DREAD: The Unsolved Investigates the Location of The Ark of The Covenant
Jans Holstrom
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52 by 31 by 31. Constructed of the wood of the Shittah tree. Gilded entirely in gold. Four rings of gold attached to the corners. Lengths of wood inlaid with gold are to be pushed through these rings as carrying handles, and they are never to be removed. A golden lid upon which a seat will be placed flanked by 2 golden cherubim. Moses was allegedly given these instructions as he camped at Mount Sinai. This ornate box was built to store the stone tablets that the 10 commandments were chiseled into. Over a thousand years later, scientists, adventurers, and biblical scholars are still looking for the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark of The Covenant has a complicated history. We could look at the tales of antiquity from the bible and other religious texts to get an idea of its travels. After being carried by the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert, it popped up in the battle of Jericho. A group of priests and an armed escort began to carry it. It circled the city seven times before a mighty shout brought down the walls of Jericho.
The Ark continues to show up in biblical narratives. It’s captured by the Philistines, and God strikes a man dead for touching it, among other things. The final location of the Ark in biblical texts is Jerusalem. King Josiah ordered the Ark taken back to Jerusalem. About 15 years after the Ark was taken to Jerusalem, Babylon sacked the city and took everything from the temple where it was allegedly held. After that, things get…fuzzy.
Some people claim that the Ark was spirited away from Jerusalem and taken to heaven for safekeeping. I can find mention of the biblical John witnessing the Ark in heaven, but some theologians claim that the Ark seen in heaven was the original Ark, while the earthbound Ark pales in comparison. Stepping out of the bible, I want to see where the Ark of the Covenant, if it exists, resides today.
Why Is The Ark of the Convenant So Important?
But before that: Why do we want to find it? What importance does a box with 2 stone tablets have today? Well, if you are to believe most biblical tellings, the box contains, in some ways, God. Or, it did back when it was being touted around by the Israelites. Some religions today believe that outside of archaeological interest, the Ark is useless, as it no longer contains God.
The Lemba people of South Africa and Zimbabwe claim that the Ark is the voice of God, and a powerful weapon that can be used to sweep enemies aside. In pop culture, the Ark is often a weapon, able to clear entire armies or in the case of Indiana Jones, melt a few Nazis. In Biblical tales, the Ark is very ambiguous. It is carried into battles, but it’s unclear whether or not it is brought as a weapon or just a testament to faith.
Others will claim that the Ark can bring down plagues upon enemies, bless companions, and lead to victory in battles.
Many locations have been given as the supposed resting place of the Ark.
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One of the more compelling locations is, strangely enough, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has claimed that the Ark was brought to the church while a fake Ark was left in the temple in Jerusalem. British writer Graham Hancock wrote an entire book in 1992 theorizing that the Ark was smuggled down the river Nile to Ethiopia where it resides today. Edward Ullendorf, a retired professor of Ethiopian studies actually got to inspect the alleged Ark in 1941 while he was stationed in Ethiopia.
“They have a wooden box, but it’s empty. Middle- to late-medieval construction, when these were fabricated ad hoc.”
Edward Ullendorf
He’s talking about the craze during the middle ages of peddlers selling fake biblical relics. Many, many, many churches and holy places claim to have some biblical relic or another. In 2009, the patriarch of the church made an announcement that he would finally reveal the Ark to the public. He never went through with it. He did say that he could attest to its status. I’m assuming its status was, “still there”.
The Knights Templar are said to be involved in the hiding of the Ark, because of course they are. Writer Louis Charpentier has stated that the Templars brought the Ark to Chartres Cathedral in France. Chartres Cathedral is already famous for allegedly housing the tunic that the virgin Mary wore during the birth of Christ.
The theory posits that the Knights Templar, having regained the holy land in 1118, began searching in the former location of the temple where the Ark’s final mention is in biblical texts. After finding it, the Ark was taken to the newly constructed Chartres Cathedral. What evidence is drawn on to prove this? A pillar, part of Chartres Cathedral, is known as the Portal of the Initiates. On this pillar is a bas relief of an Ark on a wheeled cart. The church has never said anything officially about connections between the Ark and Chartres Cathedral.
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Some Templar theories take it even further and claim that as the Templar frenzy was winding down in the 14th century, and Templars were being arrested, the Ark was moved to Scotland to protect it. In Scotland, the Rosslyn Chapel is a lightning rod for strange rumors and outlandish theories. The founder and builder of the church was said to be a templar Grandmaster, who hid the Ark along with many other religious artifacts in a secret vault somewhere on the chapel grounds.
As recently as 2019, the Knights Templar (yes, they still exist) were requesting non-invasive searches of the grounds to try and find the Ark. The current head of the chapel is not interested.
The Ark is either a weapon, god themselves, or something completely foreign to modern minds. It is the holy grail of religious artifacts, if you discount the holy grail itself. Finding it today would be a major archaeological find, on par with the discovery of the first dinosaurs. But…What do you think? Is the Ark out there? Where is it? Is it even real? I want to hear your theories in the comments or on Twitter @DreadUnsolved. I’m also on Instagram @DreadTheUnsolved and Facebook. You can send me your Ark theories at TheUnsolved@DreadCentral.com
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