The LMLK seal appears on the handles of several large storage jars from the Kingdom of Judah, where it was first issued during the reign of Hezekiah around 700 BCE. Seals bearing these four Hebrew letters have been discovered primarily on unearthed artifacts in and around Jerusalem, with some in northern Israel. Several complete jars were found in situ at the ancient city of Lachish, where they were buried underneath a destruction layer caused by Sennacherib, who reigned over the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705 BCE to 681 BCE.[1] While none of the original stamp seals have been found, some 2,000 impressions made by at least 21 seal types have been published.[2] The iconography of the two- and four-winged symbols are representative of royal symbols whose meaning "was tailored in each kingdom to the local religion and ideology".[3][clarification needed]
- ^ Ussishkin (2004), The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish, p. 89 ("As the work of the renewed excavations developed it became clear that the destruction of Level III must be assigned to Sennacherib's attack in 701 BCE.").
- ^ LMLK Research website
- ^ Na'aman, Nadav. "The lmlk seal impressions reconsidered." Tel Aviv 43.1 (2016): 115.