Oddly shaped ‘stone’ on sea floor off Sicily was actually ancient battle gear. See it
Scientific divers off the coast of Sicily were scouring the rocky sea floor when a large, rounded object stood out from the other stones.
A ridge crossed the top of the rock — and they realized it wasn’t a rock at all.
The stony object was actually a piece of ancient battle gear, the Soprintendenza del Mare announced in a March 28 Facebook post.
Matteo Azzaro, an inspector of underwater cultural heritage, found the medieval object during a scientific dive with researchers from the University of Naples, the Soprintendenza del Mare said.
The find was identified as a “cabasset,” in Spanish, or “capacete,” in Portuguese, meaning helmet, and dated to the late 15th century to the 17th century, according to the soprintendenza.
The helmet has a semispherical or oval shape with a ridge that follows along the edge of the bottom and a crest across the top, the soprintendenza said.
The researchers said it was commonly used by infantrymen during that period, the late Middle Ages to the Early Renaissance, and may have been used by troops on a ship.
The helmet was found on the ocean floor, the researchers said, so it’s not clear if it was part of a larger shipwreck or if it went overboard on its own.
The soprintendenza said more excavations and underwater dives would be needed to investigate the area for the presence of other late medieval or modern relics.
Sicily became part of the Kingdom of Aragon, then ruled by the Spanish in 1487, the Times of Sicily reported, and was ruled by the Spanish for hundreds of years.
The helmet was found off Vendicari, on the southeast coast of Sicily.
