Imprint. A Forensic and Historical Investigation of Fingerprints on Medieval Seals

Impressions of seal matrices in disks of wax, deliberately preserved with their parent documents as part of the legal and administrative process of authentication, survive in great numbers in British archives. Since, by the later thirteenth century, seals came to be used by almost all levels of society, the imagery and wording on seals, along with sealing practices and techniques, offer great potential for historical research. In the last few years, and in particular as a consequence of the AHRC-funded Seals in Medieval Wales (SiMeW) and British Academy Seals in a Local Context (SiLC) projects, this potential is increasingly being realised. Importantly, the back of the wax on which seal impressions are found often retains the image of unique hand prints (finger, thumb or palm) but although sometimes commented upon these have, until now, been neglected as a source of information. They do, however, provide direct evidence of those involved in the act of sealing. But whose prints are they?

Imprint, which offers a genuine and mutually beneficial collaboration between History and forensic science, will use a range of methods for hand mark identification, including cutting-edge practice in digital imaging and the analysis of marks using both manual and Automated Fingerprint Identification System techniques. Images of c.1,200-1,500 medieval seals which are still associated with their parent documents will be taken to specifications which satisfy both the needs of historical research and forensic analysis. From an historical perspective, the results will enable an innovative investigation of the practice of sealing in a documentary context, and will allow the project team to consider what the identification of these prints can tell us about how sealing practices may have evolved concurrently with administrative and legal practices. More generally, the project will shed new light on social networks, rituals associated with exchange, and the bureaucracies and protocols of authentication and security in medieval England and Wales.

On the forensics side, the study will provide data which is pertinent to on-going areas of research in Identity Science, providing a significant quantity of material from a period long before existing banks of fingerprint data, and contribute to discussions about the uniqueness of fingerprints and their evidential validity. This research is timely in promoting links between the Humanities and Forensic science, as urged in the UK government Silverman Report on Research and Development in Forensic Science (2011) which notes the value of interdisciplinary research using forensic science, to create project Impact as well as scholarly results. It is also a natural progression from the recent work of SiMeW and SiLC, upon whose expertise we are drawing.

A pilot for the project, using seals from Hereford Cathedral Archive, has demonstrated that the methodology is sound: we recovered usable prints from 37% of the material surveyed, and traditional print recognition techniques revealed that particular individuals do recur.

Imprint will benefit professionals with curatorial responsibility for medieval documents. The five archive repositories directly involved in the project will gain digital images of sealed instruments and associated detailed information about the seals that can be incorporated into the host repositories' catalogues. The RAs will also be able to provide useful information about the condition of the collections investigated, for example identifying any items in need of conservation or re-housing. The findings may also provide valuable and potentially high-profile insights into items in the collections, for example were matches to be found between prints on the supposed 'Anglo-Saxon' charters and genuine 12th century documents at Westminster Abbey (medieval forgery 'case solved'!)

Repositories with substantial medieval collections but not directly involved will also be able to benefit from dissemination of the methodology and information about how their material could be enhanced by such projects, for example in terms of making medieval documents seem less remote for general audiences by revealing insights into the circumstances in which these items were created. In addition, the co-investigators are currently writing an article based upon the pilot project for submission to the journal Archives, and as part of Imprint we would hold workshops specifically aimed at archival professionals, based in areas near the archives we will be using in our research. These workshops, and specialist classes for archive students, would provide cutting-edge skills and knowledge for current curators and the next generation of those caring for sealed documents.

More broadly, through its website, and by working alongside partner repositories to produce online exhibitions and workshops, the project will allow the general public a vivid insight into medieval life through the investigation of very tangible objects, and by demonstrating the synergies to be found in collaborations between the humanities and science. We envisage that the project would therefore have widespread media appeal, and in addition to a TV documentary, for which the project team is already in informal talks with BBC4 through the University of Lincoln's director for public engagement, the project team will also write an article for consideration by a 'popular' history publication (target publications: BBC History Magazine, History Today, Archaeology Today).

From a scientific perspective, Imprint will contribute important information to current debates in forensics and allow the testing of theories concerning the identification of finger and hand prints, as well as informing a number of international projects and current Home Office initiatives. For example, through data from the finger and palm prints on wax seals, statistical information can be gleaned concerning the uniqueness of finger and hand marks through comparison of medieval marks (different demographic at a different time) and thus those of the present day using existing AFIS systems within the UK and potentially in other countries, previously unknown statistical data can be derived to add evidence concerning the uniqueness of fingerprints; a matter of international concern in the forensic world, and will address a number of the recommendations made in Sir Anthony Campbell's 2011 Scottish Inquiry Report into the mis-identification of Shirley McKie. This information can be built into data regarding the likelihood ratios associated with finger and palm mark identification and advance finger mark identification as a science.

Imprint's forensic advisers will present the data gathered at conferences, Home Office Workshops & Training Courses and after the project's end will print seek to publish its final conclusions in academic journals in their field such as Forensic Science International.