Those administrative documents are sealed: a study of the evolution of the structure and function of the Egyptian administration in the Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic Period, with specific attention to seals and seal impressions

The study of the administration in Egypt is ultimately a study of the control that the Egyptian government was able to exert over its population. However, despite the existence of scholarly works on later periods, there is comparatively little knowledge of the administration from the Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods. Whilst the wider aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive view of the administration from this time period, this particular study will be focusing on interpreting the information that is provided on seals. This will be undertaken through first examining the origins of the sealing practice in Egypt, then moving onto an analysis of the various types of seals that exist in Egypt. The study then moves into the analysis of the administrative departments and centres and the information that they can provide us in relation to the structures of the administration. Finally our attention turns to the titles present upon these seals and what they can tell us in relation to the administration and ultimately how it functioned.