Stories of sunken treasure have, historically, been relatively exaggerated. Much of the value and wealth the ocean is hiding from us is partially down there because of our own mistakes.
There are many sunken ships from modern wars, and sunken ships from unfortunate disasters, as well as a vast amount of cargo resulting from those catastrophes that lead many adventure-minded people to want to strap on a snorkel and swim to fortune.
However, much of the genuinely ancient treasures aren’t found way out scraping the bottom of the seabed.
Many are much closer to the shore, buried not under miles of water but as little as a few feet of sand.
One such discovery was made very recently, and such discoveries happen constantly.
A sword dating back 900 years or more was found just off the coast of Israel and is connected to the last of the Crusades.
Its discovery wasn’t an epic of adventure or a brave fight against all kinds of marine life and oceanic riptides.
It was found during a leisurely afternoon scuba dive in relatively peaceful waters by a simple, amateur diver who just thought he saw something that looked neat.
10 /10 Diving For Treasure
Shlomi Katzin was the diver who made the unexpected historical discovery.
He went scuba diving just off Israel’s Carmel coast, south of Haifa, and was swimming around when he noticed a sword-shaped growth of marine life and debris sticking out of the sand.
He dislodged it, brought it to the surface, and discovered it wasn’t just a cross-like growth of barnacles; underneath was a preserved iron sword.
9 /10 Trove In The Sands
The blade was not alone on the sandy shore. Katzin also discovered a small trove of other preserved treasures, including pottery and old ship anchors that were part of the cargo of old boats from the medieval period.
The sword was the most whole and consistent piece of treasure among the collection that he discovered.