Crusaders’ Gold Worth $100K Unearthed in Israel

By Haaretz July 8, 2012

A gold cache, one of the largest ever found in Israel, was discovered last week in a dig in Israel’s Apollonia National Park, near Herzliya, heads of the archaeological project said.

The 400-gram gold stash, unearthed by a joint Tel Aviv University and Nature and Parks Authority team, is currently valued at over $100,000.

The excavation began three years ago as part of work to prevent the collapse of the cliff on which the Crusader fortress in the Apollonia park stands. Since then the diggers have discovered numerous findings shedding light on the Crusaders in general and on the last days of the 13th century fortress in particular.

Findings include hundreds of arrow heads and catapult stones from the battle in which the Mamluks conquered the castle from the Crusaders. In a landfill dug at the site diggers found shards imported from Italy and rare glass utensils.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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