Judäo-israelitische Knochensiegel der Eisenzeit II – Ägyptische Ikonographie und kanaanäisches Erbe

This paper deals with Iron Age II stamp-seals that are uniquely found in Cis-Jordan. The seals, more precisely scaraboids, are typically made of bone. Their schematic engraving style is distinctive and easily recognizable. – The Fribourg School was the first to point out the peculiarities of this distinct locally made stamp-seal class. While Othmar Keel and Christoph Uehlinger view these seals as a Judahite product originating in the aftermath of Shoshenq’s raids to the region in the late 10th c. BCE (and echoing typical Egyptian royal imagery), Baruch Brandl locates their original production center(s) in the kingdom of Israel some time before the Assyrian conquest. This paper presents the current stage of research and highlights an alternative approach to the iconography of the stamp-seal amulets in question, focusing on the vernacular pictorial tradition(s) of the region.