A large Sumerian Marble Cylinder Seal, Early Dynastic I- III, ca. 2700 - 2400 BCE Tools & Weapons stones with this kind of

stones with this kind of eye-like pattern were often valued for more than their appearance

Such pendants were made across the Levant

otherwise intact and well preserved overall

silky sheen that has matured into a warm beige patina through age and ritual handling

Several concentric circles of varying thickness in raised relief form the base

A large Sumerian Marble Cylinder Seal, Early Dynastic I- III, ca. 2700 - 2400 BCE Tools & Weapons stones with this kind ofA new start in Sumerian glyptic occurred in Early Dynastic II, with the conventionally called "Contest Scene" becoming the most common design. In fact, it shows the larger domesticated animals being protected from attacks of lions and other marauders by divine beings; a form of sympathetic magic because people hoped that in real life temple herds would be saved, where necessary, by divine intervention. Inscriptions naming the seals' owners also began