Ok....i promise not to post again for 12 hours. I do love "fun
news".


http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040301/sword.html


Tuscan 'Excalibur' Mystery to be Unearthed
By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
The Sword in The Stone

March 1, 2004 - Archaeological digging might soon unveil the mystery
surrounding a sword buried in a Gothic abbey in Tuscany, Italian
researchers announced.

Known as the "sword in the stone," the Tuscan "Excalibur" is said to
have been plunged into a rock in 1180 by Galgano Guidotti, a medieval
knight who renounced war and worldly goods to become a hermit.

Built in Galgano's memory, the evocative Gothic abbey at Montesiepi,
near the city of Siena, still preserves the sword in a little chapel.
Only the hilt and a few centimeters of the blade protrude from the
rock in the shape of a Cross.


"The sword has been considered a fake for many years, but our metal
dating research in 2001 has indicated it has medieval origins. The
composition of the metal doesn't show the use of modern alloys, and
the style is compatible with that one of a 12th century sword," Luigi
Garlaschelli, a research scientist at University of Pavia, told
Discovery News.

By the summer, Garlaschelli hopes to excavate the area around the
stone, in search of the knight's body. Indeed, ground penetrating
radar analysis revealed the presence of a 6 1/2-foot by 3-foot room
beneath the sword.

"It could well be Galgano's tomb, [sought] for about 800 years,"
Garlaschelli said.

The figure of Galgano Guidotti, who is said to have be born in 1148 in
Chiusdino, near Siena, is shrouded in mystery and legend. Evidence of
his historical identity has never been found and no records exist in
documents from his time.

Galgano Guidotti was said to have been an arrogant and lustful knight
who isolated himself in a cave and became a hermit after seeing a
vision of the Archangel Michael.

Legend has it that, Galgano was lured out by his mother who convinced
him to meet with his former beautiful fiancée; on the way to her
house, Galgano was thrown by his horse while passing Montesiepi, a
hill near Chiusdino. There, another vision told him to renounce
material things. Galgano objected that it would be as difficult as
splitting a rock with a sword. To prove his point, he struck a stone
with his sword. Instead of breaking, the sword slid like butter into
the rock. Galgano once again became a recluse, isolating himself by
the sword's side. There he remained until he died in 1181.

Garlaschelli admitted that the excavation would not unveil another
mystery over the sword: the one of the Tuscan "Excalibur" predating
the legend of King Arthur.

If the sword really dates to 1180, decades before the first literary
reference to the "sword in the stone," it would support the theory
that the Celtic myth of King Arthur and his sword Excalibur developed
in Italy after the death of Galgano.

"Further evidence may lie underneath the rock, but the Arthurian link
is almost impossible to prove. It will remain one of the many
mysteries that surround St. Galgano. More multidisciplinary studies
are needed to understand what the hill of Montesiepi hides. Meanwhile,
we are all anxious to see what results this excavation will bring,"
Maurizio Cali, president of the "Project Galgano" association, told
Discovery News.