![]() (Image credit: Photo courtesy Norfolk County Council) This 1,400-year-old sword pyramid was found by a metal detectorist in Norfolk county in the UK. Read more: 900-year-old Crusader sword discovered off coast of Israel Sword pyramid The sword, which was "encrusted with marine organisms," is believed to be made of iron and measure approximately 3.3 feet (1 meter) long, with a hilt measuring an additional 1 foot (30 centimeters) in length. "It is exciting to encounter such a personal object, taking you 900 years back in time to a different era, with knights, armor and swords." "The sword, which has been preserved in perfect condition, is a beautiful and rare find and evidently belonged to a Crusader knight," Nir Distelfeld, inspector for the Israel Antiquities Authority's Robbery Prevention Unit, said in a statement. In October, a scuba diver off the coast of Israel discovered a trove of 900-year-old artifacts on the Mediterranean Sea bed, including a 900-year-old barnacle-encrusted sword that likely belonged to a knight during the region's bloody crusader period. The barnacle-encrusted blade dates to the Crusader era, 900 years ago. Read more: 5 non-returning Aboriginal boomerangs discovered in dried-up riverbed Barnacle-encrusted Crusader sword "It's especially rare to have a number of them found at once like this," Amy Roberts, an archaeologist and anthropologist at Flinders University in Adelaide, told Live Science at the time. This is only the sixth time that any have been found in their archaeological context. In addition to hunting, researchers also suspect the boomerangs could have been used to dig, stoke fires and perform ceremonies, as well as be used in hand-to-hand combat.īecause Aboriginal boomerangs are made from wood, they quickly decompose when exposed to the air. Radiocarbon dating revealed that Aborigines crafted the boomerangs from wood between 16 - before the first Europeans explored the area. In November, a new study into five rare "non-returning" boomerangs found in a dry riverbed in South Australia revealed they were probably used by the Aborigines to hunt waterbirds hundreds of years ago. (Image credit: Roberts et al, Australian Archaeology) The four boomerangs and a shaped fragment of one were found in December 2017 and January 2018, when they were exposed in a riverbed during an especially hot summer. Read more: 'Folded' iron sword found in a Roman soldier's grave was part of a pagan ritual Non-returning boomerang The bent sword is a clue that the soldier was a "Romanized Goth or from any other Germanic tribe who served as a mercenary (foederatus) in the imperial Roman forces," Errikos Maniotis, a co-researcher on the project and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Byzantine Archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, told Live Science at the time. The basilica was discovered in 2010, during excavations ahead of the construction of a subway track, which prompted researchers to call the ancient building the Sintrivani basilica, after the Sintrivani metro station.ĭespite the man being buried in a church, the sword folding was a part of a known pagan ritual, which suggests the soldier may not have originally been Roman, as the Roman empire had embraced Christianity by that time. The sword and its owner were discovered in a paleochristian basilica, dating back to the fifth century, in Thessaloniki in Greece. In May, archaeologists in Greece discovered a 1,600-year-old iron sword that had been folded in a ritual "killing" before being interred in the grave of a soldier who served in the Roman army. This iron sword was folded in a ritual "killing" before it was buried with a soldier about 1,600 years ago. Read more: Metal detectorist finds 2,000-year-old dagger wielded by Roman soldier in battle with Rhaetians Biblical arrowheads Only four similar daggers - each sharing distinctive features like cross-shaped handles - have ever been found in former Roman territories. The finding led a team of archaeologists to the site, who then uncovered hundreds of artifacts from a "lost" battlefield where Roman legionaries fought Rhaetian warriors as Rome sought to consolidate power in the area.Īrchaeologists think one of those legionaries may have buried the dagger intentionally after the battle as a token of thanks for victory. In November, an amateur archaeologist with a metal detector in Switzerland discovered an ornate dagger that belonged to a Roman soldier 2,000 years ago. (Image credit: Archaeological Service Graubünden) It belonged to a Roman legionary, and may have been buried intentionally as a token of thanks after a victory in battle. The ancient iron dagger is richly decorated with inlays of silver and brass.
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