Ark of The Covenant

The Sign and the Seal
Ark of the Covenant
THE SIGN AND THE SEAL

by Graham Hancock
It was growing dark and the air of the Ethiopian highlands was chill when the
monk appeared. Stooped and leaning on a prayer stick he shuffled towards me
from the doorway of the sanctuary chapel and listened attentively as I was
introduced to him. Speaking in Tigrigna, the local language, he then sought
clarification through my interpreter about my character and my motives: from
which country had I come, what work did I do there, was I a Christian, what was it
that I wanted from him?
Initiation: 1986
I answered each of these questions fully, squinting through the gloom as I

talked, trying to make out the details of my inquisitor's face. Milky
cataracts veiled his small sunken eyes and deep lines furrowed his black
skin. He was bearded and probably toothless - for although his voice was
resonant it was also oddly slurred. All I could be sure of, however, was that
he was an old man, as old as the century perhaps, that he had his wits
about him, and that he did not seem to be seeking information about me
out of idle curiosity. Only when he was satisfied with everything that I had
said did he condescend to shake hands with me. His grip was dry and
delicate as papyrus and from the thick robes that he wore, faint but
unmistakable, arose the holy odour of frankincense.
Now that the formalities were over I got straight to the point. Gesturing in
the direction of the building that loomed in shadowy outline behind us, I
said: 'I have heard of an Ethiopian tradition that the Ark of the Covenant is
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kept here... in this chapel. I have also heard that you are the guardian of
the Ark. Are these things true?'
'They are true.'
'But in other countries nobody believes these stories. Few know about
your traditions anyway, but those who do say that they are false.'
'People may believe what they wish. People may say what they wish.
Nevertheless we do possess the sacred Tabot, that is to say the Ark of the
Covenant, and I am its guardian...'
'Let me be clear about this,' I interjected. 'Are you referring to the original
Ark of the Covenant - the box made of wood and gold in which the Ten
Commandments were placed by the prophet Moses?'
'Yes. God Himself inscribed the ten words of the law upon two tablets of
stone. Moses then placed these tablets inside the Ark of the Covenant -
which afterwards accompanied the Israelites during their wanderings in
the wilderness and their conquest of the Promised Land. It brought them
victory wherever they went and made them a great people. At last, when
its work was done, King Solomon placed it in the Holy of Holies of the
Temple that he had built in Jerusalem. And from there, not long
afterwards, it was removed and brought to Ethiopia...'
'Tell me how this happened,' I asked. 'What I know of your traditions is

only that the Queen of Sheba is supposed to have been an Ethiopian
monarch. The legends I have read say that when she made her famous
journey to Jerusalem she was impregnated by King Solomon and bore
him a son - a royal prince - who in later years stole the Ark...'
The monk sighed. 'The name of the prince you are speaking of was
Menelik - which in our language means "the son of the wise man".
Although he was conceived in Jerusalem he was born in Ethiopia where
the Queen of Sheba had returned after
discovering that she was carrying
Solomon's child. When he had reached
the age of twenty, Menelik himself
travelled from Ethiopia to Israel and
arrived at his father's court. There he
was instantly recognized and accorded
great honour. After a year had passed,
however, the elders of the land became
jealous of him. They complained that
Solomon showed him too much favour
and they insisted that he must go back
Page 2 of 52
to Ethiopia. This the king accepted on the condition that the first-born sons
of all the elders should also be sent to accompany him. Amongst these
latter was Azarius, son of Zadok the High Priest of Israel, and it was
Azarius, not Menelik, who stole the Ark of the Covenant from its place in
the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Indeed the group of young men did not
reveal the theft to Menelik until they were far away from Jerusalem. When
at last they told him what they had done he understood that they could not
have succeeded in so bold a venture unless God had willed it. Therefore
he agreed that the Ark should remain with them. And it was thus that it
was brought to Ethiopia, to this sacred city... and here it has remained
ever since.'
'And are you telling me that this legend is literally true?'
'It is not a legend. It is history.'
'How can you be so sure of that?'
'Because I am the guardian. I know the nature of the object that has been placed
in my care.'
We sat in silence for a few moments while I adjusted my mind to the calm and
rational way in which the monk had told me these bizarre and impossible things.
Then I asked him how and why he had been appointed to his position. He replied
that it was a great honour that he should have been chosen, that he had been
nominated with the last words of his predecessor, and that when he himself lay
on his death-bed his turn would come to nominate his own successor.
'What qualities will you look for in that man?'
'Love of God, purity of heart, cleanliness of mind and body.'
'Other than you,' I asked next, 'is anyone else allowed to see the Ark?'
'No. I alone may see it.'
'So does that mean that it is never brought out of the sanctuary chapel?'
The guardian paused for a long while before answering this question. Then,
finally, he told me that in the very distant past the relic had been brought out
during all the most important church festivals. More recently its use in religious
processions had been limited to just one occasion a year. That occasion was the
ceremony known as Timkat which took place every January.
'So if I come back next January will I have a chance of seeing the Ark?'
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The monk looked at me in a way that I

found strangely disconcerting and then
said: 'You must know that there is turmoil
and civil war in the land... Our government
is evil, the people oppose it, and the
fighting comes closer every day. In such
circumstances it is unlikely that the true Ark
will be used again in the ceremonies.
We cannot risk the possibility that any

harm might come to something so precious
... Besides, even in time of peace you
would not be able to see it. It is my responsibility to wrap it entirely in thick cloths
before it is carried in the processions...'
'Why do you wrap it?'
'To protect the laity from it.'
I remember asking my interpreter to clarify the translation of this last puzzling

remark: had the monk really meant 'to protect the laity from it'? Or had he meant
'to protect it from the laity'? It was some time before I got my answer. 'To protect
the laity from it. The Ark is powerful.'
A great mystery of the Bible
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In early Old Testament times the Ark of the Covenant was worshipped by
the Israelites as the embodiment of God Himself, as the sign and the seal
of His presence on earth, as the stronghold of His power, and as the
instrument of His ineffable will. Built to contain the tablets of stone upon
which the Ten Commandments had been written, it was a wooden chest
measuring three feet nine inches long by two feet three inches high and
wide. It was lined inside and out with pure gold and was surmounted by
two winged figures of cherubim that faced each other across its heavy
golden lid.
Biblical and other archaic sources speak of the Ark blazing with fire and
light, inflicting cancerous tumours and severe burns, levelling mountains,
stopping rivers, blasting whole armies and laying waste cities. The same
sources also leave no doubt that it was, for a very long time, the
cornerstone of the evolving Jewish faith: indeed when King Solomon built
the First Temple in Jerusalem his sole motive was to create 'an house of
rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord'. At some unknown date
between the tenth and the sixth century BC, however, this uniquely
precious and puissant object vanished from its place in the Holy of Holies
of that Temple, vanished without song or lamentation in the Scriptures -
almost as though it had never existed at all. The evidence suggests that it
was already long gone when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar burned
Jerusalem in 587 BC. Certainly it was not in the Second Temple which
was built over the ruins of the First after the Jews had returned from their
exile in Babylon in 538 BC. Neither does it seem to have been taken as
booty by the Babylonians.
Writing in 1987, Richard Elliott Friedman, Professor of Hebrew and

Comparative Religion at the University of California, expressed a view
shared by many scholars when he described the disappearance of the
sacred relic as 'one of the great mysteries of the Bible':
There is no report that the Ark was carried

away or destroyed or hidden. There is not
even any comment such as 'And then the
Ark disappeared and we do not know what
happened to it' or 'And no one knows
where it is to this day'. The most important
object in the world, in the biblical view,
simply ceases to be in the story.'
Indeed so. A close reading of the Old

Testament reveals more than two
hundred separate references to the
Ark of the Covenant up until the time
Page 5 of 52
of Solomon (970-931 BC); after the reign of that wise and splendid king it
is almost never mentioned again. And this, surely, is the central problem,
the real historical enigma: not, human nature being what it is, that an
immensely valuable golden chest should go missing, but - given its
supreme religious significance - that it should go missing amidst such a
deafening, improbable silence. Like a black hole in space, or a negative
photographic image, it is identifiable in the later books of the Old
Testament only by what it is not - it is, in short, conspicuous only by its
absence.
From this it seems reasonable to suggest that some sort of cover-up may
have taken place - a cover-up devised by priests and scribes to ensure
that the whereabouts of the sacred relic would remain forever a secret. If
so then it is a secret that many have tried to penetrate - a secret that has
inspired several treasure-hunting expeditions (all of which have failed) and
also one enormously successful Hollywood fantasy, Raiders of the Lost
Ark, which was first released in the USA and Europe in 1981 with Harrison
Ford in the starring role as Indiana Jones.
I was living in Kenya at the time and had no opportunity to see the film
until it finally arrived in Nairobi's cinemas early in 1983. I enjoyed the
combination of action, adventure and archaeology and I remember
thinking what a sensation it would be if someone were really to find the
Ark. Then, only a few months later, I made an extended visit to Ethiopia
during which I travelled to the north-west of the war-torn province of
Tigray. It was there, in Axum - the so-called 'sacred city of the Ethiopians'
- that I had my encounter with the guardian monk reported earlier in this
chapter.
Palaces, catacombs and obelisks
Our work began the moment that we arrived. Waiting to greet us as we

stepped down from the plane was an elderly Abyssinian gentleman
Page 6 of 52
wearing a slightly threadbare three-piece suit and a most splendid

patriarchal beard. In quaint but excellent English, he introduced himself as
Berhane Meskel Zelelew and explained that he had been contacted by
radio from Addis Ababa and ordered to guide us and act as our interpreter.
He was employed, he said, by the Ministry of Culture 'to keep an eye on
the antiquities of Axum'. In this capacity he had helped the archaeologists
from the British Institute in Eastern Africa whose excavations of some of
the city's most interesting ruins had been interrupted by the revolution of
1974. 'It's so nice to see other British people here after such a long time,'
he exclaimed as we introduced ourselves.
We climbed into a vintage Land Rover with a lime-green paint job and two
neat bullet holes in the front windscreen. 'Fortunately no one was killed,'
Zelelew reassured us when we asked him about these. Laughing
nervously as we drove away from the airfield, I then explained what we
had come to do, listed the historic sites that we wanted to visit, and told
him that I was particularly intrigued by Axum's claim to be the last resting
place of the Ark of the Covenant.
Do you believe that the Ark is here?' I asked.
'Yes. Certainly.'
'And where is it exactly?'
'It is deposited in a chapel near the centre of the city.'
'Is this chapel very old?'
"Makeda travelling by land to see the wisdom of Solomon"
'No. Its construction was ordered by our late Emperor... in 1965 I think.
Before that the relic had rested for many hundreds of years within the Holy
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of Holies of the nearby church of Saint Mary of Zion...' Zelelew paused,

