"And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth.... [Apocalypse (Revelation) 8:13]
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Archaeologists discover a treasure-laden shipwreck from the Crusades
Archaeologists discover a treasure-laden shipwreck from the Crusades
The year 1291 A.D. was a dark year for Christian Crusaders in the
Holy Land. When the Crusader capital of Jerusalem was lost to Saladin in
1187, the Haifa Bay port of Acre became the new landing site for
European soldiers, knights, and horses as well as an international
trading hub for the export of sugar, spices, glass, and textiles back to
Europe. But by the spring of 1291, an Egyptian sultan, Al-Ashraf
Khalil, had moved in with 100,000 cavalry and foot soldiers to banish
the Crusaders from the Holy Land once and for all.
Marine archeologists have now discovered the remains of a
treasure-laden Crusader ship that they have reason to believe was one of
many vessels that tried to flee Acre when the sultan stormed the city, Haaretz reports.
The wood on the ship dates back to between 1062 and 1250 A.D. but among
the keel and planks that remain the archaeologists also discovered 30
gold coins.
These coins are the key to linking the wreck to the fleeing
Crusaders. Robert Kool of Israel Antiquities Authority identified the
coins as "florins," which were minted in Florence beginning in 1252.
Historical eyewitnesses from the Siege of Acre recorded that nobles and
merchants would use such valuables to bribe boats owners in the hope of
buying their escape. Among the wreckage, archaeologists also found
ceramic bowls and jugs from places like southern Italy, Syria, and
Cyprus.
In the end, Acre fell to the sultan after 100 years of Frankish rule,
with the final defenders, a group of Knights Templar, ultimately
crushed beneath the fortress after refusing to abandon it. At the
siege's end, the Catholic Church abandoned the Jerusalem Crusades. Jeva Lange
