A nail from the time of Christ's crucifixion which was hidden by the same knights who featured in The Da Vinci Code has been found in a dig.

The four-inch Roman relic, stored in an ornate box, was uncovered by archaeologists working at a fort thought to have been a former Knights Templar stronghold.



The iron nail is of the type used in thousands of crucifixions - but it is special. Archaeologist Bryn Walters said: "It dates from the 1st to 2nd centuries. You'd expect the surface to be pitted and rough after so long. But this was smooth.

"It looks like it had been handled by a lot of people over a long period of time and the acid from their hands have given it a peculiar finish."

1st-century funerary box inscribed with the name "Jehohanan." Inside, researchers found the man's bones — including a heel bone that had a curled nail sticking through it.

Apparently, the man had been crucified, with his heel nailed to the side of the cross. The nail probably hit a knot in the wood and couldn't be removed when Jehohanan was taken down, so it was buried right along with the bone.