then added: 'Haile Sellassie had a special interest in this matter, by the
way... He was the two hundred and twenty-fifth direct-line descendant of
Menelik, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. It was Menelik
who brought the Ark of the Covenant to our country...'
I was all for visiting the chapel at once, but Zelelew persuaded me that
there was little point in hurrying: 'you will not be allowed anywhere near
the Ark. Where it rests is holy ground. The monks and the citizens of Axum
protect it and they would not hesitate to kill anyone who tried to break in.
Just one man is allowed to enter and he is the monk responsible for
guarding the Ark. We will try to meet him later today, but first let us go and
see the Queen of Sheba's palace.'
After we had assented to this attractive proposition we turned on to a

bumpy, potholed road that - had we been able to follow it all the way -
would eventually have led us hundreds of miles south-west, through the
gigantic peaks and valleys of the Simien mountains, to the city of Gondar
near Lake Tana. In open country barely a mile from the centre of Axum,
however, we stopped within sight of an extensively fortified military post
which, Zelelew explained, marked the limit of the government controlled
sector. He waved expressively at the nearby hills: 'Everything else TPLF,
so we cannot go. It's a pity. There are so many interesting things to see . .
. There, just around that corner in the road, are the granite quarries where
all the stelae were cut. One still remains partially unexcavated from the
rock. And there is a beautiful carving of a lioness. It is very ancient. It was
put there before the coming of Christianity. But unfortunately we cannot
reach it.' '
"Makeda meets Solomon and presents him...
How far is it exactly?' I asked, tantalized.
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'Very close, less than three kilometres. But the military will not let us past
the checkpoint and if they did we would certainly be taken by the guerillas.
Even here we should not stand around for too long. Your foreign faces will
be noticed by the TPLF snipers. They might think you are Russians and
decide to shoot at you...' He laughed: 'That would be highly undesirable,
would it not? Come, follow me.'
He led the way into fields to the north of the road and we quickly began to
stumble across the remains of what must, once, have been an imposing
building. 'This was the Queen of Sheba's palace,' Zelelew announced
proudly. 'According to our traditions her name was Makeda and Axum was
her capital. I know that foreigners do not accept that she was an Ethiopian
at all. Nevertheless no other country has a stronger claim than ours.'
I asked whether any archaeology had ever been done on the site to test
the legends.
'Yes, in the late 1960s the Ethiopian Institute of Archaeology conducted

some excavations here... I helped on the dig.'
'And what was discovered?'
Zelelew made a mournful face. 'The opinion was that the palace was not
sufficiently old to have been the residence of the Queen of Sheba.'
What the archaeologists had unearthed, and what we now spent some
time exploring, were the ruins of a great and well built edifice with finely
mortared stone walls, deep foundations and an impressive drainage
system. We saw a still-intact flagstone floor - which Zelelew claimed was a
large throne room - and a number of stair-wells which hinted at the
existence of at least one upper storey. There were also private bathing
areas of sophisticated design and a well-preserved kitchen dominated by
two brick ovens.
Across the road, in a field facing the palace, we then inspected a number
of rough-hewn granite stelae, some standing more than fifteen feet high,
some fallen and broken. Most were undecorated but one, the largest, was
carved with four horizontal bands, each band topped by a row of circles in
relief - like protruding beam ends in a building made of wood and stone.
This crude obelisk Zelelew told us, was thought by the townspeople to
mark the grave of the Queen of Sheba. No excavation work had been
carried out beneath it, however, and the field was now entirely given over
to farmers who grew crops for the Axum garrison. Even as we talked we
saw two peasant boys approach with an ox, which they harnessed to a
wooden plough. Oblivious to the history that lay all around them, and
apparently indifferent to our presence as well, they began to till the soil.
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After we had finished taking pictures and notes we drove back into the
centre of the city and then out again to the north-east to another palace
complex, this one on a hill-top with commanding views of the whole area.
Square in plan, the structure measured about two hundred feet on each
side. The walls, which had long since crumbled, showed signs of having
originally been projected at the corners to form four towers - possibly the
very towers which, in the sixth century, the monk Cosmas had described
as being adorned with brass unicorns.
"Menelik travelling by sea with the Holy Ark of the Covenant"
Beneath the fortress Zelelew then led us down steep stone stairways into
a number of underground galleries and chambers which were roofed and
walled with massive dressed granite blocks that fitted precisely against
one another without any mortar in the joints. Local tradition, he said,
identified this cool dark warren as the treasury used by Emperor Kaleb
(AD 514-542) and also by his son Gebre-Maskal. With the aid of a
flashlight we saw the empty stone coffers which lay within coffers believed
to have once contained great riches in gold and pearls. Further rooms, as
yet unexcavated, extended into the hillside from there, blocked off behind
thick granite walls.
Eventually we left the hill-top fortress and made our way down into the
centre of Axum on a gravel road. Near the bottom of the gradient, to our
left, we paused to photograph a large, open deep-water reservoir dug
down into the red granite of the hillside and approached by means of
rough-hewn stairways. Known as the Mai Shum, it seemed to us very old -
an impression that Zelelew confirmed when he remarked that it was
originally the Queen of Sheba's pleasure bath: 'At least so our people
believe. Since the beginning of Christian times it has been used for
baptismal ceremonies to celebrate the Holy Epiphany, which we call
Timkat. And of course the peasants still come here every day to draw their
Page 10 of 52
water.' As though to confirm this last observation he pointed to a group of

women carefully descending the time-worn steps bearing gourds on their
heads.
By now, without any of us really noticing how the time had passed, it was
already well past the middle of the afternoon. Zelelew urged us to hurry,
pointing out that we were scheduled to fly back to Asmara at first light the
next day and that we still had much to see.
Our next destination was close by, the so-called 'Park of the Stelae' -
certainly the focal point of Axum's archaeological interest. Here we
examined and photographed a remarkable series of giant obelisks carved
from slabs of solid granite. The most massive of these, a tumbled
fractured ruin, was believed to have fallen to the ground more than a
thousand years previously. In its heyday, though, it had stood one hundred
and ten feet tall and must have dominated the entire area. I remembered
from the reading I had done on the flight that its weight was estimated to
exceed five hundred tons. It was thought to be the largest single piece of
stone ever successfully quarried and erected in the ancient world.
"Menelik arrives at Axum with the Holy Ark of the Convenant"
This fallen stele was painstakingly hewn to mimic a high, slender building
of thirteen storeys - each storey complete with elaborate representations
of windows and other details, and demarcated from the next by a row of
symbolic beam-ends. At the base could be discerned a false door
complete with a knocker and lock, all perfectly carved in stone.
Another fallen - but much smaller and unbroken - obelisk, Zelelew told us,
had been stolen during the Italian occupation of 1935-41, transported with
enormous difficulty to Rome by Mussolini, and re-erected near the Arch of
Constantine. Since it, too, was elaborately carved - and therefore of great
artistic value - the Ethiopian government was campaigning for its return. In
the meantime, however, it was fortunate that a third decorated monolith
still remained in situ in the stelae park.
Page 11 of 52
With a flourish our guide now pointed to this towering stone needle, more
than seventy feet high and topped with a curved headpiece shaped like a
half- moon. We strolled over to examine it properly and found that, like its
huge neighbour, it had been carved to resemble a conventional built-up
structure - in this case a nine-storey building in the fashion of a tower-
house. Once again, the main decoration on the front elevation was
provided by the semblance of windows and of beams of timber
supposedly inserted horizontally into the walls. The intervals between
each of the floors were defined by rows of symbolic log-ends, and the
house-like appearance was further enhanced by the presence of a false
door.
Several other stelae of varying sizes were ranged around this refined
monument - all of them clearly the products of an advanced, well
organized and prosperous culture. Nowhere else in sub-Saharan Africa
had anything even remotely similar been built and, for this reason, Axum
was a mystery - its antecedents unknown, the sources of its inspiration
unremembered.
The sanctuary chapel
Across the road, directly opposite the park of the stelae, stood a spacious
walled compound containing two churches - one old and the other
obviously much more recent. These, Zelelew told us, were both dedicated
to Saint Mary of Zion. The new one, which had a domed roof and a lofty
bell- tower in the shape of an obelisk, had been built by Haile Selassie in
the 1960s. The other dated back to the mid-seventeenth century and was
Page 12 of 52
the work of Emperor Fasilidas - who, like so many Ethiopian monarchs

before and since, had been crowned in Axum and had venerated the
sacred city despite making his capital elsewhere.
We found Haile Selassie's pretentious modern 'cathedral' as unpleasant

as it was uninteresting. We were attracted, however, to the Fasilidas
construction which, with its turrets and crenellated battlements, seemed to
us 'half church of God, half castle' - and thus to belong to a truly ancient
Ethiopian tradition in which the distinctions between the military and the
clergy were often blurred.
In the dimly lit interior I was able to study several striking murals including
one depicting the story of the life of Mary, another that of the Crucifixion
and Resurrection of Christ, and a third the legend of Saint Yared - the
supposed inventor of Ethiopia's eerie church music. Faded with age, this
latter work showed Yared performing before King Gebre-Maskal. The
saint's foot had been pierced by a spear dropped from the monarch's hand
but both men were so entranced by the music of sistrum and drum that
they had not noticed.
Not far from the old church were the ruins of a building that must once
have been very extensive but was now reduced to little more than its
deeply entrenched foundations. These, Zelelew explained, were the
remains of the original Saint Mary of Zion which had been built in the
fourth century AD at the time of the conversion of the Axumite kingdom to
Christianity. Some twelve hundred years later, in 1535, it had been razed
to the ground by a fanatical Muslim invader, Ahmed Gragn ('the left-
handed'), whose forces swept across the Horn of Africa from Harar in the
east and, at one time, threatened the complete extinction of Ethiopian
Christendom.
Page 13 of 52
Shortly before its destruction, this 'first Saint Mary's' - as Zelelew called it -
was visited by an itinerant Portuguese friar named Francisco Alvarez. I
later looked up his description of it - the only one that survives:
It is very large and has five naves of a good width and of a great length,
vaulted above, and all the vaults are covered up, and the ceiling and sides
are all painted; it also has a choir after our fashion ... This noble church
has a very large circuit, paved with flagstones, like gravestones, and it has
a large enclosure, and is surrounded by another large enclosure like the
wall of a large town or city.
Zelelew rightly dated the start of construction works on the first Saint
Mary's at AD 372 - which meant that this was quite possibly the earliest
Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa. A great five-aisled basilica, it was
regarded from its inauguration as the most sacred place in all Ethiopia.
This was so because it was built to house the Ark of the Covenant - which,
if there was any truth to the legends, must have arrived in the country long
before the birth of Jesus and must then have been co-opted by the
Christian hierarchy at some point after the new religion had been officially
adopted by the Axumite state.
When Alvarez visited Saint Mary's in the 1520s - becoming, in the

process, the first European to document the Ethiopian version of the
legend of the Queen of Sheba and the birth of her only son Menelik - the
Page 14 of 52
Ark was still in the Holy of Holies of the ancient church. It did not stay
there for very much longer, however. In the early 1530s, with the invading
armies of Ahmed Gragn drawing ever closer, the sacred relic was
removed 'to some other place of safekeeping' (Zelelew did not know
where). It thus escaped the destruction and looting that the Muslims
unleashed upon Axum in 1535.
A hundred years later, with peace restored throughout the empire, the Ark
was brought back in triumph and installed in the second Saint Mary's -
built by Fasilidas beside the razed remains of the first. And there
apparently it stayed until 1965 when Haile Selassie had it moved to the
new and more secure chapel put up at the same time as his own
grandiose cathedral but annexed to the seventeenth-century church.
It was in the grounds of Haile Sellassie's chapel that the guardian monk
told me his astonishing story about the Ark and warned me that it was
'powerful'.
'How powerful?' I asked. 'What do you mean?'

