You may have heard of the sword in the stone, but what about the sword in the sea? A lucky diver named Shlomi Katzin discovered just that: a 900-year-old sword right off the coast of Israel!
The rare find most likely belonged to a knight from the Crusades, which began in 1095. When the heavy iron sword fell into the Mediterranean Sea, it sank straight to the bottom. It was quickly buried under sand and preserved by the water’s constant temperature. As it rusted, shells, sand, and marine life encrusted the blade.
Jacob Sharvit, an archaeologist studying the weapon, said it would have been a status symbol. “These swords were of great value,” he says, “and not everyone could carry such a sword.”