(ORDO NEWS) — An archaeological surprise has been unearthed at the Krak des Chevaliers castle, which once belonged to the Order of the Hospitallers.
Apparently, in those days the room was used for some household needs, and then the entrance to it was blocked for some reason.
Krak de Chevalier Castle (sometimes also called Krak de l’Hospital) is located 65 kilometers from Homs. This is one of the best preserved castles of that era and probably the most famous in those places.
Before the arrival of the Crusaders, the garrison of the Emir of Aleppo, consisting of Kurds, stood here. The knights took the castle twice, in 1099 and 1110.
In 1142, Count Raymond II of Tripoli handed over the castle to the Order of the Hospitallers, who significantly rebuilt the fortifications.
The thickness of the walls in some places reached 30 meters. After that, the fortress was besieged many times, but invariably unsuccessfully.
The Muslims took Krak in April 1278 using a false letter in which the Count of Tripoli allegedly ordered the garrison to surrender.
Today, the ancient castle has again found itself in the center of hostilities – in 2014, the Syrian government army fought out some opponents whom calls terrorists.
Work on clearing the rubble in the castle continued until 2018, one of their consequences was the discovery of the entrance to the room.
Most likely, for some reason it was founded by Muslims after 1271, and then they forgot about it.
When we were clearing the corridors, we saw a hole in the wall, and behind it some kind of space.
We dismantled the masonry and found a room that no one suspected existed.
Everything was littered with stones. When we cleared the room, we found these containers and a stove Now we have two versions: either there was a laundry here, or wine was prepared here, and when the Mamluks took possession of the fortress, they probably walled up this room, ”Mohammad Hariri, the caretaker of the castle, tolds.
Some of the objects found in the room are sent for examination, which may help determine what kind of actions were once carried out there.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.