archaeological record. His name also appears in an inscription excavated at Tel el-'Umeiri in Jordan. This seal impression, made by a high official of the king, reads "Milqom, servant of Ba'alis."#4 The iconography of the royal Ba'alis seal is as interesting as its inscription: The center and largest register depicts a winged sphinx wearing an Egyptian-style apron. Although the Egyptian influence is clear and strong, just as it is in Israelite culture (perhaps mediated through Phoenicia), the sphinx here has identifying characteristics particular to Ammonite culture. The sphinx has a tail in the shape of the letter S. It curves upward to the right and then finishes in a loop to the left. An identical sphinx is depicted on another Ammonite seal belonging to one "Pado'el" (see sidebar).#5 Pado'el's seal does not give his title, but we know from cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia that Pado'el was the name of an Ammonite king.#6 If, as appears likely, this type of sphinx was an Ammonite royal emblem, then the seal of Pado'el probably belonged to the king himself, even though the seal does not identify him as such. Buttressing the suggestion that this is a royal symbol is an Edomite seal impression bearing the name of the Edomite king Qosgabri, which contains a very similar sphinx with an identical tail.#7 Apparently this was a royal emblem in both Edom and Ammon. Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 1999, Pages 48–9 Still another Ammonite king appears in a bulla also being published here for the first time (see sidebar), but this Ammonite king is otherwise unknown. This bulla comes from the collection of Shlomo Moussaieff. It is made of black clay and is only a little more than a half inch in diameter. The seal impression on the clay is about a quarter of an inch in diameter. A groove around the seal impression indicates that the seal was set in a metal bezel. On the back of the bulla we can see the impression of the cord that tied the document and the texture of the papyrus roll sealed by the bulla. Around the edge appear fingerprints that could well belong to the king himself. Strangely, for a king, his seal is purely epigraphic; it contains nothing but an inscription (Ammonite seals are usually rich in iconography.) Perhaps the royal emblem was on the back of the seal, in which case it would not