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Were ancient seals secure?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Roger G. Johnston ,
Debbie D. Martinez  and
Anthony R. E. Garcia
Roger G. Johnston
Affiliation:
Vulnerability Assessment Team, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS J565, Los Alamos NM 87545, USA.
Debbie D. Martinez
Affiliation:
Vulnerability Assessment Team, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS J565, Los Alamos NM 87545, USA.
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Extract

Forgeries of ancient seals have been found in modern times, but there has been little previous analysis of how much security ancient seals might have offered. In this paper, we demonstrate four different vulnerabilities of clay seal impressions using attack methods and materials that were available thousands of years ago. The success of these attacks suggests that ancient stamp and cylinder seals may have been highly vulnerable to spoofing.

Keywords

stamp sealscylinder sealsforgery
Type
News & Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 288 , June 2001 , pp. 299 - 305
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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