Scientists find a sword from the Middle Ages embedded in a stone: why the legend of Escalibur is not entirely fiction

In the Cappella di San Galgano a Montesiepi in Italy, you can see an almost fairy-tale-like sword embedded in stone, which will appeal to fans of King Arthur's legends. What is unique is that the scientists who conducted the chemical analysis determined that the sword is not a fake and dates back to the Middle Ages.

This is reported by IFLScience.

The legend associated with the sword describes the story of Galgano Guidotti, a knight born in 1148 who became a Catholic saint.

According to the legend, Galgano lost his father when he was a child. Growing up, he participated in the internecine wars of local feudal lords and shed blood.

Over the years, the knight became more and more violent, until he had a religious epiphany and became a Christian. He left his bride and became a hermit. Galgano regularly saw visions that eventually led him to build his own hermitage.

To prove his absolute renunciation of cruelty and violence, Galgano plunged his sword into a stone. Imagine the knight's surprise when the sword easily penetrated the stone and passed through it, leaving the hilt on top and the point at the other end. Since then, the sword has become one with the stone and can now be seen in the Rotunda in Siena, Tuscany.

Read also: Scientists explained why insects flock to the light.

The chemist Luigi Garlascelli analyzed the sword, revealing incredible details, and wrote: "The style of the sword corresponds to that of other similar weapons of the same time. We can even call it a sword typical of the late twelfth century."

The scientist then drilled a hole in the stone from which the sword was sticking out, took metal samples, and sent them for analysis, which showed that the artifact was medieval and indeed came from the time of Knight Galgano.

What is incredible is that the mummified hands that were holding the sword, which, according to the stories, belonged to thieves who wanted to take the stone but were struck down by God, date back to the 12th century. In addition, it has been proven that the handle and the blade protruding from the stone are one and the same. How the sword got into the stone is a mystery.

We have already written about the legendary ruler of Egypt, Cleopatra.

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