An ancient seal with the phrase "Whoever breaks this will die" is unearthed by archaeologists

Example of an ancient sealPhoto byStzeman Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Archaeologists working near Turkey's capital, Ankara, unearthed a royal Hittite seal dating from the 2nd Millennium BC.

The cuneiform seal impression contained writing with the phrase, "Whoever breaks this will die."

The phrase on the seal referred to those who broke agreements during the time of the Hittite Empire.

Archaeologists believe this was significant as Hittites would only prescribe fines or other forms of punishment and never the death penalty to violators. The fact that the seal threatened the violator with death was significant.

The seal is thought to belong to the Great King Tabarna (Sovereign King) or Tavananna (Sovereign Queen).

Archaeologist, Prof. Dr. Kimiyoshi Matsumura had this to say about the seal's significance,

“These seals were usually stamped on contracts, stating that if something was done against the contract, it would be penalized. The king and queen from Hattusa sent something here. This shows that this city was in intensive relations between Hattusa and the royal family,”

Source: Arkeonews