Cruisader sword found in Isreal

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by fernando

Well put, Jim. Diverting a bit, a friend of mine and his group of amateur divers found a few years ago a couple cannons and an anchor in an underwater place nearby, having only recovered the one bronze cannon and leaving behind the iron one and the anchor. They realized they didn't have the know how and the means to recover the iron pieces without risk of desintegration. I think the two items still reside in the same (rocky) place, some 200 yards from the shore.
On the other hand this cruzader sword looks to be well encapsulated by a dense layer of crustaceans; and will be handled by experts ... assuming inside such capsule there is a real sword .

Thanks Fernando, what you describe with the artifacts found by your friends is a familiar case with underwater finds.
Years ago I was communicating with one of the divers on the QAR, (Queen Annes Revenge, Blackbeards ship), and they were dragging cannon up year after year. These must have been in tanks for many years as they finally got many of them uncrusted.

On one wreck, I think it was the Henrietta Marie, there was a flintlock pistol encrusted, but I believe the crusting was opened, only the impression remained. I hope that will not be the case here.

The best finds are in riverbeds where the silt is so fine and entombs the sword completely away from oxygen so remains intact. Many of the Viking swords known today were in such context.