They used sealing wax, right?
Having produced a facsimile of an ancient Nabataean legal text in scroll form, I thought I would dig deeper. Most legal proceedings of that day (the first century AD or so) were produced in a “sealed,” double-document format. Like most people, I had long supposed that scroll documents were sealed using a big blob of molten wax dripped onto the open edge of the document, with the wax then impressed with the writer’s (or owner’s) special seal symbol, via a signet ring or some such.
This did actually happen in antiquity, with the wax sometimes being substituted with still-malleable clay. The symbol impressed into the sealing material signified approval of the scroll’s content, and also proved that the document had not been tampered with or its contents read while in transit to the ultimate recipient.
But by the first century, this form of sealing was rarely in use in the Near East. Nor was it commonly used anymore in the Roman or Greek world for that matter. Wax sealing the scroll’s edge was being replaced by a newer technique, called the sealed double-document. While I had read about such documents, and detailed descriptions of them, I could not quite wrap my head around the logistics of putting all the pieces together.
The Double-document rises
Lawyers of the time, typically referred to as “scribes,” developed the double-document for reliably and securely recording legal proceedings and actions. Things like loans, sales of real estate, grievances over delinquent child-support payments (yes, even two-thousand years ago!) were all recorded using double-documents. Scribes possessed sophisticated legal understanding, the ability to translate legal proceedings into concise witten language, and even a surprising amount of physical dexterity (more on that later).
In brief, a double-document is just that, a document written out twice. The scribe started writing the complete legal record at the very top of the scroll, leaving no empty space at the top. This prevented any top additions to the text. Written in a tiny, cursive script, this part of the scroll would become the “inner text” and ultimately sealed. The text ended with a certain legal formula which prevented any additions to the end. The scribe then left about 2-3 centimeters of empty space before writing out the entire record again, but this time in much larger, more easily readable script. This would form the unsealed, or “outer text” of the document.
After the double-document had been recorded, read aloud, and approved by the parties to the legal action (and by the witnesses), the sealing activity began. The scribe rolled up the upper “inner” portion (with the tiny text to the inside) just to the empty space between the two sections of text. He then folded (or pressed flat) the partially rolled scroll.
Sealed with a thread…
Taking a strong, meter-long thread of linen, wool, or whatever quality fiber was available, he threaded a sharp iron or bronze needle with the thread and began to sew loops through and around the folded portion of the scroll. As each loop was made, the scribe tied the thread in a knot at the loop’s upper end. The thread then advanced to the next loop in a diagonal manner, along the back side of the folded portion. Again, a tight loop would be sewn through the scroll, knotting it at the upper end. Typically, seven such loops were made, although there are some examples with only five.
…signed by seven witnesses
After the inner text of the scroll had been secured in this fashion, the scroll was turned over to its back and unwritten side. Then all those present would sign this back side of the scroll, with the signatures preceeding down the scroll, each starting at a different knotted loop. First to sign would be the party or parties to the document, next would be the witnesses, with the scribe as the last to sign—seven signatures in all.
The rest of the scroll would be rolled up around the sealed portion and given to the party of the record. Finally, the party to the document paid the scribe for his services. The unsealed portion of the text could easily be unrolled and its details referred to when necessary.
All the signatures remained visible on the back, each next to its knotted loop, testifying to the accuracy and validity of the sealed portion of the record. The sealed portion of the text would only ever be opened if there was significant concern about tampering with the outer record, or some other irregularity. These sealed documents almost never needed to be unsealed, the signatures and knotted threads acting as sort of a first-century notarization stamp.
Many double-documents such as this were found in the Cave of Letters and Cave of Horrors along the cliffs of the Nahal Hever, just west of the Dead Sea, having effectively remained signed and sealed for nearly two thousand years.
Reconstructing a lost art
It took a good bit of sleuthing through archaeological studies to find detailed descriptions and photographs of still-sealed double-documents. And even after finding a couple of good resources (see below), the descriptions and photos were somewhat cryptic. After many trials and errors to produce a passable sealed document, I finally had some success. Through my efforts, I realized that the scribes producing these documents were very capable and learned men, and also pretty skillful at handling a needle and thread.
1st Century Scribe = Lawyer + Calligrapher + Notary Public + Seamster
Below is a photo of a legal double-document, a “Concession of Rights,” found among the many legal documents preserved in the Cave of Letters for two millennia. Although this particular scroll is written in Greek, many of the others found are written in Nabataean Aramaic or Judaean Aramaic. The legal proceedings mainly had to do with families from the Ein Gedi region of Judaea, just west of the Dead Sea, and from the town of Mahoza near the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea.
References—
Significant information concerning legal double-documents of the Near East can be found in:
- The Documents from the Bar Kokhba Period in the Cave of Letters, Ada Yardeni (Editor), Israel Exploration Society, ISBN: 978-9652210463
- Babatha’s Orchard, Philip F. Esler (Author), Oxford University Press, ISBN: 978-0198767169