The guardian's posture stiffened and he seemed suddenly to grow more
alert. There was a pause. Then he chuckled and put a question to me:
'Have you seen the stelae?'
'Yes', I replied, 'I have seen them.'
'How do you think they were raised up?'
I confessed that I did not know.
'The Ark was used,' whispered the monk darkly, 'the Ark and the celestial
fire. Men alone could never have done such a thing.'
On my return to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, I took the opportunity

to conduct some research into the historical merits of the legend that the
guardian had related to me. I wanted to find out whether there was any
possibility at all that the Queen of Sheba could have been an Ethiopian
monarch. And if there was, then could she really have journeyed to Israel
in the time of Solomon - around three thousand years ago? Could she
have been impregnated by the Jewish kin? Could she have borne him a
son named Menelik? Most importantly, could that son have made his way
to Jerusalem as a young man, spent a year there at his father's court, and
then returned to Axum with the Ark of the Covenant?
*** Graham Hancock was the East Africa correspondent for The Economist and
is the author of several previous books on Africa and the Third World. He lives in
Page 15 of 52
Devonshire, England. Part fascinating scholarship and part entertaining

adventure yarn, tying together some of the most intriguing tales of all time -- from
the Knights Templar and Prester John to Parsival and the Holy Grail -- Hancock's
book, The Sign and the Seal will appeal to anyone fascinated by the revelation of
hidden truths, the discovery of secret mysteries.
"The Sign and The Seal" © Graham Hancock, All Rights Reserved - Photo
Credits, © L.Jauregui - Web Production and Design, OneWorld Magazine. -
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Site © OneWorld Magazine - All Rights Reserved.
Where is the Ark of the Covenant?
Does Sheshonq I take the Ark to Tanis?
Some think that the Ark of the Covenant was taken to Egypt by Shishak when he attacked
Jerusalem. I Kings 14:25-26 says, "In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of
Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He carried off treasures of the temple of the Lord and the
treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon
had made" (NIV). II Chronicles 12:2-4,9 says, "Because they had been unfaithful to the
Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam.
Page 16 of 52
With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troop of
Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, he captured fortified
cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem...When Shishak king of Egypt attacked
Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the
royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made" (NIV).
The Hebrew name Shishak matches the Egyptian name of Sheshonq I in Egyptian history.
Sheshonq is the founder of the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt. Sheshonq I ruled from 945-924
BC. He was from a Libyan tribe who became commander-in-chief, then King. He was a
strong leader who reunited Egypt. 2 Chronicles 12:3-4 says, "With 1200 chariots and
60,000 horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites (mercenary Libyan
soldiers) and Cushites (Upper Egypt) that came with him from Egypt, he captured the
fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem" (NIV). Note the many troops from
Libya. Thutmose III nor Rameses II would not have had an army composed of mainly
outsiders, but Egyptians. There are inscriptions of Sheshonq's campaign into Palestine on
the wall of the temple of Amon in Karnak. ANET, 263; ANEP, 349; ANE 1, fig.94. It says
that Sheshonq I went as far as Megiddo where a victory stele was erected. ANET 242-3
has a list the the cities he captured. For more information on the list see Handbook for the
Study of Egyptian Topographical Lists Relating to Western Asia by J. Simons, Leiden
1937 (pp.90-101,178-186: see also Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. 4, paragraph
709). For more information on Sheshonq see What evidence has been found of the
Egyptian king, Shishak?
Sheshonq I established Tanis as the capitol of Egypt. If indeed all the treasures of the
Temple were taken by Sheshonq I, then the Ark was taken back to Tanis. Part of the loot
was usually given to the temples in Egypt especially the god the pharaoh worshipped in
thanks for their great military victory. There is a fragmentary inscription of Sheshonq
delivering tribute from Palestine to the god Amon (See Breasted, Vol.4, paragraph 723).
Sometimes they would melt down the metals and remake what they wanted. So the Ark
of the Covenant may be somewhere in Egypt. In the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones looks for the Ark in Tanis. However, other legends say that the Jews hid the
Ark, and did not give it to Sheshonq I.
One legend says that Solomon had a son named Menelik by the Queen of Sheba who
took the Ark back to Ethiopia. Supposedly, King Solomon had this son by the Queen of
Sheba when she came to visit Solomon (I Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chronicles 9:1-12). When he
grew up Menelik returned to Jerusalem for a copy of the Ark of the Covenant which
Solomon gave to him. But Menelik secretly switched the real Ark with the replica.
Menelik took the real Ark back to Ethiopia. Traditionally, Sheba is located in Saudi
Arabia not Ethiopia (more details about this below).
The Ark is mentioned later in the days of Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:3 states, "He (Josiah)
said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord:
'Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not
to be carried about on your shoulders" (NIV). The Book of the Law was found by Hilkiah
the priest in the Temple. Josiah sets up reforms.
Page 17 of 52
Does Nebuchadnezzar take the Ark to Babylon?
Some think that the Ark of the Covenant was taken by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon when
he captured and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. 2 Kings 25:13-15 says, "The
Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were
at the temple of the Lord and they carried the bronze to Babylon. They also took away
pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.
The commander of the imperial guard took away the censers and sprinkling blows-all that
were made of pure gold or silver " (NIV; see also Jeremiah 52:17-22). However, notice
that there is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant. The parallel account given in 2
Chronicles 36:17-19 probably written by Ezra says, "God handed all of them over to
Nebuchadnezzar. He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both
large and small, and the treasures of the Lord's temple and the treasures of the king and
his officials. They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they
burned all the places and destroyed everything of value there" (NIV).
The Fourth Book of Ezra 10:19-22 states, "So I spoke again to her, and said, 'Do not say
that, but let yourself be persuaded because of the troubles of Zion, and be consoled
because of the sorrow of Jerusalem. For you see that our sanctuary had been laid waste,
our altar thrown down, our temple destroyed; our harp had been laid low, our song has
been silenced, and our rejoicing had been ended; the light of our lampstand had been put
out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted,
and the name by which we are called has been profaned; our free men have suffered
abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into captivity"
(Charlesworth 1983, 546-7). According to the Fourth Book of Ezra the Ark of the
Covenant was taken to Babylon.
Did Jeremiah Hide the Ark in a Cave?
In 2 Maccabees 2:4-6 Jeremiah is told to hide the Ark in a cave in Mt. Nebo. 2
Maccabees 2:4-6 says, "It was also contained in the same writing, how the prophet
(Jeremiah), being warned by God, commanded that the tabernacle and the ark should
accompany him, till he came forth to the mountain where Moses went up and saw the
inheritance of God (Mt. Nebo). And when Jeremias came thither he found a hollow cave:
and he carried in thither the tabernacle and the ark and the altar of incense and so stopped
the door. Then some of them that followed him came up to mark the: but they could not
find it. And when Jeremias perceived it he blamed them saying: The place shall be
unknown till God gather together to congregation of the people and receive them to
mercy" (Douay).
According to 2 Baruch 6:5-9 an angel came down from heaven into the Holy of Holies
and took "the veil, the holy ephod, the mercy seat, the two tables, the holy raiment of the
priest, the altar of incense, the forty-eight precious stones with which the priests were
clothed, and all the holy vessels of the tabernacle" (Charlesworth 1983, 623). These are
stories that the Ark was hidden.
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After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, he issued a decree for the temple at Jerusalem
to be rebuilt in 538 BC. The Jews could now return to Jerusalem. Ezra 1:7 says,
"Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD,
which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of
his god" (NIV note: "It was the custom for conquerors to carry off the images of the gods
of conquered cities.). The inventory in Ezra 1:9-11 lists gold and silver dishes, silver
pans, gold and silver bowls, and other articles for a total of 5,400 items. The Ark of the
Covenant is not specifically listed.
Did Antiochus Epiphanes take the Ark to Syria?
I Maccabees 1:21-24, 57 states, "And after Antiochus had ravaged Egypt in the hundred
and forty-third year, he returned and went up against Isreal. And he went up to Jerusalem
with a great multitude. And he proudly entered into the sanctuary and took away the
golden altar and the candlestick of light and all the vessels thereof and the table of
proposition and the pouring vessels and the vials and the little mortars of gold and the
veil and the crowns and the golden ornament that was before the temple: and he broke
them all in pieces. And he took the silver and gold, and the precious vessels: and he took
the hidden treasures which he found. And when he had taken all away he departed into
his own country...On the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred and forty-fifth
year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God"
(Douay). It seems that the furniture of the Temple was broken into pieces, and then
carried back to Syria. There is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant.
Did Titus take the Ark to Rome?
The Romans captured the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Titus took the vessels from the
Temple and brought them to Rome. There is a carving of the lampstand or Menorah, the
Table of Shewbread, and ritual trumpets on the Triumphant Arch of Titus in Rome. There
is no carving of the Ark of the Covenant. Josephus in the Jewish War writes, "Most of the
spoils that were carried were heaped up indiscriminately, but more prominent than all the
rest were those captured in the Temple at Jerusalem-a golden table weighing several
hundredweight, and a lampstand, similarly made of gold but differently constructed from
those we normally use...After these was carried the Jewish Law, the last of the
spoils...Vespasian made up his mind to build a temple of Peace...There too he laid up the
golden vessels from the Temple of the Jews, for he prided himself on them; but their Law
and the crimson curtains of the Inner Sanctuary he ordered to be deposited in the Palace
for safe keeping" (Book VII, Chp.V, 5-6; Translation by G.A. Williamson, New York:
Dorset, 1959, 385-6).
About these temple vessels in Rome G. A. Williamson comments, "They were seized by
the Vandals and taken to North Africa in 455, recovered and removed to Constantinople,
