly minted coins were shipped to and from the provinces. Shipments of goods in fabric or leather containers needed some sort of protection. And then there were letters. Then as now, government officials, politicians, merchants and especially military commanders needed to send messages, sometimes very urgently. For state business, at least, this was done by an ancient version of the pony express, the Cursus Publicus: a system of relays of couriers traveling the famous Roman roads.
There was, however, a security problem: no one but the recipient could be allowed to read sensitive information. Messages were usually written with a stylus on wood tablets, surface-coated with wax (Curle). But how do you make sure that no one reads them but the recipients? How do you know that a bag hasn’t been opened and a few goodies stolen?
One solution to these problems was the seal box. This was a little bronze
box, generally an inch or so in size, with holes in the side and bottom. For
fabric and leather containers, it was attached by sewing through the holes in
the bottom. Message tablets were probably bagged. Containers were bound with
cord passing through the holes in each side and tied with a knot inside the
box.
The box was then filled with wax, impressed with the sender’s seal and closed.
Of course containers could still be opened and the contents read or stolen, but
there would be severe consequences! Boxes have been found with traces of wax
inside (Wikipedia) and there is one such in this collection. A sketch of
the packaging scheme for message tablets is shown at right, from Holmes.
It seems very strange from our point of view, that of a mechanical civilization with billions of such little objects, but seal boxes were rare and important items. They were lost wax castings made with considerable labor and expense. They were often elaborately decorated and some were even finished with colored enamel, some examples of which are shown here. Figural designs were most impressive, but of course more expensive. The embossed phallus was popular, as were animal figures. I haven't found any details of their manufacture and distribution, but the casting in bronze would be pretty straightforward. Roman smiths were very skillful..
The seal box seems to have been a peculiarly Roman invention and as an artifact of their civilization, did not survive them. It would be interesting to determine when their use ended. It would probably be prior to the fourth century, since there was no known (to me) transfer to the Byzantine society. The function seems to have been taken over by the wax seal and signet ring, whose use has persisted until recent times.
Box 5002 This is the most commonly found seal box. Often associated with the military, it has a simple design of cast-in concentric circles.
Box 5031 In most boxes, the lid, guided by the hinge, simply met the top of the base, and there was a tab-in-hole latching provision at the bottom. In the square boxes shown here, the lid actually fitted down over the base to make a true box. In 5031a we see a piece of the original sewing cord stuck to the inside of the base. It's unclear how this could have happened, but perhaps it was preserved by wax. In 5031b is shown a view of the bottom of the base, and the holes filled by the cord and corrosion products.
Box 5057 This is an especially well preserved example, with functioning bronze hinge and bottom tip detent. White and green enamel on the lid.
Box 5059 Perhaps the most coveted seal boxes are those with embossed lids. They may be fish, birds, animals, even persons. This one is a bird lid.
Box 5091 Embossed figure of a ram (?). The hinge has mostly eroded away, but the box remains corroded shut
Box 5092 Embossed with a cockerel.
Box 5112 Bronze box with iron hinge, lid divided into quadrants with a figure in each. Possibly a script, but nothing I recognize.
Box 5115 Nice three dimensional style, somewhat like a ship's helm. But isn't, of course. This one is still full of its original brown wax, but I don't see any traces of cord..
Box 5120 Embossed lid with a head of what is alleged to be a wolf. Actually, it looks more like a fox to me. Anyway, a spectacular figural.
Box 5179 Similar to box 5031 but larger. Very rusty iron pin, and box is corroded closed. These featureless boxes show that for some circumstances, a featureless functional article would do just fine and cost was evidently a significant factor.
Box 5188 Rooster running left
Box 5199 Two facing figures
Box 5208 Decorated with bird in white enamel.
Box 5209 This cross is not a Christian motif; I'd never expect to see that. I think a quadraphallic. Probably riveted on, but cannot be opened to check.
Box 5210 A well known type, with colorful enamels.
The signet ring was another security device, and
was intimately connected with seal boxes as well as with personal wax seals. It was a signature, and the best
guarantee that a message from the sender was authentic. However, it should be
noted that not all signet rings are of a size and/or shape that they could be
accommodated by all seal boxes.
No
doubt some were used in the way most familiar to us; that is, to stamp on an
unboxed blob of wax. And perhaps some were not really intended to be used
at all, except as ornaments. The world is awash in
Roman rings, and signet rings must be a very well
populated branch of collecting. The world is also infested with fake Roman seal rings (artifakes). They are easy to make and find a ready market. I admit to having been a victim myself a few times.. I think all those shown here are ok, but wouldn't bet the farm on it. For perhaps more than you really wanted to know about the history of the ring, see Kunz, from which the drawing at left of a Byzantine seal ring is taken. In Byzantium much more use was made of seals than of locks, coupled with harsh penalties for breaking them. They got broken anyway.
Ring 349 This one has a lion figure that would do credit to an abstract expressionist some 1800 years later.
Ring 435 The engraved device shows a pair of opposing lituus, or priest's staffs. These were wands carried as symbols of office by augurs and used in carrying out the rituals for the foretelling of future events.
Ring 436 Bearing the outline of a running hare.
