The permanent exhibition of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Fourteen-sided seal
This unusually large seal has a unique shape and decorative repertoire. It consists of a long rectangle made up of three cubes and attached to a small cylindrical rod. It has a total of fourteen sealing surfaces - on the base of the rectangle and cylinder and on the sides of the cubes. Each surface is framed by a thin double line and bears hieroglyphic signs, representational scenes and decorative motifs. The hieroglyphic signs include a hand, a foot and a sistrum, and possibly a basket and a goat. One side of the seal shows a four-legged animal, another a man holding a basket, while an eight-leafed rosette and a wild goat are at the top and bottom. This seal was found together with three other hieroglyphic seals and is one of the oldest examples of written document in Crete.