the capital of the eastern empire in 534, and then, reputedly, sent to a church in
Jerusalem, where they remained till the seventh century. They disappeared at an unknown
later date" (Ibid, 456). With the conquest of Islam the vessels could have been taken any
where under their control.
Page 19 of 52
In Josephus' description of the Temple, there is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Holy of Holies was empty. Josephus states, "The innermost chamber measured 30
feet and was similarly separated by a curtain from the outer part. Nothing at all was kept
in it; it was unapproachable, inviolable, and invisible to all, and was called the Holy of
Holies" (Book V, Chp. V, 5; Williamson, 304). It seems that there was no Ark of the
Covenant in the Second Temple.
Other Claims about the Ark!
Certain Rabbis claim to have seen the Ark in a tunnel under the Temple ground in
Jerusalem. The Israeli government sealed the entrance with cement because of protests
from the Arabs, because it was near the Dome of the Rock. There is no proof that the Ark
is there.
Ron Wyatt claims to have found the Ark in a tunnel in a quarry in Mt. Moriah where
Christ was crucified, but there is no proof. He claims to have scraped the blood of Jesus
off the mercy seat which had dripped down through a crack in the rocks right under
where Christ was crucified. He claims the blood has only 24 chromosomes instead of the
normal 46, but where are the laboratory tests on the blood? He has no proof. His web site
is at http://www.wyattarchaeology.com/ark.htm.
Some claim the ark is in a church in Axum, Ethiopia. This view has been popularized by
Graham Hancock's book The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the
Covenant. There was also a special TV program about this, but there is no proof. If there
is, it might be a replica from Elephantine. There is suppose to be a replica of the ark in
every Ethiopia church. The real Ark is supposedly in the Sanctuary Chapel in Saint Mary
of Zion's Church in Axum, Ethiopia.
Supposedly, King Solomon had a son by the Queen of Sheba named Menelik. When he
grew up Menelik returned to Jerusalem for a copy of the Ark of the Covenant which
Solomon gave to him. But Menelik secretly switched the real Ark with the replica.
Menelik took the real Ark back to Ethiopia. Traditionally, Sheba is located in Saudi
Arabia not Ethiopia.
There was a Jewish community in Elephantine, Egypt that built a replica of the temple of
the Lord (Yaho). They requested help from Jerusalem to rebuild the temple because it
was destroyed in the 14th year of Darius (410 BC). The Petition For Authorization To
Rebuild the Temple of Yaho states, "Nefayan thereupon led the Egyptians with other
troops. Coming with their weapons to the fortress of Elephantine, they entered the temple
and razed it to the ground...As for the basins of gold and silver and other articles that
were in that temple, they carried all of them off and made them their own.-Now, our
forefathers built this temple in the fortress of Elephantine back in the days of the
kingdom of Egypt, and when Cambyses came to Egypt he found it built. They knocked
down all the temples of the gods of Egypt, but no one did any damage to this temple...Let
a letter be sent from you to them concerning the temple of the god Yaho to build it in the
fortress of Elephantine as it was built before; and the meal-offering, incense, and burnt
Page 20 of 52
offering will be offered in your name" (ANET, 492; ANE vol.1, 279-281). The governors
of Judah send a reply with permission to rebuild the temple (ANET, 492; ANE vol.1,
281).
There is a temple of the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizum that may be a close replica of the
temple in Jerusalem. They may have had a replica of the Ark. According to Josephus
during the Greek period Manasseh, the brother of Jaddua the high priest had married
Nicaso, a foreign woman. The priests demanded that Manasseh divorce his wife or not
approach the altar. Sanballat II (different from the one mentioned in Nehemiah) his
father-in-law told Manasseh that he would build him a temple on Mount Gerizum just
like the one at Jerusalem if he would not divorce his wife. Alexander the Great gave
Sanballat, a general in his army, permission to build the temple (Antiquities of the Jews
Book XI, 8:2-4). Some Two hundred years later Hyrcanus destroyed the temple on Mount
Gerizum (Antiquities of the Jews Book XIII, 9:1).
Vendyl Jones thinks he has found the resting place of the Ark in a cave by the Dead Sea
near Qumran. He claims the Copper Scroll tells the location of the Ark, but his translation
of the Copper Scroll is very questionable. Scholars translate it differently. When He dung
in the cave, no Ark was found.
Tom Croster claims he has found the Ark in a cave on Mt. Nebo where Jeremiah hid it.
He was guided by the work of Antonia Frederick Futterer who searched for the Ark in the
1920's. With Futterer's sketch Tom Croster left for Jordan in October 1981. On Mt.
Pisgah Tom found an opening that led to a passageway that led to what he thinks was the
Ark of the Covenant. He took pictures which he refused to release. Siegfried H. Horn was
invited to see the photos. Horn concluded, "I do not know what the object is, but the
pictures convinced me that it is not an ancient artifact but of modern fabrication with
machine-produced decorative strips and an underlying metal sheet" (Biblical
Archaeology Review May/June 1983, 66-69).
Michael Sanders believes that the Ark is in the village of Djaharya in Israel. There is
suppose to be a TV special on NBC soon about this. I think that his chronology and
interpretation of Egyptian texts are off. The location at Djaharya sounds similar to
Egyptian words, but similar sounds do not mean they are the same. I think Rohl in his
books also assumes that similar sounding words must be the same. Djahi is a general area
for part of Palestine and Phoenicia (See A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian by
Raymond O. Faulkner 1991, 319). I looked up all the occurrences of Djahi in ANET, and
they do not seem to fit the location of Djaharya. Pekanan is literally "the Canaan"
according to Breasted. The "Pe" is the article "the" plus "Canaan." (This is what I
remember from taking Egyptian Hieroglyphics) Djahi and Pekanan are two different
Egyptian words, that are general geographic terms, and should not be put together to form
a new word Djahi Pakaanan. These two words seem to be used in parallel. There were a
number of Egyptian Temples in Canaan not just in Djaharya. For more information see
his Website at Ark of the Covenant - Part I, II & III.
What does the Ark of the Covenant look like?
Page 21 of 52
There are pictures of Egyptian Camp sites that look very similar to the Tabernacle
picturing an ark with winged creatures on top. (See The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands
by Yigael Yadin, 1963, 237, also 107-9).
There is a stone carving of a wagon on a lintel at a late second to early third century
synagogue at Capernaum that may be a picture of the Ark of the Covenant (See Harper's
Bible Dictionary, 64).
Dr. Ralph Wilson thinks the Ark of the Covenant is actually a throne chair for God (I
Samuel 4:4). He has pictures of what cherubim probably look like at Near Eastern
Thrones and the Ark of the Covenant.
There are several carvings of what seems to be cherubim that have been found (BAR
21:4, pp.36-41). See Below:
Page 22 of 52
Cherub throne Cherub ivory
Cherub? Metro Ivory Cherub? U of Penn.
Ritmeyer believes the Ark of the Covenant sat on the large rock under the Dome of the
Rock on the Temple Mount. There is a rectangle carved into the rock that supposedly
matches the measurements of the Ark, but this is questionable. See Where has the lost
Ark of the Covenant been?
The exact description on how to build the Ark is in Exodus 25:10-22:
Have them make a chest of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half
wide, and a cubit and a half high. (Note m: 3 ¾ feet long by 2 ¼ feet wide and high.)
Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast
four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two
rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert
the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. The poles are to remain in the
Page 23 of 52
rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I
will give you.
Make an atonement cover of pure gold-two and half cubits long and a cubit and a half
wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one
cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece
with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward,
overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other. Looking
toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony,
which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the
ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the
Israelites" (NIV).
Conclusion
There may have been several replicas of the Ark of the Covenant made. We do not know
for sure where the real Ark of the Covenant is.
Page 24 of 52
Ark of the Covenant found?

where? how?
With Christ's Most Precious Blood
atop the Mercy Seat?
Some think the Ark of the Covenant was the doorway to Heaven
Imagined Replica
Jewish Tradition - whereabouts of the Ark
After all, we are living in the Last Days. The coming of the Messiah is not
far off. And many Jews and Christians alike believe that before the Savior
comes, the Temple must be rebuilt (Zechariah 1:16; 2Thess 2:4;
Revelations 11:1). If this happens, the Temple’s sacred vessels — hidden
Page 25 of 52
since the destruction of the First and Second Temples — could also be
restored. But where are these vessels? And where is the most sacred
prize of all — the Ark of the Covenant?
There were, in fact, two sets of sacred vessels used in the Biblical worship
of God. The first were used in the Tabernacle, after God showed Moses
how to make the Ark of the Covenant and other holy vessels. In about
1446 B.C. Moses instructed Bezalel (Bezaleel ben Uri) to build everything
exactly as God commanded. Bezalel's name appropriately means, "In the
Shadow of El (God), the Son of my Light". The original vessels
disappeared when King Solomon made new, more ornate ones for the
First Temple.
These vessels were carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar after he

destroyed the First Temple in 586 BC, but were later restored to the
Second Temple. But in 70 AD, the vessels were stolen by the Romans
when Titus destroyed the Second Temple. This was documented on the
Arch of Titus in Rome, which showed Roman soldiers carrying away the
seven-branched candelabra and other Temple vessels. Some scholars
believe that the Temple objects taken by the Romans lie in the catacombs
of the Vatican. The Vatican denies they are holding any of these.
As for the Ark of the Covenant, it disappeared before the destruction of the
First Temple. It was hidden by priests who foresaw the coming desolation,
and its mysterious whereabouts have been the source of myth and legend
ever since. We know from 2 Chronicles 35:3 that King Josiah had the Ark
put into Solomon's Temple in about 623 B.C. Previous to this the Ark was
hidden because of turbulent times Israel had gone through; probably from
around 950-623 B.C.
3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the
LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of
Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the
LORD your God, and his people Israel,
Is the Ark in Ethiopia, beneath Mt Moriah, in Ireland,

melted by Ramses III, or in a Cave at/near Mt Nebo/Pisgah
(Jordan)?
Page 26 of 52
Picture of Mt Nebo (aka: Mt Pisgah) in Jordan
Page 27 of 52
2nd Picture from Mt Nebo (aka: Mt Pisgah) in Jordan Wouldn't

it be amazing if the tomb of Moses is where the Ark really is; and both get
found? Jeremiah just may have known where Moses was buried!
For the Biblical answer to the whereabouts of the Ark we look at II

