While Jay-Z's single from his 2013 album has gotten more people to utter the words "Holy Grail," a group of Spanish historians may also get more people talking. The Holy Grail, the name for the cup Jesus Christ supposedly drank from at the Last Supper, may have been discovered, according to Spaniards Margarita Torres and José Ortega del Río.
After three years of studying the famous cup's history, the pair published a book on their findings. The book is titled "The Kings of Grail," and was released last week.
According to the book, the Holy Grail is believed to have been hidden since the 11th century, in another antiqued vessel known as the Chalice of Doña Urruca, which is located in León's basilica of Saint Isidore.
The historians' research has been supported by scientific dating. The age of the cup in question is estimated to be between 200 BC and 100 AD. However, the first 400 years of the cup's history remains a mystery and scientists cannot prove whether or not Jesus actually ever drank from the cup.
Although there is concern about whether the famous cup in question is truly the Holy Grail, the Spanish duo strongly believe that this is the exact cup that the early Christians used to commemorate the Last Supper.
The precious cup had to be removed from the church since the historians' claim last week after it was overwhelmed with hundreds of visitors visiting the site.
Many scientists and historians have pursued the Holy Grail. In Europe alone, there are about 200 assumed Holy Grails, the historians admitted to The Guardian. However, Margarita Torres defended their findings, saying that "The only chalice that could be considered the chalice of Christ is that which made the journey to Cairo and then from Cairo to León – and that is this chalice."
Torres has no doubt that this discovery will help solve a big puzzle. As he told the Irish Times, "We believe this could be start of a wonderful stage of research."
