Archaeologists discover part of a nail likely from the True Cross in Milevsko monastery

Archaeologists working in a Premonstratensian monastery in South Bohemia say they have discovered part of a nail likely from the so-called True Cross, i.e. the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The find is one of the rarest Christian relics.

The six-inch-long piece of nail was discovered in a box in a cavity in the vault of the Milevsko monastery. A cross made of twenty-one carat gold was created on the nail.

According to dendrological research, the box of oak wood in which the nail was found is from the period 260 to 416 AD.

According to archaeologists, the piece of nail from the True Cross is a relic comparable to the reliquary of St. Maurus in its significance and rarity.