Amateur UK archaeologist: Holy Grail in secret crypt in West London river
Finding the Holy Grail is the Holy Grail of archaeological finds.
By AARON REICHUpdated: DECEMBER 20, 2020 18:23The Holy Grail (illustrative).(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
A UK-based amateur archaeologist claims to have found the Holy Grail of archaeological discoveries hiding in a secret crypt in a West London river: The Holy Grail, the UK daily The Sun reported.The legendary Christian relic is supposedly the goblet used by Jesus Christ himself during the Last Supper, and was supposedly used by Joseph of Aramethia to collect his blood at the crucifixion.Relic-hunters have been searching for it for over 2,000 years, and it has easily become the most famous of all Christian relics, occupying a place in popular culture unequaled by any other legendary treasure. It has even found its way into modern parlance as a way to refer to an object or goal that is widely sought after for its significance, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.But despite the Last Supper having taken place in Roman-occupied Jerusalem, 40-year-old amateur archaeologist and longtime enthusiast of grail lore Barrie-Jon Bower believes that the grail in fact lies buried in a secret crypt beneath a river in the West London suburb of Hounslow, The Sun reported.The reason for his hypothesis has to do with the links between the grail and the infamous Knights Templar, a legendary knightly order that fought in the Crusades and are often linked to numerous theories of long-lost hidden treasures and Christian relics.The Templars were certainly a real order, and had presences in locations throughout Christendom. Bower, however, claims this included Hounslow, where some of them trained and hid relics looted from the Crusades in a secret crypt.This crypt, Bower alleges, was hidden on purpose near the man-made Duke of Northumberland's River. And now, he told The Sun, he thinks he found it.“Finally I am certain this is the right spot. I am certain there will be a vault beneath the surface, with the Grail inside and other treasures from the Crusades," he told the UK daily.While there are many rumors regarding the secret treasures reportedly hidden by the Templars, the order was indeed renowned for being incredibly wealthy. Indeed, this wealth is said by some historians to have been the reason for their downfall, as France's King Phillip IV arrested the Templars in the 1300s and had them executed for idolatry, though most regard the charges as fraudulent and from forced confessions. In fact, the official current position of the Catholic Church is that the Templars had done nothing wrong.It is also true that the Templars did have a presence in Britain, and it is true that several of the order's members fled to the Island to escape their persecution on the mainland. Ultimately, their lands, assets and most of their members were later given to another knightly order, the Order of the Hospital of Saint John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller, a knightly order that exists to this very day as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
But regardless, it is unclear if these links are enough to place the grail in Britain, or even if the Templars ever had the grail in the first place. Indeed, many have tried finding the grail throughout history all over the world, with the Nazis having even launched efforts to find it in the Catalonia region of Spain.But Bower told The Sun that he had other reasons to suspect Hounslow as the legendary relic's resting place – but he did not disclose them."I don’t want rival hunters to get that information. It needs to stay secret," he explained."All will be revealed.”