Ring 444 Bird on a branch, with foliage
Ring 445 Stylized plant Delicate ring with plant motif carried on to the shoulders.
Ring 447 Athena on an iron ring. Bezel surface has a coppery finish. Don't know how, when or even why it was applied. Gods were favorite themes for signets.
Ring 449 Bull
Ring 453 Helios, the sun god.
Ring 455 Bull, simple but attractive version
Ring 456 Deer, running left
Ring 457 Design, don't know what it means, if anything
Ring 459 Another lituus
Ring 460 Sea creature
Ring 471 Looks like another bird on a branch. Traces of gilding remain on the bezel.
Ring 476 Plants and flowers
Ring 477 Springing lion
Ring 478 Another lituus
Ring 479 Walking man
Ring 481 Springing lion
Ring 483 A goddess, alleged to be Athena
Ring 485 Two persons facing and clasping hands. Dressed formally in long garments, suggesting that this depicts an important event.
Ring 487 Crouching lion
Ring 489 Not sure what this is. Sprouting seeds, maybe?
Ring 490 Figure with animal, perhaps a horse
Ring 491 Horse with rider and two standing figures
Ring 492 Two standing figures
Ring 507 I recognize a lituus, but not the rest of the squiggles
Ring 511 Two Victories
Ring 514 Hippocamp. In Roman mythology, the hippocamp was a sea horse, that is, a creature with the front quarters of a horse and the tail of a fish. The hippocamp was not the sea horse that we know, but the creature shown at left, an image from an Etruscan bowl (Maravot). The function of the hippocamp in Greek and Roman mythology was to pull Neptune's chariot.
Ring 515 Another hippocamp
Ring 566 Late Byzantine, inscribed Dimitrius
Ring 575 Inscribed with the initials K A L, presumably those of its owner.
Ring 587 Bull
Ring 588 Antelope
I suppose the seal stamp was for purposes that were less as a personal signature and more as a higher volume, even institutional use. Most were supplied with a loop at the top so that they could be worn on a cord or thong, but seem more functional and less personal than a seal ring. They could have been used on paper, papyrus, wax and I suppose bark. They come in a wide variety of handles, shapes and sizes. Since most of them have figures or text that I cannot translate, there may be some errors in attribution. Seal stamps should not be confused with bread stamps. For information on these, see Phosphora and Galvaris.
Seal stamp 484 This one bears the image of some creature that I've not yet identified. Anyone? The body of the stamp is crudely made: no waste of money or artistic talent here! The seal wafer itself is thin, made separately and soldered onto the body. Interesting and quite unusual.
Seal stamp 493 Alleged to be from Sirmium. Fancy cursive inscription.
Seal stamp 497 Byzantine bronze pendant stamp with person and bush or tree?
Seal stamp 500 Byzantine bronze pendant stamp with inscribed initials
Seal stamp 501 Tiny and delicate, and I have no idea what the markings mean
Seal stamp 502 Similar and probably related to 501 in some way
Seal stamp 508 Also very small pendant stamp but not at all delicate.
Seal stamp 521 Alleged to be Roman, but the combination looks very Byzantine to me
Seal stamp 523 The tip was broken off in antiquity. From the shape and context I believe it was the remainder of a stylus. That and a seal stamp would make a very reasonable combination.
Seal stamp 536 Alleged to be the evil eye, but I think not. More likely just the traditional sun sign.
Seal stamp 557 Pretty nice pelican stamp, about 1 inch long
Seal stamp 571 An odd character, and its mirror image. I think I've seen this symbol before, but can't remember where.
Seal stamp 581 Unusually ornate and attractive metalwork.
Conical Seals
It's not clear to me yet exactly how the Roman conical seal was made. If the image was impressed from a bronze seal ring or seal stamp, it must have been done hot, near the melting point of lead. The blanks must have been prefabricated, since unused examples are common, perfectly preserving the hole for the cord.
Two-Sided Seals
Beginning in the fourth century, the Byzantines made double sided seals with a different design on each side
(Wilson). This was done by starting with a cast
lead blank with a hole through it. The cord binding the document was
threaded into it and the blank was placed between the jaws of an
instrument called a bulloterion.
This was simply a sturdy pair of tongs in which
were mounted the dies. Striking the head impressed the designs in the soft
lead and sealed the ends of the cord. (Vikan).
For a detailed analysis of the Byzantine seals in the Dumbarton Oaks collection, see Oikonomides.
Seal 568 Constantine !, helmeted and cuirassed
Seal 570 Standing lion
Seal 572 Horse and rider
Seal 576 Sol and Luna
Seal 577 Two caesars in helmets embracing. Note that this is the same motif as on seal box 5199. Pure political propaganda; they were very likely hostile and suspicious.
Seal 578 Soldier and shield
Seal 580 Pegasus right, soldier left
Seal 582 Ornate Byzantine crosses obverse and reverse
Seal 586 Cavalry rider
Seal 590 Geometric design with unknown meaning
Seal 591 Priest performing a ceremony with cross in hand. The other side also shows part of a ritual, probably the same one. This seal has clearly been used, and has been very nearly destroyed by removal of the cord.
Seal 592 Sol, running, with upraised arm and whip
Conical Seals
Two-Sided Seals
