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Medieval sword found on seabed was likely lost during naval battle

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Medieval sword found off Israel’s Hof HaCarmel coast was likely lost during a naval battle 800-years-ago during the Crusader period.

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.

Image Credit : IAA

“The sword was part of a knight’s or soldier’s personal equipment. It was the main weapon in face-to-face combat in those days,” says Dr. Joppe Gosker. “Swords required a lot of quality iron and were therefore expensive. In addition, sword fighting required training and practice, and therefore, only the nobility and professional soldiers fought with swords.”

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.”

IAA

Header Image Credit : Shlomi Katzin

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Archaeology

Maya tomb with funerary offerings found during hotel construction

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A tomb with funerary offerings has been uncovered during the construction of the Tren Maya Hotel, in Palenque, Mexico.

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducted rescue excavations following the discovery, revealing skeletal remains associated with the Maya city of Palenque.

Palenque, also known as Lakamha in the Itza Language (meaning “Flat-Place-River”), is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

The city dates from 226 BC to AD 799, with most of the major construction works representing a rebuilding effort in response to attacks by the city of Calakmul and its client states in AD 599 and AD 611.

The population declined during the 8th century AD, instead becoming an agricultural population that led to the abandonment of the city zone. By 1520 following the Spanish conquest, contemporary Spanish accounts record the entire region being sparsely populated.

Excavations uncovered a stone lined funerary space sealed with limestone slabs, in which the researchers found the remains of a high-status individual who likely lived in the periphery of Palenque in a small settlement.

The burial is located at a depth of four metres, and also contained ceramic vessels and beads deposited as funerary offerings.

“The individual was placed face up with his legs extended and his head facing north,” said Diego Prieto Hernández from INAH.

The discovery was announced in a press conference reporting on the progress of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza) in Palenque, Moral-Reforma and El Tigre, the three heritage sites that are served within Section 1 of the Mayan Train Project.

INAH

Header Image Credit : INAH

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Archaeologists unearth possible birthplace of King Henry VII at Pembroke Castle

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Archaeologists from the Dyfed Archaeological Trust may have discovered the possible birthplace of King Henry VII at Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Pembroke Castle was founded during the 11th century by Roger de Montgomerie, the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

In 1452, Jasper Tudor was presented both the castle and the earldom by his half-brother, King Henry VI. In 1457, Henry VII was born at the castle, the only child of Lady Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond.

Following Edward IV’s ascension to the throne in 1471, Henry VII endured 14 years of exile in Brittany. He eventually claimed the throne after his forces, with backing from France, Scotland, and Wales, emerged victorious over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, marking the climax of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VII’s reign is credited with many administrative, economic, and tax reforms, having ruled for nearly 24 years until his death in 1509 at the age of 52. Henry VII was succeed by his second son, Henry, Duke of York, who ascended to the crown as Henry VIII.

Historians have long assumed that a 13th century tower on the outer ward (known today as Henry VII Tower) was the birth place of Henry VII. However, a recent study by the Dyfed Archaeological Trust has uncovered evidence of a late-medieval winged hall-house, broadly dating to the 15th century.

The walls of the structure extend to around 25 metres, with comparisons being drawn to medieval buildings found in England and East Wales, such as Penallt Mansion in Kidwelly. Historically, Pembroke Castle was situated in the English-speaking portion of Pembrokeshire, often referred to as “Little England beyond Wales.”

Speaking to the Western Telegraph, Neil Ludlow, a consultant to Pembroke Castle, said: “All our indications are pointing to a late-medieval building which was clearly of high status within Pembrokeshire, and it looks as if it was at least two-storeys, which possibly makes it a better candidate for the birthplace of a king rather that the tower that currently bears his name.”

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