Maccabees 2:4-8. Here we find that Jeremiah "being warned of God,
commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him." He did not
take it to Egypt. On the contrary, "went forth into the mountain, where
Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God" (Mount Pisgah/Nebo).
When Jeremiah reached the mountain, "he found an hollow cave,
wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense,
and so stopped the door" (II Maccabees 2:4-6). Here is solid
documentary evidence of where the Ark was placed, possibly in about 605
B.C. Several of Jeremiah's followers returned to mark the site but could
not find it, but 'when Jeremiah learned of this he reprimanded them. "it
shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again
together, and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord shew
them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the
cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses".
Mount Nebo is a prominent peak of the Abarim Range that parallels the
eastern shore of the Dead Sea (Deut 32:49; 34:1). This line of mountains
is also referred to as Pisgah (Deut 3:17, 27; 4:49; Josh 12:3; 13:20).
Page 28 of 52
Mount Nebo rises 2700 feet above sea level. The drop down to the Dead
Sea at 1300 feet below sea level measures some 4,000 feet.
Pisgah also refers to a particular peak associated with Mount Nebo (Deut
34:1).
Here God's word says that the whereabouts of the Ark would be hidden
until the Last Days. Through the word of God, through Jeremiah, we know
that the Ark was not taken by him to Egypt...but was buried in a cave on
the top of Mount Pisgah. This was the point from which the Lord showed
Moses the Promised Land, saying to him, 'I have let you see it with your
own eyes, but you shall not cross over into it' (Deuteronomy 34:4 NEB).
Was the Ark moved from Mt Nebo back to the Temple Mount? Is it
underneath the Temple Mount?
According to ancient writings dating back to the First Temple period, King
Solomon built a secret subterranean tunnel under a small wooden room in
the Temple where the wood for the sacrificial fire was stored. The priests
were instructed to hide the Ark of the Covenant there should Jerusalem
come under siege. That may be why the Ark of the Covenant was not in
the Temple when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem.
According to a theory circulating among scholars and archaeologists, the

Ark of the Covenant and the sacred vessels of the Tabernacle may be
hidden in a secret tunnel between the Temple Mount and Qumran, where
the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Military aircraft with state-of-the-art
sensors flew over this 12 square mile area and examined it with
radiographic equipment. The examination revealed an anomaly —
something is there that is not indigenous to the topography. Could it be the
Ark and sacred vessels?
God's special Shekinah glory dwelt on the Mercy Seat atop the Ark of the
Covenant. According to the prophet Jeremiah (3:15-17) the Ark of the
Covenant will play an important future role. The ark is said to have been
built shortly after the Exodus occurred, therefore the craftsmen who were
commissioned to build the Ark would have learned their craft in Egypt; with
this in mind it is highly likely the conventions and imagery used to build the
Ark would have been totally consistent with conventions used in Egyptian
art on or before 1220 B.C.
The Ark of the Covenant was made of acacia wood and covered outside
and inside in pure gold. It was 45 inches 27 inches by 27 inches. Three
sacred things were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant. Inside were
Page 29 of 52
Aaron's sacred rod, which was used to perform miracles in front of

Pharoah; manna, which God gave the Israelites to eat in the wilderness;
and, the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.
A golden box with the power to strike men dead; to the ancient Hebrews,
the Ark was both a divine manifestation and a talisman so powerful that
they carried it with them into battle — a weapon of God.
It came to occupy the most revered spot in Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies
at the Temple of Solomon.
The true whereabouts of the ark of the Covenant remains a mystery!
Six centuries before the birth of Christ — it mysteriously disappeared.
Some suggest the Ark is hidden somewhere near the Dead Sea, on the
Jordan's west bank. According to one tradition, Jeremiah was the last to
see the Ark and hid it in Mount Nebo on the Jordan River's east bank (now
Jordan). According to another tradition it was taken to Egypt for
safekeeping during the reign of Josiah. But a great many Jewish scholars
think it is in a secret vault below the Temple Mount.
There are about 18 miles of tunnels leading from under the Temple Mount
into the Judean hills. Those just may be where the ark actually was
deposited for safe keeping. Or, alternatively - in Jordan - on Mount
Pisgah/Nebo???...
The Israeli Temple Institute, an Ultra-Orthodox organization dedicated to

rebuilding the Jewish Temple, is reported to have said; "the Ark is under
the temple mount and will be revealed at the proper time - when the
temple is rebuilt".
According to Scripture, the Messiah (Jesus) cannot come (2nd time) until
the Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem. The Temple would be unfinished
without both the real Ark of the Covenant and ashes of the Red Heifer.
And, the Lord will not come until Israel has a "spiritual awakening".
Or, have the pagan Mason's captured the Ark of the Covenant?
The earliest written copies of Masonic ritual state unequivocally that the
ancient masons found the Ark of the Covenant hidden in a cave under the
site of King Solomon's temple. The Knights Templar's quartered in the Al
Aqsa mosque on Temple Mount. There are many stories told that the
Templar's spent the first 10 years or so of their existence digging under
Temple Mount.
Page 30 of 52
Reports it is in a Cave in northern

Ethiopia
The Ethiopian
monarch is the oldest continuous monarchy in history. It began with the
Queen of Sheba. She and King Solomon of Israel had a son who was
Menelik the First of Ethiopia.
The ancient Church of St. Mary of Zion is located in northern Ethiopia in

Aksum. Aksum is the same city the Queen of Sheba is from. Deep below
this church is a maze of underground passages. These tunnels have been
protected by priestly guards of the ancient Ethiopian Jewish monarchy.
Only the highest priests and the Emperor can enter deep within these
tunnels. The secret Holy of Holies Room is located within the innermost
rings. Ethiopians claim that the Ark of the Covenant has lain within this
tunnel for thousands of years. Only one person--the Guardian of the Ark
can enter into the actual Holy of Holies Room. Chosen at the age of
seven, this Guardian guards over the Ark for the rest of his life--never
seeing the light of day. Ethiopian history says that before it was moved to
the tunnels beneath St. Mary's of Zion that it was housed in a tent for 800
years (4th century BC to 4th century AD) on the island of Tana Kirkos on
Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia.
This above Ethiopian whereabouts story was partly spread by Black

Ethiopian Jews. Remember, these black Africans who practice an ancient
form of Judaism, were airlifted by an Israeli military action team to freedom
Page 31 of 52
from political persecution in 1976.
In the September, 1935 issue of the National Geographic magazine, an

article appeared regarding interviews with different priests in various parts
of Ethiopia. These priests consistently stated that when the Queen of
Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem, she had a child by him called
Menelik I.
According to the priests author L. Roberts interviewed, Solomon educated

the young boy in Jerusalem until he was nineteen years of age. The young
man then returned to Ethiopia with a large group of Jews, taking with him
the TRUE ARK OF THE COVENANT. As the story goes, King Solomon
wanted to give Menelik a REPLICA of the Ark to take with him since the
distance between Jerusalem and Ethiopia was such that Menelik would be
prevented from ever again worshipping at the Temple.
"However, Prince Menelik was concerned with the growing APOSTASY of

Israel and the fact that his father, Solomon, was now allowing idols to be
placed in the Temple to please his pagan wives. King Solomon gave the
prince a going-away banquet and after the priests were filled with wine,
Menelik and his loyal associates SWITCHED ARKS AND LEFT THE
REPLICA in its place in the Holy of Holies."
Some who have gained access to this Ethiopian vault report that the
Ethiopians are guarding only an "altar stone".
Then reports that the Israeli's had taken the Ark from Ethiopia to
Israel began surfacing. Recently, reports from Jerusalem that Muslims
are doing "digs" in the Temple Mount (for what?)(see Temple Mount
Furor). When will the Israeli's stop them from digging up Mt Moriah?
Stop.......
Was the Ark carried to heaven?
A Jewish tradition is that the Ark was miraculously transported to heaven
when Nebuchadnezzar captured the temple. And that the ark will be
restored when the Messiah comes. If you think this is odd, what does one
make of Revelation 11:19? In 11:19 John is declaring the ark is in
heaven. "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was
seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and
voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Is this the
ark that Moses had built? Or, is this another heavenly Ark?
Page 32 of 52
When Jesus returns will the Ark have any significance at all?
The Ark of the covenant which had been the special manifestation of
Jehovah will be forgotten, because Yeshua (Jesus) (Jehovah) the
Messiah will fill the whole city of Jerusalem with His presence...
Jeremiah 3:16-17 -
16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those
days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD:
neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it;
neither shall that be done any more.
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall
be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any
more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Was all the above about the Ark in Ethiopian a ruse? Did Israeli
Jews plant a copy of the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia--and place a
guard over it all these centuries? Or, was a copy planted under
Golgotha? Was this all carried out to confuse & protect the real ARK
by Solomon? Why couldn't the Crusaders find the "Holy Grail" right
under their eyes and in a most prominent place? Has the real Ark
been buried beneath Golgotha all these centuries? MORE AMAZING
--did the Mercy Seat capture the blood of Christ as it spilled from the
cross and seeped down through the rocks? The Jewish sage
Maimonides, in an account called The Laws of God's Chosen House,
gives this remarkable story: "When Solomon built the Temple, he
was aware that it would ultimately be destroyed. He constructed a
chamber in which the Ark could be entombed below the Temple in
deep, maze-like vaults. King Josiah commanded that the Ark be
entombed in the chamber built by Solomon, as it is said (2
Chronicles 35:3), 'And he said to the Levites who were enlightened
above all of Israel, Place the Holy Ark in the chamber built by
Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel. You will no longer carry it
on your shoulders. Now, serve the Lord, your God.' When it was
entombed, Aaron's staff, the vital manna, and the oil used for
anointing were entombed with it. All these sacred articles DID NOT
return to the Second Temple." (Hilchos Bais HaBechinah).
Also Note: Ancient Irish tradition says that the prophet

Jeremiah arrived in Ireland (583-585 B.C.) with the Hebrew
Princess Tea-Tephi (daughter of Zedekiah) and some
remarkable things, including a harp, AN ARK, and a
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wonderful stone called "Lia-Fail," or the "Stone of Destiny."
STOP-WHOOOO!
Was Ramses III "Shishak"??
Bible Scholar Mike Sanders thinks so......
Bible Probe thinks Mike's answer is the most plausible!
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1 Kings 14 Read This Chapter

