14 January 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

Kent Archaeological Society purchased an Anglo-Saxon hoard ahead of a London auction

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

The Kent Archaeological Society has bought a large collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the sixth and seventh centuries known as...

A unique golden sun bowl was discovered during an archaeological survey in Ebreichsdorf, Austria

3 October 2021

3 October 2021

A golden sun bowl and several hundred bronze objects were discovered during archaeological excavations in a prehistoric settlement in today’s...

1,500-year-old Byzantine artifacts found under a peach orchard in Turkey’s Iznik

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

In the world-famous historical city of Iznik, which was the capital of four civilizations, a farmer found coins and historical...

3,000-year-old weavings discovered in Alaska’s Alutiiq settlement

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old during excavations at an ancestral sod...

Excavations at the site in the coastal city of São Luís, Brazil uncovered thousands of artifacts left by ancient peoples up to 9,000 years ago

4 February 2024

4 February 2024

Archaeologists unearthed 43 human skeletons and more than 100,000 artifacts at an excavation site in the coastal city of São...

1,500-year-old mosaic found near the Caliph’s palace at Khirbat al-Minya on the Sea of Galilee

30 September 2022

30 September 2022

Archaeologists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz uncovered an ancient mosaic that once lay in the shadow of a caliph palace...

2,700-year-old Children’s Cemetery unearthed in Turkey’s Tenedos

2 March 2024

2 March 2024

A 2700-year-old children’s cemetery was discovered during ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Tenedos in Bozcaada,  southeast of the...

3500-year-old mysterious hieroglyphs discovered in Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa deciphered

12 October 2023

12 October 2023

Some of the Anatolian hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite...

The 2000-year-old origin mystery of the Etruscans solved

25 September 2021

25 September 2021

A genetic analysis of DNA taken from ancient skeletons appears to have answered a conundrum that has captivated researchers for...

The Oldest Known Neanderthal Engravings were Discovered in a French Cave

13 August 2023

13 August 2023

According to a recent study published, the oldest engravings made by Neanderthals have been discovered on a cave wall in...

Undeciphered Rongorongo Script from Easter Island may Predate European Colonization

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

From the depths of history, a wooden tablet bearing the mysterious “rongorongo” script has been unearthed from the small, remote...

Tajik Buddha in Nirvana – the Largest in the World: 42 feet long and 9 feet high

31 December 2023

31 December 2023

In the past, while Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan destroyed two immense statues of Buddha, art historians in neighboring Tajikistan meticulously...

Gaza bulldozers unearth Roman-era a burial site

1 February 2022

1 February 2022

Bulldozers digging for an Egyptian-funded housing project in the Gaza Strip have unearthed the ruins of a tomb dating back...

A small temple discovered in the ancient city of Selinunte, one of the largest and most important ancient Greek cities in southern Italy

9 August 2024

9 August 2024

Recent excavations in the ancient Magna Graecia city of Selinunte in southwestern Sicily have revealed the presence of a new...

Archaeologists discover a “Seleucid satrap tomb” in the ancient Greek (Seleucids) city of Nahavand in Iran

16 May 2022

16 May 2022

Archaeologists announced on Saturday that they discovered a tomb believed to be the tomb of a Seleucid satrap or general...