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CLOTH SEAL
Unique ID: LVPL-F30089
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An almost complete lead alloy cloth seal of Post-Medieval date. The seal is of the two disc type joined by an integral central strip and sealed by compressing a central rivet. The front of the seal bears the raised design of the number 10//04. The reverse which is incomplete depicts a crowned shield with a central motif against a horizontally lined field. The object has a mid-grey patina.
Lead cloth and bale seals were used in Europe to mark cloth for commercial sale between the 13th and the 19th centuries and were part of a system of regulation and quality control. Unlike bale seals cloth seals typically comprise two disc joined by a connecting strip which were folded around each side of a textile and stamped closed. The rivet type of cloth seal were specifically devised for marking commercial textiles (Egan 1994, p.4) and were common from the late 16th century onwards.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1500
Date to: Circa AD 1700
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 75.96 mm
Width: 19.97 mm
Thickness: 6.96 mm
Weight: 19.1 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 1st September 2014
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Lead Alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber (European Region)County or Unitary authority: North Yorkshire (County)
District: Selby (District)
To be known as: Ryther cum Ossendyke
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egan, G. | 1994 | Lead cloth seals and related items in the British Museum | London | Department of Medieval and Later Antiquities, British Museum |
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Timeline of associated dates
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