(Ha'aretz) Philippe Bohstrom - The wreck of a Crusader ship dating to the 13th century CE has been found in the bay of Acre in northern Israel. Thirty gold coins were found - Florentine "florins" minted by the Italian republic of Florence from 1252 CE. The shipwreck dates to the destruction of the Crusader bastion in Acre in 1291 CE by the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. When Jerusalem, the Crusader kingdom's capital, fell to Saladin in 1187, Acre replaced Jerusalem as the capital of the kingdom. In 2011, archaeologists unveiled the Crusader city of Acre, remarkably intact, beneath the Ottoman-era town. In the 13th century, Acre was a major center of international trade, exporting sugar, spices, glass, and textiles to Europe; weapons, metal, timber, armor, horses and horseshoes were imported to the Holy Land.
2017-03-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive