900-year-old sword found encrusted in shells off Israel
A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed thanks to a sharp-eyed amateur diver, the Israel Antiquities Authority has said.
Though encrusted with marine organisms, the metre-long blade, hilt and handle were distinctive enough to notice after undercurrents shifted sands that had concealed it, Reuters reported.
The location, a natural cove near the port city of Haifa, suggested it had served as a shelter for seafarers, said Yaakov Sharvit, director of the authority’s marine archaeology unit.
“Actually it’s heavy”, Mr Sharvit said while holding the sword and talking about the Crusader knight who had probably fought with it.
“I’m trying to imagine him on the field with all the armour on him and the sword and fighting with it … maybe they were bigger than us today but definitely stronger. And it’s amazing,” he said.
The sword, believed to be 900 years old, will be put on display after it is cleaned and restored, the authority said.
Facebook to hire 10,000 in EU to work on metaverse
Facebook is planning to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to develop a ‘metaverse’, the BBC reports.
A metaverse is an online world where people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been one of the leading voices on the concept.
“The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right from the start,” Facebook said in a blog post.
Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its big priorities.
Despite its history of buying up rivals, Facebook claims the metaverse “won’t be built overnight by a single company” and has promised to collaborate.
Japanese volcano erupts at popular tourist spot
Japan’s Mount Aso has erupted, spewing a giant column of ash thousands of metres into the sky as hikers rushed away from the popular tourist spot.
No injuries were immediately reported after the late-morning eruption on the main southern island of Kyushu, which sent rocks flying in a dramatic blast captured by nearby CCTV cameras.
People were warned not to approach the volcano as it ejected hot gas and ash as high as 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) and sent stones tumbling down its grassy slopes.
The last time the JMA raised its warning for Mount Aso to its current level – three out of five – was when it erupted in 2016, having rumbled to life the previous year after being dormant for 19 years.
The agency has been warning of increasing volcanic activity there in recent days.