The discovery off the coast of Israel, along with pieces of pottery and iron and stone anchors. An underwater relic of the Crusades has been discovered in Israel.
Imagine the amazement of an amateur diver when, during one of his dives, he finds himself in front of a real relic. And imagine the excitement of learning that what has just been unearthed by the aquatic currents off the coast of Israel is not junk but a series of precious artifacts dating back to the Crusades.
It's an incredible story. Here's what we know about the diver's strange adventure in the Mediterranean Sea, a dive that was an unexpected journey back in time, as far as 900 years ago.
What we know about the Crusader sword discovered in the sea off Israel
The artifacts discovered Oct. 9 off Israel's northern border waters are a number of anchors, some metal, some stone, and ceramic fragments. The centerpiece of the collection, however, is a beautiful sword, covered in shells and marine encrustations, with a blade three feet long (about 90 centimeters) and a hilt one foot wide (about 30 centimeters).
Under the encrustations, the weapon conceals what is probably its constituent material: iron. Not only its size, but also the fact that it was found not far from the Crusader fortress of Atlit, suggests the fact that in the past the weapon belonged to a warrior on a mission to conquer the Holy Land in the Middle East.
Maybe there could be something else down there: the words of the IAA
Exactly, the discovery took place 200 meters from the shore and at a depth of 4 meters. This was stated by Koby Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), alerted by the diver, who immediately sensed the value of his discovery.
"It is exciting to come across such a personal object, which takes you back 900 years in time to a different era, with knights, armor and swords," said Nir Distelfeld, inspector of the IAA's Robbery Prevention Unit. The sword is well-preserved thanks to the layer of sand that covered it before it was brought back to the mainland.
Sharvit also said that "it is very strange to find only one artifact," alluding to the fact that the sword would appear to have ended up on the sea floor following a shipwreck. Perhaps we should expect new exciting discoveries, in the coming days?
Among other mysteries of the past that never cease to fascinate, the Pyramids and Atlantis.
Giuseppe Giordano