The cemetery is divided into several parts. In one there are the tombs of the knights, in the other - the pilgrims. Large knightly headstones with a cross. The pilgrims' graves are more modest. In one of the burials during excavations in 2015, an iron tip of a pilgrim's staff was discovered. All bones extracted from the graves were reburied here. Samples of DNA were sent for research to the Institute of Pathological Anatomy in order to identify the ethnic groups of people resting in the cemetery. The vast majority were from Provence and Champagne. Translated with Google Translate
Atlit is a small town south of Haifa. In the shadow of the capital of North, Atlit is an unremarkable province. However, acquaintance with this place will amaze us with the diversity and depth of the events that took place here. Let's start, oddly enough, with the cemetery. Knights and pilgrims are buried there. This is the only cemetery in the Middle East from the Crusades' time in such good condition. Then our path will run to the refugee camp, which has become an immigration museum. Here we are, witnesses, for the incredible fate of people, secret paths of illegal immigration, and a really recreated atmosphere of those years: the presence of barbed wire, guard towers, disinfection, and wooden barracks tarred by the scorching sun. Then, after a short picnic, we will climb to the ruins of the Crusader fortress De Strua. These are the only sites associated with the history of the Crusades that can be visited in Atlit today. And finally, we will go to the secret azure lagoon, where you can swim and find the shells of the famous mollusk, which gave itself the most expensive and prestigious paint of the ancient world - purple.