14:25
In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, King Shishak of Egypt came up and
attacked Jerusalem.
14:26
He ransacked the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace and stole
everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made.
2 Chronicles 12 Read This Chapter

12:2
Because they were unfaithful to the LORD, King Shishak of Egypt attacked
Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign.
12:3
He came with twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and a
countless army of foot soldiers, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians.
12:4
Shishak conquered Judah's fortified cities and then advanced to attack
Jerusalem.
12:5
The prophet Shemaiah then met with Rehoboam and Judah's leaders, who had
all fled to Jerusalem because of Shishak. Shemaiah told them, "This is what the
LORD says: You have abandoned me, so I am abandoning you to Shishak."
12:6
The king and the leaders of Israel humbled themselves and said, "The LORD is
right in doing this to us!"
12:7
When the LORD saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah:
"Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them
and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger
on Jerusalem.
12:8
But they will become his subjects, so that they can learn how much better it is to
serve me than to serve earthly rulers."
12:9
So King Shishak of Egypt came to Jerusalem and took away all the
treasures of the Temple of the LORD and of the royal palace, including all
of Solomon's gold shields.
Mike Sanders, who runs "BibleMysteries.com" is a biblical scholar,
researcher, and investigator of the first order. Mike looks to the Bible for the
tough questions and he jusy may be onto something here. Just perhaps the
Ancient Jews knew Ramses III, the Pharoah of Egypt as "Shishak" who was
mentioned above as the king who attacked Judah and went off with all its
treasures.
Mike has traced "Shishak" down all over the middle east and has created
an exciting VHS video where you can watch him stand in front of a stone
relief depicting Ramses III carrying off treasures from Judah (showing a
golden "box" on two golden poles). Mike went even further and found an
ancient building which Shikshak (Ramses III) could have built as a Temple
to honor his god(s) for his defeat of the Jews. This building is in the West
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The Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant was crucial to the success of the Exodus of Moses. It was not just a
ceremonial figurehead, it was used as a weapon and possibly a source of food (It is thought by
some to have been involved in the production of the manna.).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant
At the moment it is located at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in the
town of Axum -- 623 km. north of Addis Ababa. (Bible code here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady_Mary_of_Zion
(See the pictures of Axum - Pics 1 - Pics 2 - Pics 3 - Pics 4 - Pics 5 - view from space.
There are some other theories about the current location so I have provided some links to other
online sources on my Ark links page.
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The Ark should look something like this according to the Bible. The Seraphim on the lid of the Ark are probably similar to these ones from
Tutankhamun's tomb.
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The building where the Ark of the Covenant is kept.
St Mary of Zion Church, Axum, Ethiopia.
Axum is deep within a large area of mountains, I believe these are the mountains that we should
flee to, and the Ark is our beacon. The Book of Enoch says we shall be given a sword at the time
of the second end - I suspect this means the Ark.
There is also:
Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.' Essene
version of Revelation
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The Tabernacle where the Ark was kept before the Temple was built.
The story of the Ark, how it was used by Moses, how it got to Ethiopia, and many other
details are covered in a very readable and inexpensive book by Graham Hancock - "The
Sign and the Seal" http://www.grahamhancock.com/
The following was copied from another website (which seems to have disappeared):
The Ark of the Covenant -- considered the most holy of Christian artifacts -- has been located in
Ethiopia, after having disappeared in the reign of Biblical King Solomon more than 3,000 years
ago. According to the Kebre Negast, the Ethiopian "bible", it was taken to Ethiopia by Menelik I,
the son of Solomon's union with the legendary Queen Makeda of Ethiopia (better known as the
Queen of Sheba) and has been in Ethiopia ever since. However, this location has been disputed
in modern times, and many individuals and countries have tried to find the Ark.
According to an article in Canada's "Sunday Sun" newspaper by journalist Kaye Corbett, a three-
year search has positively located "the most important archaeological, historical and religious
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object in man's history" buried in the bowels of the Ethiopian Orthodox St. Mary of Zion Church in
Aksum -- a holy city 623 km. north of Addis Ababa.
Corbett promises to reveal his findings in a soon-to-be-published book co-authored with H.R.H.
Stephen Mengesha, a great grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie. He writes that the Jewish State
of Israel will soon make a claim on this most valued relic, prior to building a new Temple to house
the Ark on Temple Mount in Jerusalem -- the controversial site presently occupied by the Muslim's
Dome of the Rock shrine. Corbett states that such a claim would have a dramatic effect on the
Jewish state and the world.
That is putting it mildly. The effect of any attempt to relocate the Ark of the Covenant may well be
the Third World War.
It is believed that the Jews will base their claim on the fact that thousands of Ethiopian Jews,
called Falashas, have been resettled in Israel in recent years and therefore would bolster a claim
for the Ark to be held by descendants of the original Jews, despite the problem of religious
controversy, language and racism which the Falashas have encountered.
On the other hand, Ethiopians, Christians and Africans in the Disapora point to the fact that
Ethiopia is the only nation which can produce living descendants of Solomon as heirs to his
throne and dynasty. Indeed, Emperor Haile Selassie was the 225th descendant of King Solomon,
as well as being a member of Solomon's Tribe of Judah. Therefore, they claim, the Ark has
rightfully rested in Ethiopia all these centuries, and should continue to do so.
Corbett's article continues: "In Aksum today there seems little doubt it rests in a secret
compartment beneath a small chapel next to the new St. Mary of Zion Church, and it is
supposedly still guarded by a specially-picked priest who maintains his vigil from the age of seven
until he dies.
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The Ark in some early pictures (see below)
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Ark in
Temple
Ark in
Battle of
Eben-
ezer
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Ark in
the Land
of the
Philistine
s
The images above are from Dura Europus, the site of an early synagogue. The images of the Ark
are consistant with each other but may not be accurate. There is a lot of Greek influence in these
pictures and the artist may have been guessing about the actual appearance of the Ark.
Another guess based on the description in the Bible is below:
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On the trail of the ark

