A rare sword nicknamed “Excalibur” was officially dated by the Archaeology Service (SIAM) of Valencia City Council 30 years after it was discovered in 1994.
The 18-inch iron weapon was found upright inside a grave in the Spanish city of Valencia in 1994, earning itself the nickname “Excalibur” after the legend of King Arthur, according to a statement shared by SIAM. It turns out that the sword isn’t actually Excalibur, but a 10th-century weapon found in an Islamic-era home just north of Valencia’s ancient Roman forum. There’s just one issue.
While the sword was found in an Islamic-era property, one feature of its design suggests it is potentially a lot older than the Islamic occupation of southern Spain. The tip of the blade curves ever so slightly, suggesting it is actually from the Visigothic period of Spanish history, between 418 and 711 A.D.
Rare ‘Excalibur’ sword from Spain dates to Islamic period 1,000 years ago https://t.co/FLxUbkxuHO
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Using the sword’s specific metalwork and the sediments in which the sword was found, archaeologist Jose Miguel Osuna from the University of Granada stated it was, in fact, a 10th-century sword. Therefore it was manufactured when Spain was under Muslim rule and the city was called Balansiya. (RELATED: Archaeologists Find ‘Very Powerful’ Man And His Big Sword In Rare Discovery)
The sword is the first of its kind to be unearthed in Valencia. The city and country were run as a Muslim state until 1492, Live Science noted.
Islamic rulership of Spain is said to have ended after the fall of Grenada, leading to the mass conversion to Christianity. At this time, more than 3,000,000 Muslims left Spain and settled in North Africa, which still hosts the religious culture today, according to Brown University.