British Museum Report: A Medieval seal matrix, which is oval in shape and set at its centre with an orange-red carnelian, representing a locust on an ear of corn. The legend reads:

+ S I G I L : S E C R E T I (Latin for "Secret Seal")

On the reverse is the suspension loop, which terminates in a trefoil.

The intaglio is classical and probably dates to the 1st century AD. The motif is quite unusual, although ants and other insects are sometimes represented on Classical gems. There are similarities between the body of the insect and Henig 712, and a possible dragonfly represented on Henig 713 (not illustrated). Henig 711 shows an ant of similar type but from above rather than in profile. (Henig, M. 1978. A corpus of Roman engraved gemstones from British Sites. BAR British Series 8).

The seal matrix is silver and dates from the thirteenth century; as such it qualifies as Treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act 1996. J P Robinson Curator of Medieval Collections 18th August 2008

A parallel for the intaglio has subsequently been identified by Ben Paites. The example is from France and shows the same iconography, though executed in a different way, dating to the 1st Century AD (Guiraud, 1988, no. 793A).

References: Henig, M. 1974. A corpus of Roman engraved gemstones from British sites. Oxford: BAR British Series 8.

Guiraud. H. 1988. Intailles et camées de l'époque romaine en Gaule. Paris: Éditions du centre national de la recherche scientifique