Knights Templar - Bones Found

I am posting, verbatim, a news article that appeared in the newspaper, Herald Sun, in Melbourne, Australia on Monday 10th April 2006. I posted this in another forum but thought the members would also find it of interest.

Bones may prove tale of Knights

This discovery is the equivalent of the Holy Grail to archaeologists and historians

LONDON � The first bodies of the Knights Templar � the mysterious religious order at the heart of The Da Vinci Code � have been found by archaeologists near the River Jordan.

Tom Ashbridge, senior lecturer in medieval history at Queen Mary University of London, said yesterday the find was the first provable example in existence of members of the Knights Templar.

The warrior Knights grew from humble beginnings in the 11^th century to be the most powerful and wealthy fighting force of the Crusades.

But fears of the seemingly limitless dominance and influence, and the group's highly secretive nature, meant 200 years later, on the orders of Pope Clement V, the Templars were accused of heresy.

The Knights' leaders were rounded up, tortured and killed.

The group then passed into history.

Until now, it has been difficult to prove conclusively that skeletons found near Templar strongholds were those of the almost mythical knights.

But these remains have lain untouched beneath the ruined walls of Jacob's Ford, an overthrown castle dating back to the Crusades, which had been lost for centuries.

They can be dated to the precise day � August 29, 1179 � that they were killed by Saladin, the feared Muslim leader who captured the fortress.

Jacob's Ford was home to about 150 Knights Templar, whom King Baldwin IV, the Leper King, had positioned in northern Israel to protect Jerusalem from Muslim warriors.

Never before has it been possible to trace their remains to such an exact time in history, Mr Ashbridge said.

I don't know anything that compared to this.

This discovery is the equivalent of the Holy Grail to archaeologists and historians.

The site is so perfectly preserved that it gives us a real insight into what it was like at the time, and helps us understand the horrific nature of the violence of the fighting.

The skull of one skeleton has been cleaved in two, while another had an arm scythed off, making it likely they were involved in fighting Saladin.

Only five skeletons have been found to date at the site in South-West Asia, but archaeologists may soon be able to start examining the bodies of 800 slain defenders thrown into the castle's cistern.

Source: Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia, Monday 10^th April 2006, based on article in Mail on Sunday (UK)

Article added: 2006-06-10 @ 1:10 am

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