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Medieval Sword Found on Seabed Was Likely Lost During Naval Battle
Heritage Daily ^ | July 24, 2023 | Markus Milligan

Posted on 07/27/2023 9:35:21 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

The sword was discovered in 2021 by Shlomi Katzin while conducting a study of stone and metal anchors on the seabed. The area was a natural anchorage for ships near Haifa's ancient port city that the Crusaders captured from the Arabs during the early 12th century AD.

In a new study published by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the researchers describe how the sword was found covered in a thick marine concretion of sand and shells, making it difficult to separate the metal without causing damage. However, the concretion slowed down the oxidation process, preserving the sword which would have rusted and disintegrated in the water.

By conducting a detailed X-ray study to penetrate the layers of concretions, the team have revealed that the sword had a blade approximately 88 cm's in length by 4.6 cm's in width, and appears to have been bent possibly during combat...

According to the researchers, the sword likely fell into the sea during a naval battle along with its owner. The sword could have been on one of the ships that laid siege to the coastal cities, or perhaps it belonged to a knight who was on a ship returning home to Europe.

A survey of the area where it was found has so far resulted in no further artefacts or evidence of human remains, however, according to Gosker: "The soldier may still lie undiscovered in the depths, to be revealed one day by the shifting sands."

Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said: All along the coast of Israel, there are many finds buried beneath the sand and in the sea, and they are often lost forever, or sometimes discovered by chance. It is important that qualified archaeologists record the finds and their contexts."

(Excerpt) Read more at heritagedaily.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; crusades; eliescusido; godsgravesglyphs; haifa; middleages; shlomikatzin; sword
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To: Red Badger

Maybe Sir Bedivere had a great throwing arm.


21 posted on 07/27/2023 11:03:57 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: Robert DeLong; Hot Tabasco
It could be interesting to see a basically intact sword from that time.

22 posted on 07/27/2023 5:32:27 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (The best thing about a muzzie civil war is, everyone wins.)
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To: SunkenCiv
This one went in an auction in Richardson TX. Asking price $20,000 ...

It'sa biggun.

23 posted on 07/27/2023 7:42:51 PM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: texas booster

That must be the seller, looks like a dump! :^)


24 posted on 07/27/2023 8:27:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (The best thing about a muzzie civil war is, everyone wins.)
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To: SunkenCiv

That guy wearing a mask is now safe from the sword...


25 posted on 07/27/2023 11:06:36 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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[snip] Specifically, experts associated it with a Frankish settlement... X-ray imaging revealed that the sword’s blade was bent, indicating that it was likely used during a naval battle about 800 years ago, according to the Facebook post. [/snip]

800-year-old sword was found in Mediterranean Sea. Now experts know how it got there
Moira Ritter July 25, 2023 4:00 AM
https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/world/article277611338.html


26 posted on 08/27/2023 5:20:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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27 posted on 08/27/2023 5:30:38 AM PDT by deport
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28 posted on 08/27/2023 5:40:29 AM PDT by deport
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