The use of seals was very common not only in Greece but throughout the Orient, even in remote antiquity. In Zakro several hundreds of clay seal impressions which belong to the Mycenaean period were found.' "These may have been attached to bales of goods and were preserved as a record of commercial transactions."2 There is no evidence for the use of seals in the Homeric age; but the lots which bore some distinguishing mark that enabled each person to identify his own are in effect the same.3 In Athens it was the common practice to seal up any kind of receptacle or package which the owner or custodian desired to protect from unauthorized interference. Careful householders sealed their larders against pilfering slaves, and even against the women of their families.4 Persons who intended to go on a journey frequently protected their property by affixing seals.5 In the case of an antidosis, the parties to the exchange sealed up the property involved, including houses and other buildings.6 Letters were regularly sealed.7 So also wills, contracts, and other documents were generally sealed and deposited with trustworthy persons to prevent fraud; they were tied up with thread and sealed in such a way that the thread could not be removed without breaking the seal.