Anonymous, 1st-5th centuries AD (?). Seal (Lead, 32 mm, 13.42 g). Victory advancing left, holding palm branch and wreath. Rev. Blank. Apparently unpublished. Flan cracks, otherwise, very fine.


The shape of this seal, consisting of two plates joined with a strip that are clipped together, is typical of late medieval and early modern cloth seals. They start to appear in the Low Countries during the 13th century. However, it is also attested for Roman times, albeit extremely rarely (a single example found in Britain, RIB 2411.101 and Still p. 41 and no. 510). Because of the image of Victory, we date this seal to Roman times, although we cannot exclude that it may have been produced in subsequent centuries.