Arguably the most important objects found on the Eastern Slope of Megiddo were six cylinder seal impressions recovered from Stage V, a level which probably corresponds with Stratum XIX on the tell.

The cylinder seal impressions found at Megiddo are indicative of Mesopotamian influence on the region, perhaps via Syria.¹Beck notes the striking similarities between these seals and seals from Jericho and Byblos. See Beck 2002, 237 ff. Repeating and interlocking rows of animals, like those depicted on the Megiddo seal impressions, are typical of Mesopotamian seals belonging to the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic I-II periods.²Shipton and Engberg 1934, 37; K. Kenyon 1966, 98 As noted in a previous entry, seals of this type have also been found in predynastic tombs in Egypt.

Elephantine Cylinder Seal

However, the most interesting seal impression from Megiddo was not discovered by the Chicago expedition on the Eastern Slope, but by a team of archaeologists from the Tel Aviv University working on the tell during the years 2004-2008. What they found was an actual cylinder seal, made of ivory. Although in poor condition, the design of the seal can readily be made out. It shows an elephant standing on three hills flanked by three men, each carrying a short dagger.³Short copper daggers have been found in EB1b tombs in the southern Levant. (See Mack et al. 2023) As you may recall, the symbol of an elephant standing on three hills has been found inscribed on bone labels that were subsequently deposited in Tomb U-j at Abydos.⁴See: Per-wer The “three hills” hieroglyph probably represents “desert cliffs” or “foreign land.” When combined with the elephant, the two hieroglyphs are thought to have spelled “Elephantine,” a city in Upper Egypt.⁵Brandl 2013, 996

Unfortunately, the seal was found in Stratum XV, which dates to the EB III, much too late to bear any relation to Tomb U-j, which dates to the EB I. We would expect to find a cylinder seal of this type in Stratum XIX instead. There are several ways to explain the 800 year gap between the seal and its findspot.

1. The seal is a heirloom that was “kept in the family” for many centuries before arriving at its final resting place in Stratum XV.
2. The seal was dug up from some other part of the tell and deposited in Stratum XV.
3. The symbol of the elephant standing on three hills had a very long life.
4. The chronology needs to be revised to fit this new pieces of evidence.

1, 2 and 3 are possible. I have not seen anyone advocate for the 4th option. We should also consider the possibility that the amount of time which passed between Stratum XIX and XV may not be so great as is generally supposed. The Kfar Monash Hoard, as we will see, presents a similar anomaly.