A MEDIEVAL seal matrix unearthed by metal detectors on the Isle of Wight is set to go on display at the British Museum later this month.
The seal matrix dates from the thirteenth or early fourteenth century and bears the inscription Sigill Walteri De Longedvne (Seal of Walter of Longdown).
However, it is the fine carved red jasper gem dating from Roman times that makes the seal matrix especially important.
The carved stone dates from the Roman period in the first century AD and originated in Italy or the east. The gem is carved with the figure of Victory who stands on a globe below a crescent moon and three stars.
The engraving originally represented the eternity of imperial victory. However, ‘Walter of Longdown’ may have reinterpreted the figure as the Angel Gabriel and the moon and stars as the heavens glorifying in the birth of Jesus.
The matrix is of such significance that it is being displayed at the British Museum later this month in an exhibition which highlights important finds that have been made in the country during the year.
It is one of just four objects selected from across the country to be displayed at the launch of the Portable Antiquities Annual Report which takes place on November 22.
The historic seal matrix was secured for the Isle of Wight’s Heritage Service thanks to grants from The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund.
Along with the historic seal matrix, Isle of Wight Council has also used grant funding from The Art Fund to buy an Anglo Saxon skillet which was also unearthed on the Isle of Wight by a metal detector enthusiast.
The skillet dates from the seventh to ninth century. It is made of copper alloy and has a Christian motif on the handle.
The vessel was probably used in baptism ceremonies in a period when Anglo Saxon England was slowly becoming Christianised.
It is the first object of its kind to be found on the Isle of Wight and one of only a handful which have been found in England.
The skillet is particularly important in the context of the written evidence about the Island’s conversion to Christianity.
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells us that the Christian warlord Wulfhere son of Penda laid the Island to waste in 661 AD and then sent Eappa the priest ‘as the first man to bring baptism to the Isle of Wight.’
Twenty five years later in 686 the Venerable Bede tells of a ‘dreadful slaughter’ when Caedwalla seized the Island and exterminated some 1,200 families of heathens.
The Isle of Wight Council’s heritage service would like to place on record their appreciation of the funding from the two grant bodies which have enabled the council to secure the items for the Island.
The exciting new acquisitions will be on display at the Museum of Island History from December 8. They willl join other recently acquired artefacts from the Isle of Wight.
To celebrate the acquisitions and to launch the museum’s latest exhibition ‘Prehistoric Wight’ admission to the Museum of Island History will be free on Saturday, December 8 (museum staff will be on hand between 1pm and 4pm).
