18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Detectorist has Discovered a Completely Unique Medieval Seal Matrix in the UK

A medieval seal die, described by experts as ‘completely unique’, has been found by a metal detector at a field near Horsham St Faith, north of Norwich in south-east England.

The massive silver and gilt seal dates from the late 13th or early 14th century. Most likely, the Medieval seal matrix belonged to a monk.

A medieval seal matrix discovered by a metal detectorist is “a window into someone’s spiritual world just before the Black Death”, an expert has said. On the seal matrix there is an inscription that reads: “I beseech thee, holy sun of righteousness, be the way.”

According to historian Helen Geake, this inscription has not been found on any other object.

The circular die, 24.6 mm in diameter, bears the central motif of the crowned Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms. To her right, a monk prays on his knees. The scroll of his joined hands shows the inscription AVE MA (Hail Mary). The entire scene is set in a four-leaf frame. The inscription in medieval Latin ‘TE: ROGO: IVSTICIE: SOL: PIVS: ESTO: VIE’ is placed in a dotted circular border around the edge of the seal.

The 24.6mm (0.9in) gilded silver object was designed for a detachable handle. Photo: Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council
The 24.6mm (0.9in) gilded silver object was designed for a detachable handle. Photo: Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council

Iconography of the Virgin Mary with a kneeling monk is relatively common on seals, private and official church documents, but there is no directly comparable example of this depiction on a circular seal.

The “Sun of Righteousness” appears at the end of a number of prophecies in the Old Testament and became a relatively common way of referring to Jesus Christ in the Middle Ages.

This matrix has another very unusual feature: a recessed sleeve with a scalloped edge on the reverse, suggesting that it had a removable handle which could be retracted and secured by turning. Seals with sleeves are known from archaeology, but their handles were permanently fitted without the possibility of replacement. This is a completely unique feature with no equivalent.

Dr. Geake said another “unusual” aspect of the find is that it appears to be designed for “a detachable handle, with the matrix rotating either to lock it in position, or to remove it, as if interchangeable die could be used with the same handle”.

The die is the part of the matrix which stamps wax.

As reported by the BBC, ” seal, which dates to the late 13th or early 14th Century, covering the reigns of Edward I to Edward III, was found in April.

Related Articles

In Lowbury Hill Mystery of Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago may soon be solved

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

The mystery surrounding the remains of two Anglo-Saxons buried 1,400 years ago in south Oxfordshire, identified as a man and...

A Roman sarcophagus containing two skeletons was found in Bath, England

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

Stone walls, a Roman sarcophagus, and a cremation burial have been unearthed in a renovation project at the Bathwick Roman...

Scandinavia’s first farmers slaughtered the hunter-gatherer population, according to a new study

9 February 2024

9 February 2024

Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a...

A Celtiberian city more than 2000 years old found in Spain

16 July 2023

16 July 2023

The Polytechnic University of Madrid announced the discovery of a Roman camp and the Celtiberian city of Titiakos in the...

Scientists have discovered an ancient cemetery of flying reptiles roaming the Atacama desert of Chile 100 million years ago

7 April 2022

7 April 2022

In Chile, an unusual cemetery has been discovered that contains the well-preserved remains of prehistoric flying reptiles that flew over...

The ‘extraordinary’ Roman mosaic depicting scenes from Homer’s Iliad unearthed in a Rutland farmer’s field is the first of its kind in England

25 November 2021

25 November 2021

The 1,500-year-old mosaic discovered by a farmer was considered Britain’s “most exciting” Roman find. The artwork was discovered on private...

A Sacred Area from the Copper Age and 5000-years-old A Stele Decorated Discovered in Italy

24 August 2024

24 August 2024

The remains of a sacred area that dates back at least four thousand years have been discovered during excavations for...

A Large Roman Building Discovered on the Limmat

13 April 2024

13 April 2024

In the Steinacher area (Canton of Aargau) on the Limmat there was a Roman settlement that was significantly larger than...

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

21 March 2024

21 March 2024

The discovery of five “technologically sophisticated” canoes in Italy has revealed that  Neolithic people were navigating the Mediterranean more than...

Rare gladiator tombs were discovered in the Ancient City of Anavarza in southern Türkiye

10 August 2022

10 August 2022

Archaeologists have discovered rare gladiator tombs in the ancient city of Anavarza, known as the “Invincible city” in history, which...

A 4,500-year-old rope remains were discovered at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound

26 December 2021

26 December 2021

In the rescue excavation carried out in the mound, which is located within the license border of Çelikler Seyitömer Electricity...

Ancient Synagogue found in Turkey’s popular tourist center Side

27 December 2021

27 December 2021

A 7th-century ancient synagogue has been found in Side, a resort town on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The synagogue found was...

When the waters receded, the mounds of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy, bearing the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, came to light

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The important cultural areas of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy mounds, which bear the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, represented by kurgans...

The Gallo-Roman Sanctuary Unearthed in France

30 June 2024

30 June 2024

During a recent archaeological excavation in the old Hôtel Dieu neighborhood of Rennes in north-western France, archaeologists discovered the remains...

1,400-year-old royal hall found in Suffolk, UK

5 October 2022

5 October 2022

Archaeologists, evidence of a 1,400-year-old royal Hall of the first Kings of East Anglia has been discovered in Rendlesham, Suffolk,...