Archaeologists discover grand-ducal seal from time of Ivan III in Moscow

Archaeologists have made a discovery in Romanov Lane: a lead seal from the reign of Ivan III has been discovered. This was announced by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on social media, reports official portal of the Moscow Mayor and Moscow Government.

"This is the first grand ducal seal found in Moscow, and the last from the period of lead seals. Later, only wax ones were encountered," the mayor noted.

On one side of the seal there is an image of St. George the Victorious, on the other – the inscription: “Seal of Prince Ivan Vasilievich the Great”. Such seals were used to fix important foreign and internal political documents of that epoch.

The site of the discovery is the area of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God where large–scale archaeological work is underway. Over the years, more than three thousand artifacts have been discovered here, but the seal of Ivan III has become the most significant find.