A rare medieval artifact has been recovered after being missing for nearly four decades. An 11th-century wax seal belonging to Edward the Confessor was discovered in the French National Archives by a Ph.D. student, according to officials.

The seal had been missing since the 1980s before its recent discovery. Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from 1042 to 1066, was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

Wax seals were important authentication tools in medieval times, used by royalty and nobility to validate official documents and correspondence. The discovery represents a significant find for medieval historians studying the Anglo-Saxon period.

The circumstances of how the seal ended up in the French archives and remained unidentified for decades have not been detailed by officials. The find highlights the ongoing potential for historical discoveries within existing archival collections.