Swimmer discovers Crusader's sword lodged in seabed off Holy Land in extraordinary chance find

Once he had driven the group from the area, Katzin noticed a sword hilt protruding from the sandy seabed.

The discovery was not entirely unfamiliar to him, as he had found a similar weapon in 2021.

Mr Katzin promptly contacted Deborah Cvikel, a nautical archaeologist at the university, who subsequently informed the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The authority granted special permission for the metre-long weapon to be excavated for scientific examination.

Researchers employed a hospital CT scanner to examine the 12th-century weapon without removing the marine encrustation that had built up around its iron core over the centuries.

The imaging revealed significant deterioration caused by prolonged exposure to seawater, with the blade showing fractures and only a small portion of the original iron remaining intact.

Despite this damage, the scans provided valuable insights into the weapon's construction and purpose.

Analysis indicated the sword was crafted for single-handed combat, a design characteristic of the period.

Its construction suggested the weapon most likely belonged to a Crusader knight, potentially of Frankish origin.

The three-foot blade had lain buried beneath sand and encased in barnacles along the Mediterranean seabed for approximately 800 years before Mr Katzin's discovery.

Ms Cvikel described the retrieval as "an extremely rare find that sheds light on the Crusader presence on the coasts of the country," noting that only a handful of similar swords from the Crusader period between AD 1095 and 1291 exist within Israel.

She added the "discovery contributes greatly to our understanding of the use of maritime anchorages and the lives of warriors during this period".

Sára Lantos, a researcher in the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa, emphasised the profound cultural significance of such weapons.

"In the Middle Ages, the sword became a symbol of the knights and knighthoods, as well as a symbol of the Christian faith," Ms Lantos explained.

She noted that uncovering such a personal and symbolic artefact offers "a unique opportunity to learn about the lives of the Frankish knights in the Holy Land".

The Crusades saw Western European Christians wage a series of religious conflicts against Muslims, primarily seeking control of the Holy Land, with European knights fighting under papal sanction.

Artefacts recovered from this era, including swords and shields, offer stark evidence of the brutal nature of these medieval battles.

Investigation into the newly discovered weapon continues, building on Mr Katzin's earlier 2021 find, which also dated to the Crusader period.

Swords were seldom abandoned during this era because their metal held considerable value and could be melted down for reuse.

This suggests the original owners of both weapons likely lost them accidentally at sea, a misfortune that would have represented a significant hardship or potentially proved fatal for the knights concerned.