Find Spot record 16040 - Metal Detecting Find from Clive

<1> Portable Antiquities Scheme, Various, Portable Antiquities Data Import, WMID-DEA72E (Digital Archive). SCH5212.

An incomplete lead or lead alloy Cloth Seal of the Late Medieval to Post Medieval period, circa AD 1400 - AD 1650.The seal was probably part of a four part seal, as neither a rivet or a hole are present on the remaining part of the seal. One circular disc and an connecting strip are present. The rest is missing, presumed lost in antiquity. The decoration on the front and reverse of the object is unclear, however on the obverse it is possible to see the remains of an inscription '[ ]OL[ ]' anything more is difficult to see. The object measures 25.8 mm in length and has a width/diameter of 16.8 mm. It has a thickness of 2.4 mm and weighs 3.7 g. The object is a mid grey in colour and has an uneven patina. Abrasion caused by movement whilst within the plough soil may have resulted in the loss of some of the original surface detail. Other examples of this type of seal can be found in Egan (see 3). The remains of the inscription ([ ]OL[ ]) on this object may suggest this is possibly an example of a Colchester Seal dating from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries (see 3), but it is difficult to be sure.

<2> The British Museum, Portable Antiquities Scheme Online Database, WMID-DEA72E (Web Site). SCH5176.

<3> Egan, G., 1992, Finds Research Group 700 -1700 Datasheet 3: Leaden Cloth Seals, p. 2, fig 11a (Monograph). SCH9729.