The Stone of Destiny, the oblong block red sandstone used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs until it was snatched by King Edward I in 1296 and used in the coronation of English and British monarchs thereafter, started out as a step or threshold. A recent analysis of the 335-pound stone found the wear pattern on top of the stone was likely caused by many a foot treading upon it rather than by many royal butts perched upon or over it. The first historical record of the Stone of Destiny being used for a coronation is Alexander III’s in 1249. It was reportedly covered in gold silk cloth, so ..read more

A sword discovered in Valencia in 1994 has been identified as an early Islamic era weapon dating to the 10th century. It is the first sword from the Islamic period to be found in Valencia. Founded by Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 B.C. as a veterans colony, Valencia was conquered by invading Muslim forces in 714 A.D. The Islamic city, known as Balansiya in Arabic, prospered and by the 10th century was a regional hub of trade. The Moorish taifa kingdom of Valencia, established in 1010, was frequently troubled with dynastic conflict, assassination and for one brief stretch a ..read more

The exploration of the wreck of the 15th century Danish royal warship Gribshunden has uncovered a unique late medieval weapons chest. It is a zeuglade, an ammunition storage and production toolbox that we know from illustrations around that time often accompanied armies on battlefields. Gribshunden sank in the Blekinge archipelago after a fire broke out when it was anchored off the Baltic coast of southern Sweden in 1495. The royal flagship was carrying King Hans of Denmark and Norway, but he and his retinue had already disembarked on their way to meet with the regent of Sweden when the ship c ..read more

Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of silver bracteates from the 12th century in a grave at the Brahekyrkan church in Visingsö, southern Sweden. It is rare to find extensive grave goods in Christian graves, and large numbers of coins have been found in only a handful of burials from the period. What makes this find unique is that some of these coins are completely unknown on the archaeological record. The county museum archaeologists were overseeing the installation of the church’s new geothermal heating system in mid-March of this year when a skeleton was discovered in a shaft where wirin ..read more

A rare medieval belt loop used to hang keys or a purse has been discovered near Kamień Pomorski in northwestern Poland. It is one of only about 15 of this type of belt loop known, and the only one of them found in Poland. It was discovered by metal detectorist Damian Tomczyk scanning the area with the approval of local heritage authorities. The bronze figure is 2.2 inches high and depicts an anthropomorphic figure with hands on hips forming circular divots on the side of the torso. Diagonal, horizontal and vertical cuts on the surface of the chest and waist convey the draping of a tunic typica ..read more

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a quatrefoil-shaped baptismal font from the 10th century in the collegiate church of St. Servatii in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the oldest quatrefoil baptismal font north of the Alps, and was likely used in the baptism of Ottonian dynasty rulers and family members. The base of the font emerged in an excavation of the crypt of the church where members of the Ottonian dynasty, kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors (919-1024), were buried. Parts of the crypt predate the current collegiate church which was built in the 11th-12th cent ..read more

Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old bone skate in the basement of a house in the central Moravian city of Přerov, Czech Republic. The skate was made of animal bone, likely the metacarpal (shin bone) of a horse. Fragments of pottery found around the blade date it to the 10th or 11th century. Archaeologists from the Comenius Museum made the discovery during a rescue excavation in the Upper Square of the city. At the time when the skate was made, the Upper Square area was on a hill overlooking the left bank of the Bečva River. There wasn’t a city of Přerov yet, but rather an agglomera ..read more

First of all, there is such a thing as a magnet fisherman: ie, someone who uses a powerful neodymium magnet on a rope to retrieve metal objects from bodies of water. I did not know this. Secondly, magnet fisherman Trevor Penny pulled up an intact Viking sword from the River Cherwell in West Oxfordshire last November. Magnet fishing usually pulls up relatively modern debris — tire rims, keys, bicycles, unexploded ordnance — not iron swords hundreds of years old. Penny didn’t know what it was at first, but after consulting with friends and knowledgeable acquaintances, he called it in to the Port ..read more

The V&A museum has launched a campaign to raise the £2 million it needs to acquire the rare 12th century walrus ivory carving that will otherwise leave the UK and enter the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Deposition from the Cross is a depiction of Joseph of Arimathea taking the body of Christ down from the cross. The meticulous detail — the finely striated hair and beards, the soft draping of the robes — make it one of the greatest surviving examples of English Romanesque ivory carving. Thought to have been crafted in York, North Yorkshire, in around 1190, it was origina ..read more

The remains of San Geminiano, the “vanished church” that moved around Piazza San Marco in Venice for centuries before its final destruction in 1807, have been discovered under the iconic main square. So far archaeologists have discovered pieces of the medieval pavements and walls and a brick tomb containing the skeletal remains of seven people. The tomb dates to the 7th or 8th century, predating construction of Piazza San Marco itself. Tradition has it that the first San Geminiano church was built by order of the Byzantine general Narses in the mid-6th century A.D. in appreciation of Venice’s ..read more