The Shema Seal is an ancient Jasper seal that dates to the 8th century BCE and mentions the King of ancient Israel, Jeroboam.
Discovery.
Archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher and his team began excavating at Megiddo and found the seal during a three-year excavation program. The seal was discovered in 1904, in an excavation dump. The layers in which it was found were dated to the eighth century BCE. Schumacher sent the original seal to Istanbul, but it was never returned. In 1966 Gottlieb's daughter gave a testimonial that her father told her that the seal was placed in Abdul Hamid II tomb.
A bronze cast was made before it was sent away.
Bulla.
In the 1980s, Yigal Ronen, a nuclear engineer and amateur antiquities collector from Ben Gurion university, visited the Bedouin market in Be'er Sheva. He was offered a tiny clay lump stamped with the image of a roaring lion and ancient Hebrew writing. Ronen bought it for 10 shekels, even though he suspected it to be a forgery.
It turned out to be authentic. It is not the original Meggido seal, but features the same images and dates from the same period as the original. However, some contest its authenticity.
Text.
“Belonging to Shema (שמע) the servant of Jeroboam.”Hebrew to English translation:
‘lshm’ ‘bd yrbm’