Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the presence of symmetries in images engraved on ancient seals, in particular on stamp seals. Mainly used to secure the containers from tampering and for owner's identification, these objects appeared during the 5th millennium BC in Mesopotamia. Usually the seals were engraved with simple images, suitable to communicate an immediate information. Rotational symmetries are already displayed by the most ancient stamp seals, whose images reach a quasi-perfect symmetry in their small circular or ovoid spaces. Bilateral symmetries are quite common in Egyptian scarab seals.