The crusades saw Christian soldiers wield a terrifying array of medieval weaponry, including powerful crossbows, wickedly spiked maces and swords large enough to cleave a man in two.

But in the bloody battles over the Holy Land, the crusaders faced, and perhaps also used, weapons that were far ahead of their time – hand grenades.

Now one of these early explosive devices has been pulled from the sea in northern Israel.

A 700-year-old hand grenade (pictured) made from clay has been found in the sea off the coast of northern Israel. It is thought to date from around the time of the Crusades and would have been filled with a flammable liquid with a fuse poked in the top

HISTORY OF THE GRENADE 

Although they rose to prominence as weapons during the 20th century, grenades have a long history.

They are first thought to have been used by the Byzantine Empire from around the seventh century AD. Clay vessels were filled with flammable liquid known as Greek fire and flung at the enemy.

They were often piled into catapults to increase the range and devastation they caused.

They were popular weapons in naval battles as the fire could easily spread on ships and cause devastation.

From around the 12th century Muslims in Syria were also known to use clay and glass grenades.

The Chinese also began packing gunpowder into clay or glass containers to make grenades in around 1044AD. By the 14th Century they had started to use cast iron to hold the gunpowder.

By the 17th Century cast iron gunpowder based grenades, which used a fuse in the top, were being used in Europe and regiments of grenadiers were formed.

However, by the Napoleonic wars the use of hand grenades had fallen out of use until they were revived in the trench warfare of the First World War.  

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The clay device, which would have been filled with a flammable liquid with a burning fuse poked through a hole in the top, is thought to be about 700 years old.

These grenades were flung at enemy ships in an attempt to burn the wooden vessels. 

Diego Barkan, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, told MailOnline: 'These hand grenades were being used in the Byzantine and early Islamic period right up until the Ottomans. 

'It is made of a heavy clay and would have been used much like a Molotov cocktail.

'Inside they would have put alcohol and lit a fuse poked in a hole in the top before throwing it towards the enemy ships.'

The grenade was recovered from the sea, along with a haul of other ancient artefacts, over several years by Marcel Mazliah, a worker at the Hadera power plant in northern Israel.

His family handed them over to the Israel Antiquities Authority following his death.

The oldest of the objects in the collection include a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age knife head and a toggle pin.

Metal mortar and pestles, along with fragments of candlesticks dating to the 11th Century AD – known as the Fatimid period – were also among the collection.

The hand grenade is similar to those sued during the Crusades between the 11th to 13th Century and until the Mamluk period from the 13th Century to the 16th Century.

However, some experts believe these fist sized vessels were actually used to carry perfume.

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The grenade was part of a larger collection featuring many metal vessels, mortars and pestles (pictured) collected from the sea over several years by a worker at a power plant in northern Israel. It is thought they fell overboard from a medieval merchant ship

A toggle pin and the head of a Bronze Age knife estimated to be around 3,500-years-old (pictured) were among the oldest objects in the collection

The hand grenade is shaped like an acorn and decorated with tear-drop shapes. It has a hole in the top where a fuse may have been placed and lit before it was thrown (pictured). However, some scholars believe these vessels were actually used to carry perfume

Mr Barkan said: 'There are some scholars who believe these were ornaments or used to simply carry liquid. There is no agreement about what they were used for.' 

The one found in the sea by Mr Mazliah is carefully shaped like an acorn and decorated with a series of straight lines and tear-drop shapes.

Ayala Lester, a curator at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said it appears many of the objects in the collection had probably fallen overboard from a medieval metal merchant's ship.

She said: 'The items were apparently manufactured in Syria and were brought to Israel.

'The finds are evidence of the metal trade that was conducted during this period.' 

The artefacts were pulled from the sea by a worker at the Hadera power plant in north Israel

Experts believe the objects had been made in Syria and were being transported to Israel (an employee at the Israel Antiquities Authority examines the finds in the pictures above)

Many of the metal objects, like this jug pictured, date to the 11th Century AD – known as the Fatimid period

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