Cloth Seal, Sandwich, Cinque Ports

Cloth Seal, Sandwich, Cinque Ports, Image & Found by Marcel Degenaars.
Found in Noord Holland, 46mm.

Three lions rampant and three ships dimidiated and conjoined, ...DWYTS*OVLTR(?I)... around // griffin?, illegible inscription around

A cloth seal bearing the arms of Sandwich, one of the Cinque Ports of England, Heraldry of the World, Sandwich. The griffin and spelling of Dutch (DWYTS) is a clear sign of the early (first generation) Dutch immigrant weavers (see Colchester seals).

See p.144 in Provenanced Leaden Cloth Seals by Geoffrey Egan, Sub-Department of Medieval Archaeology, University College, University of London. submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1987, "Another seal excavated in Amsterdam (Baart 1977,117-8, no. 68 *) has: three lions passant and the hulks of as many ships dimidiated and conjoined; a secondary rectangular stamp has 00 // lion rampant. This seal was found in a context dated to between 1575 and 1650. Like no. 1756, it has one rivet. The significance of the 00 mark is unknown."