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CLOTH SEAL
Unique ID: SOM-A461E8
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A Post Medieval lead cloth seal dating to the period c. AD 1500 - 1800. The cloth seal consists of the remains of two circular discs joined together by a connecting strip and a rivet that was pushed through the hole in one disc from the other disc and stamped flat. One disc has a stamped incuse initial M at the base. The other disc has a merchants mark formed of a vertical line topped with a 4 or cross with a curved right arm and longer left arm that curls under at the end into a circle, possibly a stylised T. The base has a horizontal line ending in a P at the left and a D at the right all surrounded by a pellet border. The lead has a thick off-white patina.
The cloth seal measures 20.37mm in diameter, 25.05mm in length including the strip, 3.55mm in thickness and weighs 7.84g.
This was probably a cloth seal used by a weaver, dyer or searcher. The use of a merchants mark suggests a broad late 16th to 18th century date. A number of comparable seals are published by Egan (1994: 181-183) although none with this exact mark. Similar cloth seals with merchants marks and incuse letters include SOM-4B013, SOM-B8FBC6, and SOM-A3D00C and may suggest a merchant and local checker or different people working for a firm.
Inscription:
M // P D
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 1800
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 25.05 mm
Thickness: 3.55 mm
Weight: 7.84 g
Diameter: 20.37 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 1st December 2018 - Monday 4th March 2019
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: SCC receipt 018354
Materials and construction
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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