Scenes of Men in the Seal Impressions of Tell Abu Sha'af from the Iraqi Museum

The research presents and describes the scenes of men on the seal impressions of Tell Abu Sha'af from the Iraqi Museum, which came from the excavations of the Iraqi mission at the Tell Abu Sha'af site in 1978, which lasted for five months, and revealed 800 clay blocks (Bulla) of different shapes, sizes and colors, and the number of impressions found in a building known as the fortified palace. Some of the impressions are damaged, some are broken, and others are clear, bearing different scenes, based on which they were divided into several groups. The results of the excavations were published in the Sumer magazine in a special issue on the excavations of the Hamrin Dam Basin, and the impressions remained preserved in the stores of the Iraqi Museum, and since then they have not received a study that would reveal their nature and importance. Among the 800 clay blocks discovered at the site of Tell Abu Sha'af, (81) pieces of seal impressions (unpublished) were selected and studied in detail. They were dated by comparison to the period of the Sassanid occupation in Mesopotamia. In this study, we relied on the practical, descriptive and analytical method. Accordingly, these impressions were divided into four main groups (the group of scenes of men, the group of decorations and inscriptions, the group of animal scenes, and the group of mythical creatures). Our research is limited to the first group, which includes scenes of men only, and we chose only twelve models from it. In this study, we relied on the practical, descriptive and analytical method as well as comparison.