KM 88674; KM 88675
Bread stamps with fish
Coptic or Late Antique (ca. 500 AD)
Askren, Egypt
Decorative stamps, such as these fish, were used to mark bread loaves. They raise complicated questions about identifying people's beliefs in the past. Fish carried many symbolic meanings for both pagans and Christians, and the people using these stamps may have been either. The hook shown on one stamp is also useful for reconstructing fishing methods in the past.