A pair of Spanish historians have found the Holy Grail, they claim.
The 2000-year-old Grail is now part of a vessel in Leon, Spain, they say, according to the New York Post.
Researchers Margarita Torres and Jose Ortega del Rio have spent three years investigating the Chalice of Dona Urraca, the top half of which they believe to be the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper.
Last week, the two published a book, “Kings of the Grail”, in which they elaborate upon the cup’s claim to Grail-hood. Presumably, no immortal knights or demonic rabbits were involved in their search.
The full chalice, made of agate and onyx, surrounded by gold and encrusted with jewels, was crafted from two goblets. The cup was originally named for the daughter of King Fernando of Leon (1037-1065), according to Yahoo! News.
The pair began investigating the chalice after finding medieval Egyptian documents from Cairo’s al-Azhar University in 2011.
The cup, according to the documents, was originally seized by Muslim rulers and taken to Cairo. Afterwards, it was given to a Muslim emir in Spain after he helped alleviate an Egyptian famine. From there, the cup presumably ended up in Leon after a peace deal or a similar exchange of gifts.
Torres and Ortega del Rio identify the upper part of the chalice, carved from agate and missing a fragment, as the Holy Grail. Scientific dating has determined that the cup was made at some point between 200 B.C. and 100 A.D. However, the cup’s first 400 years, from its creation to its seizure by the Egyptians, cannot be determined.
In spite of that, the researchers continue to claim that the Chalice of Dona Urraca is the Holy Grail. The cup joins over 200 other claimed Grails across Europe, many of which are debunked in “Kings of the Grail.”
