Underwater Crusader Sword Reveals Battle Damage; Scientists Believe It was Dropped During Fight Thousand of Years Ago

Many preserved remnants of the Crusader era provide the modern world with more clues of what it was like back then. As such, a newly uncovered crusader sword was found at the bottom of the sea near Israel.

Underwater Crusader Sword

According to Live Science, the medieval weapon was found surrounded by seashells and hardened sand. As per new analysis, it was discovered to have likely been dropped at around 800 to 900 years ago.

The sword likely belonged to a Crusader; and as for where specifically it was found, the medieval weapon was located just near Israel, at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The sword was 88 cm long and about 4.6 cm wide and was discovered during an underwater expedition in 2021.

Because of how heavily coated the sword was upon delivery, archaeologists had a hard time providing more details of its origins. However, because of the caked-up deposits, the weapon was heavily preserved, which provided a way for future scientists to learn more about the weapon.

Medieval Weapon X-Ray

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) shared that with the help of X-rays, researchers were able to get a look at the original outline of the sword. The scan revealed that the sword was likely damaged in battle due to it being bent.

While only the sword was found, its sheath remained a mystery as archaeologists concluded it was likely damaged way in the past. The study of the sword was published in the Atiqot journal, and it revealed that the blade was called the Newe-Yam sword.

The fact that the blade was bent also supports that it could've sustained damage during battle, or had even dropped into the water as a result of battle.

Battle During the Crusades

The Crusades went on from A.D. 1095 to 1291 and involved numerous religious wars between the Muslims and Christians. According to Utah State University, although there were multiple campaigns, only the First Crusade really brought any lasting success.

Jacob Sharvit, IAA's marine archaeology unit director and the co-author of the study, shared how the sword came from a Crusader who made their way into the country after the First Crusade, which happened in 1099.

The purpose of the First Crusade was to establish the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the researchers believed that the newly found Crusader sword was supposed to be part of it. Sharvit shares that since it was a significant part of history and took place at a large scale, they expect to find more swords.

However, Sharvit shared how most of the time they only found fragments and that it was rare for them to find whole swords. He added that counting the new one, they've only found seven swords from the same period and most of them were at sea.

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