By Raymond Matthew Wray
"He says you must go now," my translator told me. I looked from him to the official standing
across from the old church ruins. "I thought I could stay until six o'clock?" I protested. He
shrugged and got up to lead me out.
While we were leaving!, three more visitors entered the compound. I pointed this out to him,
waving my entrance ticket in the air. Finally, he opened up: "In the past, they have had some
trouble with people here." In other words, I'd overstayed my welcome. I was being thrown out.
My departure had less to do with how much time I'd spent there than with my taking pictures.
After all, this was my second visit of the day-my third if you count the time I came while it was
closed. The official who insisted I leave was the same man who asked that I come back when the
church compound was open. And he was the same man who watched me take six rolls of film of
the Saint Mary of Zion Chapel. This is only one of three churches of interest within the compound,
and I could tell he grew suspicious when I ignored the others.
It wasn't that the chapel of Saint Mary of Zion was that impressive, or even that beautiful. No, it
wasn't the chapel itself that had brought me to Ethiopia. I was much more interested in what was
concealed within.
I had come to see the Ark of the Covenant.
The Bible tells us that the Ark is a "chest of acacia wood" overlaid with pure gold "both inside and
out." Wooden poles pierce rings on each side and are used to carry the heavy box. On top, a pair
of golden cherubim face one another, their wings outstretched.
In the Old Testament, God Himself appeared as a swirling mist between the golden figures; it was
called the shekinah, or "presence."
The Ark was constructed as a carrying case for the tablets of the !Ten Commandments-the same
tablets that Moses carried down from the mountain. There's no record that they were ever
removed from the chest. Indeed, it seems likely that wherever the Ark is, the Ten Commandments
are still inside.
If you've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know the chest of the Old Covenant has a dark side.
No one but the high priest could approach it, and those foolish enough to touch it died instantly.
The Ark was carried into battle, leaving bloodshed and devastation in its path. In his book, The
Sign and the Seal, British journalist Graham Hancock elaborates:
Biblical and other archaic sources speak of the Ark blazing with fire and light, inflicting cancerous
tumors and severe burns, leveling mountains, stopping rivers, blasting whole armies and laying
wa!ste cities.
This is the Ark of the Covenant. And according to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, it now sits in
the chapel of Saint Mary of Zion in Aksum, Ethiopia.
There are two different explanations of how the Ark arrived in Ethiopia. The first is based on the
legend of the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings). The Kebra Nagast is a 13th-century manuscript
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drawing on the Old and New Testaments, as well as the apocryphal Book of Enoch and the Book
of Pearl. Edward Ullendorf in The Ethiopians: An Introduction to Country and People points out
that the Kebra Nagast also borrows generously from the "christological and patristic writings in !
Coptic, Syriac Arabic, and Greek, from the Testamentum Adami, from Rabbinical literature as well
as the Koran."
But the Kebra Nagast isn't a doctrinal work. It's a love story. And it's the Ethiopians' version of
how they came to possess the Ark of the Covenant. Drawing on 1 Kings 10:1-13, the legend
describes how the queen of Sheba first learned of King Solomon when her servant Tâmrîn
returned from Jerusalem. Hearing Tâmrîn's report about Solomon, the queen was smitten: "I love
him merely on hearing."
Sheba journeyed to Jerusalem to see him and remained there for six months. As she prepared to
return to her own country, Solomon ordered a royal meal for them where they both made an oath
not to take anything from each other by force. Solomon's interests in the queen were apparently
more than just diplomatic. The King intentionally left his bowl of! water next to the queen's bed, so
that when she awoke she would take a drink, thereby "taking" what was rightfully the king's and
breaking the oath. While a small thing in itself, the result had a profound effect.
When Sheba realized the gravity of what occurred, she said to Solomon: "I have sinned against
myself, and thou art free from [thy] oath." The Kebra Nagast continues: "He permitted her to drink
water, and after she had drunk water he worked his will with her and they slept together."
Nine months and five days after returning to Ethiopia, the queen gave birth to a son and named
him Menelik. At the age of 22, Menelik traveled to Jerusalem to meet his father for the first time.
There in Judaism's holy city, at the hands of his father, Menelik became the king of Ethiopia and
founder of the Solomonic dynasty. When the young man departed from Jerusalem, Solomon
command!ed the nobility of Israel to "give [to Menelik] their children who were called 'firstborn.'"
The clever ruler saw an opportunity to establish a second kingdom.
With this, Menelik and his new subjects departed for Ethiopia. But what Menelik's companions
failed to mention was that they had made off with the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple of
Solomon. Indeed, they only told Menelik when they had reached "the water of the Ethiopia." The
news-while surprising-didn't turn the young man back to Israel; he continued his trip with the relic
under his protection. The journey of the Ark recounted in the Kebra Nagast ends in Ethiopia after
a brief stop in Egypt.
There is, however, an alternate story, developed recently by Hancock. In his research for The
Sign and the Seal, he discovered a number of discrepancies in the time line of Menelik and his
companions, especially !in regard to Aksum, the alleged final resting place of the Ark in Ethiopia.
Aksum, Hancock tells us, didn't exist in the time of King Solomon. So if the Ethiopian claims are
true, where did the Ark come to rest?
Hancock's explanation is decidedly different from that of the Ethiopians. After studying the Kebra
Nagast, he was forced to conclude that it was more legend than fact: "I always find it slightly
depressing when a beautiful myth is discredited." Hancock argues that sometime during King
Manasseh's reign in Jerusalem from 687 to 642 B.C., Jewish priests removed the Ark from
Solomon's temple. Manasseh had converted the Temple of Solomon to pagan worship and
installed a pagan idol-a blasphemy for those devout Jews who considered the Ark the touchstone
of Yahweh on earth. Hancock speculates that the horrified priests removed the Ark from
Jerusalem entirely.
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Unlike some of the events described in! the Kebra Nagast, there's a good deal of evidence to
support Hancock's theory. He claims the priests took the Ark and settled in Elephantine, a small
island just off of Aswan, Egypt. There, the Jews built a temple to house the Ark-the ruins of the
temple are visible to this day. According to Hancock, the Ark remained on the island for some 200
years. The time the Ark was on Elephantine accounts for the period between when the Kebra
Nagast claims the Ark was stolen and the appearance of Aksum.
While Hancock's theory holds up on paper, there was only one way to verify it. So I set out for
Ethiopia.
When the sun began to break over Lake Tana, the horizon came alive in orange-red hues. From
the water rose a gray haze that faded !into the brilliant glow of the sunrise. Across Lake Tana, I
could see my first destination: Tana Cherkos.
According to Hancock's theory, the Ark was brought down the Nile from Elephantine Island in
Egypt to the island of Tana Cherkos. There it remained for 800 years. But was there evidence for
this beyond the legend?
On this morning, I had two guides. The first was a former deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church who decided to pursue his studies elsewhere. (Deacons are young men who study to
become monks and later enter the priesthood.) My second guide was responsible for piloting the
boat and taking care of other logistics during the day.
I hadn't planned on having a deacon as a guide. In fact, I wasn't sure I would have a guide at all. I
just showed up. No contacts. No leads. But when you meet one person in Ethiopia, you!e ve met
everyone you need to know anywhere in Ethiopia. And as it turned out, he was a tremendous
blessing.
As we approached Tana Cherkos, my guide insisted that we review what I was going to ask the
abba-the head monk of the island. He explained that there were certain questions that the abba
would consider insulting. I understood: For too long, journalists and doubters have ridiculed the
Ethiopians' claim to have the Ark.
The approach to the island monastery is extraordinary. The current church, which dates back to
the 19th century, looks like it could fall to pieces with the mildest gust of wind. Green brush and
trees cover the entire island. Across from the church and hidden behind a trellis are the living
quarters of the deacons, monks, and priests. Their lives there are what they were intended to be-
isolated.
Once we arrived, the pilot ran off with my questions in hand to search out the senior priest. It's
obligatory to m!ake first contact with the senior religious. This worked out well, since the senior
priest was the man I'd just traveled two hours by boat to see.
When Abba Baya approached, I was surprised at his youth and his rakish smile. He was wrapped
in a white robe and wore dusty sandals. As I asked him questions, I had the sense he was
surprised; he seemed to have expected the usual skepticism.
The Ark's protective powers are well-known-at least, if the biblical record is to be believed. But I
wondered if that power extended to the nation itself. Aside from Eritrea and Kenya, Ethiopia is
surrounded by the Muslim countries of Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti. Ethiopia itself has a Muslim
population of about 45 percent. I asked Baya if the Ark of the Covenant provided protection to the
Page 46 of 52
Christians within Ethiopia. Had it helped shelter his country from the conflicts that have plagued
neighboring countries with similarly mixed populations? I expected a re!asoned response that
spoke to the history, theology, and politics of the delicate Ethiopian balance, perhaps sprinkled
with a Scripture verse or two.
Baya turned to me with a smile: "Yes, all of Ethiopia is protected."
I waited for a moment, certain that he would say more. He didn't.
Caught off guard by his brevity, I moved on to my next question. "Why bring the Ark to Tana
Cherkos?" I asked. After all, there were other islands. The answer was simple. Baya explained
that the Ark was brought to Tana Cherkos because, at the time, it was the only island monastery
in existence. When I explained to him what I had learned of how the Ark arrived in Ethiopia, he
confirmed what Graham Hancock had theorized: The Ark of the Covenant arrived on Tana
Cherkos after spending 200 years on Elephantine Island. While this was hardly conclusive proof,
it's significant that the tradition of the island matc!hed Hancock's time line so closely.
His answers were short, to the point, and certain. When I asked if Tana Cherkos as an island had
been blessed in any particular way, he said, "Yes, Mary, the Mother of God, spent three months
and ten days on Tana Cherkos."
Wide-eyed, I turned to my guide. "Did he just say Mary-as in the Virgin Mary-spent three months
and ten days here...on this island?"
Baya smiled. "Would you like to look at her footprints?"
We walked along a path leading up to a craggy overlook. Along the way, we passed several large
stone altars the Ark-bearing Jews had used to sacrifice sheep. If I wanted concrete proof of an
ancient Jewish presence on the island, those heavy stone altars certainly qualified. As I walked
by, I noticed holes ground into the center of the altars-repositories for the blood of the sacrificial
animals.
Finally, we stopped, and Baya guided my hand to the ground. At first, I wasn't completely sure
what I was looking at. And then I saw it: a worn footprint, pressed into the bedrock. A small
footprint, like that of a woman.
With this unexpected discovery, I had all the clues I needed to move on. While there was strong
evidence of a long-term ancient Jewish presence on Tana Cherkos, along with the interesting
tradition of Mary's short-term residence, the Ark wasn't here. To find it, I'd have to continue
following the trail. According to the Ethiopian claim, the Ark was brought from Tana Cherkos to
Aksum by King Ezana-who wanted a safer long-term home for the holy relic. It's said to remain
there to this day.
There are no routine overland routes in Ethiopia. What may look like a four-hour journey on a
map is actually a two-day nightmare by bus. Having little time to work with, I chose to fly to
Aksum.
Domestic flights in Ethiopia offer the most breathtaking landscapes. From the highlands, across
flatlands, valleys, and canyons, various shades of brown dominate everything. If you have nerves
of steel, a window seat on those old prop planes will give you a spectacular view.
My flight arrived at noon. A few minutes later, I had secured a translator. Actually, he was the
receptionist at the hotel I checked into, and he promised he could arr!ange for me to meet the
Page 47 of 52
guardian of the Ark. When I explained what I wanted to accomplish, he smiled. "My friend, I will
take good care of you."
As a rule, when I'm traveling, the phrase "my friend" raises a number of red flags in my mind. But
in this instance, I took a chance and cautiously agreed to let him help me. Early the next morning,
we set off for the church compound a short distance away. It was clear very quickly that my new
guide was well-known there I was relieved.
Surrounded by a red wrought-iron gate, Saint Mary of Zion Chapel was stark against the blue
morning sky. With the sun still low in the east, the chapel's color was hard to make out. I was
surprised by how small the structure was-maybe 40 feet square. It seemed a bit modest to be the
resting place of the most mysterious-and potentially dangerous-object on earth.
Just outside the gate, there were a few deaco!ns and monks pacing. All around the compound,
worshipers mulled about, absorbed in some form of prayer. They came to visit the newly built
church to the left of Saint Mary of Zion Chapel, pressing their foreheads against the door of the
church and kissing it as they prayed.
But no one dared to pray in front of the chapel of the Ark.
We approached the gate, and my translator began to clang his ring against the bars. "What are
you doing?" I whispered.
"I'm just trying to get the guardian to come out," he said.
"But I thought you said you were going to make arrangements for me to meet him."
"Of course, no problem," he replied. "He will speak to you."
After a few tense moments of waiting, a man emerged from the back of the chapel. He was Abba
Welde Giorgis-the guardian of the Ark of the Covenant. Middle-aged and thin, Abba Giorgis wa!s
hidden behind faux aviator glasses, a gunmetal blue robe, and a drab yellow blanket slung
lengthwise over his shoulder. Though short, he had an air of power and authority.
After giving me his blessing, the guardian took a seat at the edge of the gate, while I lowered
myself onto a stone bench.
The guardian of the Ark is chosen by his predecessor, Giorgis told me. The decision is supposed
to be based on the "purity of heart" and virtue of the candidate. Once chosen, he serves for life,
never leaving the gated compound. The Ark becomes his life. While it's a great honor to be
chosen, many of the monks would gladly decline the opportunity. In fact, the history of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church is scattered with occasional stories of guardians who flee the
compound on being chosen. Some prefer not to live a life of spiritual incarceration. Others are
afraid of being so close to the Ark. The Ark, they say, is powerful.
"W!hy was the Ark brought to Aksum?" I asked.
"It's like Adam," he replied simply.
"Adam?"
"Yes," he said. "Divine providence."
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I wondered if he, like Abba Baya, believed the relic protected the nation of Ethiopia, just as it had
protected Israel before.
"Of course, the Ark is having an impact on everyone."
"By 'everyone' you mean both Christians and Muslims?" I asked.
"Yes. Everyone. Everybody in Ethiopia is living peacefully under one government."
What he said was true. Ethiopia, unlike many of its neighbors, has a population almost evenly
split between Muslims and Christians. And yet the two communities live together in peace.
There's none of the religious strife common to so many other African nations.
What about the ravages of AIDS in Ethiopia? How! can we say God is protecting the people from
that?
His answer was simple. "Sin." That was it. To him, the behavior that led to the transmission of
AIDS was a sin. And the Bible is clear about the wages of sin. People cannot be given help if
they're unwilling to accept it.
Perhaps the most extraordinary sign of a hidden protection is that unlike every other African
nation, Ethiopia was never colonized. When the Italians attempted it with their modern army, they
were ably repelled by the poorly equipped Ethiopian troops.
"Ethiopians are from the King Solomon dynasty," the Abba explained. "They will never be
colonized as long as they have the Ark."
My translator interjected: "What he is saying is that we are a tough people, and no one will take
our freedom. The guardian never even gives [the threat of colonization] consideration."
With that, the guardian stood !to leave. While he attended to his other responsibilities, I thought
about what he had told me. For the people of Ethiopia, the Ark of the Covenant was more than
just a historical curiosity: It was the hand of divine protection.
This fact is reflected in their faith. Unlike Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy-the other inheritors of
ancient Christianity-the Ethiopian Church was cut off from the outside world; it developed in
isolation from its brothers in the West and East. The form it took is revealing, for Ethiopian
Christianity is centered not on the Eucharist but on the Ark. Religious ceremonies involve replicas
of the sacred chest called tabots. The tabots are not themselves boxes; they're flat, richly
decorated boards. It's surely no coincidence that they resemble the tablets of the Ten
Commandments. Indeed, some have theorized that they're model!ed after the originals, still
contained inside the holy chest.
In the past, the Ark itself was brought forth from its chapel once a year, to be used in a sacred
procession. Today, out of fear of an attack on the relic, tabots are used instead.
I returned to the compound that afternoon, hoping to photograph the chapel in the setting sun.
The lighting was perfect, and I had plenty of film. No one else was around, apart from the
compound official, who had begun to eye me suspiciously.
After shooting several rolls of film, I noticed a guide from the hotel sitting in the shade nearby. I
sat down beside him on the park bench where I had earlier spoken to Abba Giorgis. As we
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discussed my reasons for coming to Ethiopia, the guardian reemerged from the chapel and
returned to his seat across from me.
With a smile, he turned to my acquaintance. "I remember your friend from this morning. He asked
me many question!s about the Ark."
I smiled back as my impromptu translator repeated what the guardian had said.
Abba Giorgis then turned to me. "So, do you remember all the things you learned today?"
I nodded.
"Do you have any more questions?" he asked. I did-the question that had brought me all the way
to Ethiopia. In the past, when the Ark was used in the processions, it was covered with a cloth-not
to protect the Ark from the people but to protect the people from the Ark. What could it possibly be
like to be in its presence?
Abba Giorgis smiled and studied me for a moment. "Have you ever experienced the Trinity?" he
asked.
Before I could answer, the official who had been watching me all afternoon began shouting from
across the courtyard.
"He says you must go now," my translator told me.
Filthy, exhausted, sick, and with two days to spare, I retreated to the capital of Addis Ababa, 310
miles south of Aksum. Here, I was finally able to reflect on everything I had seen. Had I actually
been within 30 feet of the real Ark of the Covenant?
On the street, Ethiopians speak of the Ark matter-of-factly, the way we refer to our founding
fathers when we talk of liberty and freedom. For them, it's a simple reality.
As I reflected on this, I couldn't help but think of the horrible images of poverty that CNN used to
broadcast regularly during the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s. Poverty still exists in Ethiopia, but
it's nothing like it was! then. CNN doesn't come calling anymore.
As with so many of the countries I've visited-such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, Thailand, and
Morocco-there's a great wealth of spirit in the people. But nowhere else-nowhere-have I
experienced such generosity and charity. The faith of the Ethiopians is historical. But more than
that, it's a living faith exercised in everything they do. This entire country is alive with it. On the
shores of Lake Tana with its numerous island monasteries, in Lalibela with its churches carved
from stone, in Aksum with Saint Mary of Zion Chapel-God dwells in Ethiopia in a way I have never
seen before. It was hard not to think that the presence of the Ark had something to do with it.
There's an interesting side note to the Ark story. During the Crusades, the Knights Templar-an
order of warrior monks-was formed and sent t!o the ruins of the Great Temple in Jerusalem. Day
and night, clanging and digging could be heard in the interior. When they finally disappeared from
the area, it was clear that they'd been excavating the site.
Legend has it that the Knights had been sent not to protect the roads from pilgrims-the official
explanation-but to find and secure the Ark of the Covenant from the advancing Muslims. If this is
indeed true, the Knights didn't find it in Jerusalem.
Page 50 of 52
But they might have discovered it in Ethiopia. In one of the archways of an Aksum church, a red
Crusader cross is clearly visible (see the photo on the table of contents). If indeed the Knights
traveled to Ethiopia, they found the Ark safe and protected by fellow Christians.
One of my l!ast stops before heading home was at the walled city of Harar-a predominately
Muslim enclave 90 miles west of Somalia-where I visited the home of a Christian man. We talked
about history, religion, and the way the Ark is intertwined with both. As our time together drew to a
close, he smiled at me.
"You may choose to disbelieve that we have the Ark here," he said. "That is your choice. But we
know better. For us, it is a fact."
I believe.
The Rival Theories

