A small, carved gemstone, usually oval or round, set in a ring or worn separately as a seal (sealstone). In Minoan and Mycenaean times, ring stones/sealstones usually bore engraved or, rarely, relief scenes and were used to make impressions in clay as bureaucratic and commercial proofs of transaction. The pictorial scenes also provide important information on religious and cult practices. From the Classical period onwards sealstones are usually worn in rings.