A reinforced mine ventilation seal anchored with steel dowels into the strata of a mine passageway. The seal has a pair of metal mats formed of vertical and horizontal elongated reinforcing members that are sandwiched between a row of dowels set into the floor and ceiling of the passageway and extending into the passageway. The metal mats and the dowels are encased in a structural material such as concrete to form a seal which is capable of bidirectionally withstanding an overpressure due to an explosion. The dowels provide shear reinforcement and the metal mats provide flexural strength.