By B!rian Saint-Paul
There are many theories about where the Ark of the Covenant is. The following are some of the
more popular conjectures.
Warehouse Theory:
Some believe that the Ark currently resides in a U.S. government warehouse (depicted at the end
of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark). The problem with this view is that there's simply no evidence
to back it up. In fact, the one document that purports to be an inventory of the warehouse shows
the Ark stored next to "Martian War Machines," "the Blob," and "stasis booths" containing-in
suspe!nded animation-the bodies of Hitler and Elvis.
Great Temple Theory:
Proponents of this theory say the Ark was hidden in a tunnel under the Great Temple to protect it
from the conquering Babylonians. There are several problems with this view. First, when the
Temple was rebuilt on top of the ruins of the original, the Ark surely would have been returned to
its place. It was not. Nor was it found during the building of the second Temple or when the
Knights Templar excavated the site at the time of the Crusades. Additionally, references to the Ark
disappear after the Babylonian invasion. If the Ark remained in the vicinity (albeit hidden), one
would expect there to be some record of its presence, if not its location. This would have been an
important comfort to the Jews. That there is no such mention strongly suggests that the Ark was
no longer in the city.
Babylonian Destruction Theory:
A!ccording to this theory, when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and looted the Temple,
they destroyed the Ark and pilfered its gold. While this explanation accounts for the abrupt silence
surrounding the Ark in the Old Testament, it's hard to imagine that the Israelites-knowing the
Babylonians were coming-would have left the relic exposed in the Great Temple. Additionally,
there's no real evidence that the Ark was ever destroyed. The entire theory rests on the notion of
what the Babylonians would have done had they captured the chest.
Page 51 of 52
Calvary Escarpment Theory:
The late amateur archaeologist Ron Wyatt claimed to have found the Ark in a tunnel under
Calvary hill-the site of Christ's crucifixion. Unfortunately, according to Wyatt, the Israeli
government has since sealed up the tunnels and the Ark, leaving no evidence of his find. Wyatt
also claimed to have found Noah!te s Ark, a blood sample from Christ (complete with DNA), and
the wheels of one of the chariots that crossed the Red Sea. Though his work sells, it has been
largely discredited by both Christian and non-Christian archaeologists, who say that much of his
"evidence" is falsified. F
The Church Carved in Stone
Isolated, with one paved road and few vehicles to spe!ak of, Lalibela is bare in all but spirit.
Walking through this wind-blown town, one can easily imagine why this place attracts Christian
pilgrims.
It's a combination: legend, architecture, and faith. Once thought of as the "New Jerusalem,"
Lalibela was named after its founder, Saint and King Lalibela. King Lalibela was deeply influenced
by what he saw in Jerusalem while he was exiled.
Upon his return to what was then Roha, he began spotting the landscape with new churches.
These churches-believed to date back to the twelfth and 13th centuries-were not built from the
bottom up; they were carved out of the bedrock. Some of them look like secret caves connected
by a slight network of tunnels. Today, they are both museums and living churches.
Bu!t Lalibela is not just legend and architecture. It is the faith of its people that makes this place
worthy of a visit. A resident told me that what we call poverty they consider a blessing from God.
He told me that for the people of Lalibela, "Good times and bad, it's all the same. There is no
difference." No one in Lalibela goes without food. Everyone understands that they must treat their
neighbors-each other-as if God dwelled in them. And so they do.
Page 52 of 52

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The Sign and the Seal

Ark of the Covenant

THE SIGN AND THE SEAL

I answered each of these questions fully, squinting through the gloom as I

'They are true.'

'Tell me how this happened,' I asked. 'What I know of your traditions is

'And are you telling me that this legend is literally true?'

'It is not a legend. It is history.'

'How can you be so sure of that?'

'What qualities will you look for in that man?'

'Love of God, purity of heart, cleanliness of mind and body.'

'No. I alone may see it.'

The monk looked at me in a way that I

We cannot risk the possibility that any

'Why do you wrap it?'

'To protect the laity from it.'

I remember asking my interpreter to clarify the translation of this last puzzling

A great mystery of the Bible

Writing in 1987, Richard Elliott Friedman, Professor of Hebrew and

There is no report that the Ark was carried

Indeed so. A close reading of the Old

Palaces, catacombs and obelisks

Our work began the moment that we arrived. Waiting to greet us as we

wearing a slightly threadbare three-piece suit and a most splendid

Do you believe that the Ark is here?' I asked.

'And where is it exactly?'

'It is deposited in a chapel near the centre of the city.'

'Is this chapel very old?'

"Makeda travelling by land to see the wisdom of Solomon"

of Holies of the nearby church of Saint Mary of Zion...' Zelelew paused,

After we had assented to this attractive proposition we turned on to a

"Makeda meets Solomon and presents him...

How far is it exactly?' I asked, tantalized.

'Yes, in the late 1960s the Ethiopian Institute of Archaeology conducted

'And what was discovered?'

"Menelik travelling by sea with the Holy Ark of the Covenant"

water.' As though to confirm this last observation he pointed to a group of

"Menelik arrives at Axum with the Holy Ark of the Convenant"

The sanctuary chapel

the work of Emperor Fasilidas - who, like so many Ethiopian monarchs

We found Haile Selassie's pretentious modern 'cathedral' as unpleasant

When Alvarez visited Saint Mary's in the 1520s - becoming, in the

'How powerful?' I asked. 'What do you mean?'

'Yes', I replied, 'I have seen them.'

'How do you think they were raised up?'

I confessed that I did not know.

On my return to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, I took the opportunity

Devonshire, England. Part fascinating scholarship and part entertaining

Where is the Ark of the Covenant?

Does Sheshonq I take the Ark to Tanis?

Does Nebuchadnezzar take the Ark to Babylon?

Did Jeremiah Hide the Ark in a Cave?

Did Antiochus Epiphanes take the Ark to Syria?

Did Titus take the Ark to Rome?

Other Claims about the Ark!

What does the Ark of the Covenant look like?

Cherub throne Cherub ivory

Cherub? Metro Ivory Cherub? U of Penn.

The exact description on how to build the Ark is in Exodus 25:10-22:

Ark of the Covenant found?

These vessels were carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar after he

Is the Ark in Ethiopia, beneath Mt Moriah, in Ireland,

Picture of Mt Nebo (aka: Mt Pisgah) in Jordan