Pelagius / Πέλαγιος in a group of monogrammed seals

The essay illustrates a particular group of thirty-six seals apparently all with the same monogram, the same truncated cone shape, and all except two lacking the impression of the second mark of a tool similar to a stamp for the minting of coins, rather than the mark of a boulloterion, thus rendering them uniface. They belong to the large sigillography collection of the SBF Museum in Jerusalem. After the description of the seals, the author finds that such a large number of specimens bearing the same monogram (probably the personal name of a Πέλαγιος in the genitive), even more so with many variants (at least eight), constitute an almost unique case in the sigillography of the Palestinian-Syrian area. It also appears clear that the act of sealing would have had to be at different times following the needs dictated by the function of the seal itself and the flow of activities. These may have been motivated by the need, for example, to authenticate with the seal a supply to the army or the movement of goods, and therefore an authentication to be verified at the time of delivery. Yet the absence of indications related to a civic or even religious function, offer no hint in establishing the role of the personage who was almost certainly active in the Syrian-Palestinian area, because his seals were found or are present in many different collections.