The real surprise came a few months later, when the reliquary was opened in a laboratory environment: several tiny pieces of what might be wood were found inside. Paleobotanic analysis confirmed that the material was indeed wood but, unfortunately, the surviving quantity was insufficient to determine the wood variety or date the find. It is quite certain, however, that the reliquary had held fragments of the True Cross, i.e., reputedly, the wood of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Legend relates that the True Cross was found by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 326. The relic was originally deposited in the Byzantine capital Constantinople. In 1204, the crusaders captured and plundered the city, their justification being the desire to obtain possession of the True Cross.