Impression of a seal from Tell-Asmar, Iraq (III millennium B. C.). The image shows a plowing scene, whose actors are divinities. The figure in front of the plough has an arm terminating in the shape of a scorpion, while from the plough itself springs forth a long stem in the shape of an ear of wheat, ending with a human head surmounted by a horned headdress. This latter is a symbol of the divine beings and could be an attribute of a god of vegetation. Furthermore, it is possible that the scene refers to a plowing ritual, performed during the feast in honor of Ninurta, in which the king himself led the ceremonial plough impersonating the god (Jacobsen 2005).

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