How was the Seal of Amalric made?
By Omar Afifi '24 and Alexandra Berardelli '25
Seals during this time were often made from lead, but sometimes from gold, bronze, or silver. This seal is made of lead, a metal that needed to be melted and hardened to create a final product. The specific design we see on each side of the seal would be carved onto a pair of dies, a metal device used to strike a seal. Then, a boulloterion, a type of iron plier, would hold the two dies together. It would then hold the designs of the images and inscriptions. It's important to mention that two dies that had the seal design remained with the ruler at all times to prevent illegal making of the seal. However, the seal itself traveled with the documents at all times.
After the boulloterion had the design of both sides ingrained into it, it would be pressed onto two blank lead circles, like creating an image in modern playdough. The images and inscriptions would now be on both sides of the lead circles. There would be an empty channel through the center that would allow a string to be tied into a document, connecting the seal to the document.
Not many boulloterion remain as compared to the number of seals left. They were either melted for security reasons and/or to use their iron contents. Regardless, a boulloterion was necessary for creating seals during this time.
