Lastly, but far from least, some 20 years ago a carved small block of oolitic limestone was found during long-running excavations at the medieval village of Trostre, near Raglan, in Monmouthshire (Figs 14.26).³⁷ It appears to be a mould for making, though not engraving, seals, both circular and elliptical, and bearing the handling ridge which would be pierced for the attachment of one’s seal to one’s belt. Was such a mould carried around by an itinerant seal engraver?

This paper has attempted to give a glimpse of the wide variety of seal matrices found in the Principality. What is important always is to endeavour to relate seal finds to their historical, documentary and environmental setting; in other words, to place them in their context.