Over 2,000 Roman seal impressions unearthed at Doliche in Turkey

Archaeologists from the University of Münster's Asia Minor Research Center have discovered over 2,000 seal impressions at the Roman site of Doliche in Gaziantep Province, Turkey. The seals, used on ancient documents, were found in a tabularium (archive building). Many depict the god Jupiter Dolichenus, worshipped in the ancient city. The documents themselves were destroyed in a fire around 253 AD, leaving the seals as the only surviving artifacts from the archive. According to scholar Touraj Daryaee, the finds illuminate imperialism, religion, and culture of the Roman Empire. The discovery enables in-depth study of Roman archival practices and religion.