about this time the stories appear to have been committed to writing.
It is worth while here to pause, and consider the evidence of the existence of these legends from this time down to the seventh century b.c.
We have first the seals: of these there are some hundreds in European museums, and among the earliest are many specimens carved with scenes from the Genesis legends; some of these are probably older than b.c. 2000, others may be ranged at various dates down to b.c. 1500.
The specimens engraved in pp. 39, 91, 95, 100, 158, 159, 188, 239, 257, 262, 283 are from Babylonian seals, while those in pp. 41, 89, 99 are from Assyrian seals. One very fine and early example is photographed as the frontispiece of the present work. The character and style of the cuneiform legend which accompanies this shows it to be one of the most ancient specimens; it is engraved on a hard jasper cylinder in bold style, and is a remarkable example of early Babylonian art. Many other similar cylinders of the same period are known; the relief on them is bolder than on the later seals, on which from about b.c. 1600 or 1700, a change in the inscriptions becomes general.
The numerous illustrations to the present work, which I have collected from these early Babylonian seals, will serve to show the fact that the legends were at that time well known, and part of the literature of the country.
