A Cuneiform Mark in Babylon and Persepolis

Among the stamp impressions found on Babylonian bricks dated to the Neo-Babylonian period, one, resembling the simple cuneiform sign MAŠ, is attested also on the shaft of a blue composition knob found in Persepolis and bearing an inscription of the Achaemenid king D arius (DPic) in the visible part. This seems to be a further, even if small, proof of the strong connections b etween Babylonian craftsmanship and the Achaemenid dynasty, showed also in the recently discovered brick decoration of the monumental building of Tol-e Ajori, a few kilometers from Persepolis.