In the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones locates the long-missing Ark of the Covenant in the snake-filled Well of Souls. He then loses it again to the hands of the Nazis who have orders to deliver it directly to the occult-obsessed Adolf Hitler, who believes the Ark will make his army invincible.
All complete fiction, of course. But the search for the vessel that supposedly contains the shattered remains of the tablets on which was written the original Ten Commandments (by the finger of God, according to the Bible) is a real one. Its true location has been the subject of speculation, tireless research, and digging by archaeologists and treasure hunters alike for centuries. Certainly, if it were ever found and confirmed as being genuine, it would be considered the greatest archaeological discovery of all time - especially because of the extraordinary paranormal powers it is said to possess.
Recently, researchers have come forward to claim that they have actually found - or at least know the true location of - the lost Ark.
Where Is the Ark?
- One mention of the location of the Ark in the Bible is in II Maccabees 2:5: "And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the Ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door." The cave mentioned is in mount Nebo in Jordan, and many believe that it is still there. Whether or not this is being explored, I don't know.
- According to The Ark of the Covenant: Present Location and Importance, the Ark was hidden by the prophet Jeremiah at God's instruction. He moved it out of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, its former resting place, because God knew it would be looted and destroyed.
- When the Temple was rebuilt, many thought that the Ark would be returned to this Second Temple's Holy of Holies. But, according to Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?, "when the Roman General Pompey conquered Jerusalem around 63 B.C., he demanded the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies. When he did, he came out saying that he could not understand what all the interest was about the sanctuary, when it was only an empty room."
- Many believe the Ark exists right in the center of Israel. Again according to Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?, "A view that has predominated in rabbinic circles is that the Ark was hidden in a cave beneath the Temple Mount in the very heart of Israel. The theory goes that the priests hid the Ark beneath the Temple Mount, perhaps as early as during the time of King Josiah."
- The work of Biblical archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer is summarized at Where Has the Lost Ark of the Covenant Been? And his research also points to the Temple Mount. And while he has conducted many excavations of the site of the area, the Supreme Moslem Council, which has authority over the Temple Mount area itself, "has been unwilling to allow any archaeological excavations. This is partially due to their desire to keep any evidence of an ancient Jewish temple from being found on their holy site."
Recent Discoveries
- Ron Wyatt claimed found the Ark of the Covenant, but was never allowed to provide the conclusive evidence. In 1978, according to his story, Wyatt was walking along the Calvary Escarpment in Israel when he inexplicably raised his left arm and pointed to a site being used as a trash dump and said, "That's Jeremiah's Grotto, and the Ark of the Covenant is buried in there." Amazingly, he was given permission to dig in the area and, after many trips and hours of digging, on January 6, 1982 Wyatt found and entered the cave that he believes contains the Ark of the Covenant. In fact, he claims to have actually seen the Ten Commandments stones which "look as if someone wrote in soft butter with their fingers and then turned them to stone." Unfortunately, Ron Wyatt died before he was able to prove his claims.
- In his book The Sign and the Seal, archaeologist Graham Hancock contends that the Ark resides in a chapel in Axum, a city in the Ethiopian highlands, and is guarded by a dedicated monk sworn to protect it. According to the story related to Hancock by the guardian monk, the Ark was stolen from the Temple by Menelik (the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba) and Azarius (son of Zadok, the High Priest of Israel) and taken to Ethiopia, where it has been ever since. "Are you telling me that this legend is literally true?" Hancock asks the monk. "It is not a legend," the monk replies. "It is history."
What would it mean to the world if the Ark of the Covenant were actually found and revealed? Would it be paraded around the globe like the treasures of King Tutankhamun? Or, as many fundamentalist Christians believe, will it be revealed soon as advent of the Second Coming and, with its supernatural powers, be used in the apocalyptic Battle of Armageddon to help usher in a new age?
Or are the Ark and its legendary paranormal powers merely the stuff of religious myth?
