Hello, Nichole,

Specialists have long ago recommended that we refer to the leaden seals of
the sort you have as cloth seals, not bale seals.  One problem with using
INH's book is that while oft reprinted, it has never been revised or
updated.  It should therefore be used only with the greatest of caution and
as an introduction to material culture not as definitive.  So much
additional research into almost all categories of material culture has been
conducted since 1969 that it is not useful to consider INH's Guide to
Artifacts as anything other than a starting point, but one that will not
send you to the currently relevant literature.

As far as cloth seals go, Geoff Egan has done an enormous amount of
research.  Among the most useful of his publications on cloth seals are:

Egan, Geoff.  1980.  Leaden Cloth Seals and the Trade of London.  Post-Medieval
Archaeology 14:185–186.

Egan, Geoff.  1982. The Sealing of Cloth in Europe, with Special Reference
to the English Evidence.  Textile History 13: pp.47++.

The journal Post-Medieval Archaeology has now and then carried articles
about lead cloth seals, including several on seals found on American sites.
If you have access to a full run of that journal (plus indexes), you might
come up with some useful comparative information.  mcb

On 8/16/07, Nichole Sorensen-Mutchie <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
> Hi all.
> I have a lead bale seal from a plantation site in Baltimore County,
> MD.  One
> side is marked with a "C" and the other side is marked "ACC".  Does anyone
> know what this might mean or know of any good resources?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Nichole E. Sorensen-Mutchie, M.S, RPA
> Archaeologist
> Maryland Department of Transportation
> State Highway Administration
> 707 N. Calvert Street, CLL-4
> Baltimore, MD 21202
> 410-545-8793 (office)
> 410-209-5046 (fax)
>