10-year-old boy finds ancient 13th century seal, worth more than 5000 USD

George Henderson - The 10-year-old boy from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire joined the ranks of the UK's most famous and successful metal discoverers when he found a matrix of 13th-century medieval seals - Metal artifacts will be used to stamp and verify official documents.

Boy George Henderson and the ancient seal.

George learned the art of metal detection from his father Paul, who spent 20 years passionate about this fascinating hobby. The two eager explorers had only begun their 10-minute hunt for Sutton-in-Ashfield earlier this year when young Henderson was suddenly jostled by his detector. George had to dig about 5 inches (13 cm) deep to unearth what could be said to be quite ancient based on its design and old-fashioned Latin inscription.

What they removed from the ground was a small, oval seal, used to make a special mark on important documents.

Detailed close-up of the stub seal matrix. (Hansons Auction House)

The two discoverers at the time did not realize how old the oval seal was, but experts were later able to verify that it had been produced in the 13th century. The seal's Latin inscription revealed reveal the truth, when it reads as follows:

"Seal of the Priory and Tuvent of Butley, of Adam, Canon Regular".

This inscription refers to a religious house established near Woodbridge in 1171. An individual named Adam served as the forebearer at the Butley Priory home for 16 years, from 1219 to 1235. Sub-Matrix The seal was designed to bear his official seal, and the age must be close to exactly 800 years old, give or take a few years.

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The north façade of the 14th-century gatehouse of Butley Priory. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the Middle Ages, government officials and religious authorities often attached wax seals to important documents, to verify their authenticity. The seal matrix, or faceplate, will be created with a special image representing the individual it belongs to, and that individual will add their seal as a representative of an agency or regulatory agency. specific main.

The long-lost seal of Adam previously contained the image of the Virgin Mary and her child, baby Jesus. The monastery was dedicated to the Virgin Mary when it was opened in 1171, and remained so until the church closed in 1538.

This type of medieval seal is rarely found at organized archaeological excavations. The usual practice in the Middle Ages was to melt these metal seals when they were worn out or no longer needed.

This particular sealing matrix must have been lost somehow before it could meet this fate. It could have been lost and buried forever, if lucky boy George Henderson hadn't practiced his favorite hobby in the right place at the right time.

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The balance seal on the metal detector luckily found it. (Hansons Auction House)

George Henderson makes history

The 13th century copper alloy seal matrix is ​​certainly a rare and historically significant item. George and his family ultimately decided to auction it off, and it was listed for sale by Hansons Auctioneers "Historica" ​​on March 24. The Henderson family's expectations were high, and those expectations were met. response when the matrix of seals was sold for the huge and impressive sum of £4,000 ($5,260). George will split the proceeds from the sale with the farmer who owns the field where the sealed matrix is ​​unearthed, as required by law.

'The historical importance rather than the value of the seal is what matters to both George and me,' his father Paul told the East Anglian Daily Times. "It's the most exciting discovery either of us has ever made."

Little George shares his father's excitement at their unique discovery.

'I'm so glad I discovered that,' the boy said shortly, revealing himself to be a man of few words.

'George has been turning metal detectors on and off since he was 5 years old but he doesn't always go out with me. He's found one or two interesting things over the years," his proud father explained. 'He knew the seal was special, when he dug it up but George didn't know what it was. I did. I know it's a medieval sealing matrix'.

'At first, George was comfortable with it,' Paul continued, 'but as the day went on, people kept asking to see it and he got more and more excited'.

To date, at just 10 years old, George Henderson is the youngest metal detectorist ever to make such a historically significant discovery in the United Kingdom. It was a distinction the boy could hold for quite a long time.

Interestingly, the March 24 Hansons auction included not one but two historically important artifacts discovered by amateur metal detectors (each of them, coincidentally). cases, may be identified by the abbreviation 'GH'). In addition to George Henderson's medieval seal matrix, the Derbyshire auction house also sells a 17th-century gold ring found by Graham Harrison, a 64-year-old veteran discoverer from Lincolnshire who also dug obtained his valuable artifact from a field in Nottinghamshire.

Harrison's ring dates back to the 17th century and once belonged to an individual who served as a Senior Sheriff of Nottingham (yes, like in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood'). This extremely unusual artifact sold for £8,500 ($11,180), meaning that two metal detectors at opposite ends of the age spectrum have been well rewarded for their contributions to archeology. archeology and history on the same day.