Stamped Bricks

Types of stamped bricks

Seal impressions were not stamped only on conical objects but also on the bricks or on the prisms (or pyramids). 

There were:

(A) Seal impressions stamped only on cones

(B) Seal impressions stamped on both cones and bricks

(C) Seal impressions stamped only on bricks

(D) Seal impressions stamped on cones and prisms/pyramids (# 260)

(E) Seal impressions stamped on cones, prisms/pyramids, and bricks (# 406)

(F) Seal impressions stamped only on prisms/pyramids (# 341, # 439, # 590, # 592, and # 599)

(G) Seal impressions stamped only on bricks and on prisms/pyramids (# 160 and # 334)

Among the above types, (C) is listed below:

# 88, # 120, # 336 # 337, # 346, # 529, # 611, # 623/A.12, # 630/B.03, # 632/B.05, # 635/B.08, # 638/B.11, # 644/B.17, # 645/B.18, # 649/B.22, # 651/B.24, # 653/B.26, # 654/B.27, # 656/B.29, # 658/B.31, # 659/B.32, # 660/B.33, # 661/B.34, # 662/B.35, # 663/B.36, # 664/B.37, # 665/B.38, # 666/B.39, # 673/B.46, # 674/B.47, # 675/B.48, # 676/B.49, # 677/B.50, # 678/B.51, # 679/B.52, # 680/B.53, # 681/B.54, # 682/B.55, # 683/B.56, # 684/B.57, # 685/B.58, # 686/B.59, # 687/B.60, # 688/B.61, # 689/B.62, # 690/B.63, # 691/B.64, # 692/B.65, # 696/B.69, # 697/B.70, # 701/B.74, # 703/B.76, # 704/B.77, # 707/B.80, and # 708/B.81.

However, all of the (C) types were not made in the same way. According to Vivó, the three bricks found at Deir el-Medina, # 676/B.49, # 677/B.50, and # 678/B.51, were sun-dried, while other bricks were baked (Vivó 2022: 116).

Stamped bricks and funerary cones

In general, bricks with seal impressions are not regarded as funerary cones; they are classified as 'stamped bricks'. However, I think it is not reasonable to distinguish them as such since the brick type is just a variant of the conical one. I think so for the following reasons:

1. As many as 98 seal impressions were employed with both cones and bricks.

2. The main contents of the texts of both funerary cones and stamped bricks are the same--the title and the name of the owner. 

3. Especially, though # 120 is, as far as I know, stamped only on bricks, the designs of the seal impressions of them are the same as those of funerary cones.

They are the same kind of object so we cannot distinguish them clearly.

Historical distribution of the stamped bricks

The below charts show the historical distribution of brick types.