— Babylonian seals —Figure 7. 27 Hero fighting lion. Inscribed ‘For his Lord, Marduk-apla-iddina’. Chalcedony. 3. 6
× 1. 6. Baghdad, Iraq Museum IM 67920. Photograph courtesy of L. al-Gailani Werr (Collon 1987 ,
no. 369 ; Collon 2003 : 10 – 12 , Fig. 1 ).
Figure 7. 28 A god (Ninurta or Marduk?) and mythical beasts. Erratic seven-line dedicatory
inscription to Nabu fitted around the design, with a later two-line dedication naming ‘Eriba-
Marduk, the king’ added in larger, untidy script, perhaps by Merodach-Baladan (his son or grandson),
in whose time the seal must have been cut. Chalcedony. 3. 5 × 1. 71. Mossène Foroughi collection
(Porada 1993 : 578 – 81 , Fig. 46 ; Collon 2003 : 12 – 13 , Fig. 2 ).