A huddle grows around the high priests, with one young priest bearing an ikon, or holy picture, while others hold ornate gold and silver crosses.

Paul Raffaele

Keepers of the Lost Ark?

Christians in Ethiopia have long claimed to have the ark of the covenant. Our reporter investigated

  • By Paul Raffaele
  • Photographs by Paul Raffaele
  • Smithsonian magazine, December 2007

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    "They shall make an ark of acacia wood," God commanded Moses in the Book of Exodus, after delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. And so the Israelites built an ark, or chest, gilding it inside and out. And into this chest Moses placed stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, as given to him on Mount Sinai.

    Thus the ark “was worshipped by the Israelites as the embodiment of God Himself,” writes Graham Hancock in The Sign and the Seal. "Biblical and other archaic sources speak of the Ark blazing with fire and light...stopping rivers, blasting whole armies." (Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark provides a special-effects approximation.) According to the First Book of Kings, King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem to house the ark. It was venerated there during Solomon's reign (c. 970-930 B.C.) and beyond.

    Then it vanished. Much of Jewish tradition holds that it disappeared before or while the Babylonians sacked the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

    But through the centuries, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the ark rests in a chapel in the small town of Aksum, in their country's northern highlands. It arrived nearly 3,000 years ago, they say, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die.

    One of the first things that caught my eye in Addis Ababa, the country's capital, was an enormous concrete pillar topped by a giant red star—the sort of monument to communism still visible in Pyongyang. The North Koreans built this one as a gift for the Derg, the Marxist regime that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991 (the country is now governed by an elected parliament and prime minister). In a campaign that Derg officials named the Red Terror, they slaughtered their political enemies—estimates range from several thousand to more than a million people. The most prominent of their victims was Emperor Haile Selassie, whose death, under circumstances that remain contested, was announced in 1975.

    He was the last emperor of Ethiopia—and, he claimed, the 225th monarch, descended from Menelik, the ruler believed responsible for Ethiopia's possession of the ark of the covenant in the tenth century B.C.

    The story is told in the Kebra Negast (Glory of the Kings), Ethiopia's chronicle of its royal line: the Queen of Sheba, one of its first rulers, traveled to Jerusalem to partake of King Solomon's wisdom; on her way home, she bore Solomon's son, Menelik. Later Menelik went to visit his father, and on his return journey was accompanied by the firstborn sons of some Israelite nobles—who, unbeknown to Menelik, stole the ark and carried it with them to Ethiopia. When Menelik learned of the theft, he reasoned that since the ark's frightful powers hadn't destroyed his retinue, it must be God's will that it remain with him.

    Many historians—including Richard Pankhurst, a British-born scholar who has lived in Ethiopia for almost 50 years—date the Kebra Negast manuscript to the 14th century A.D. It was written, they say, to validate the claim by Menelik's descendants that their right to rule was God-given, based on an unbroken succession from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. But the Ethiopian faithful say the chronicles were copied from a fourth-century Coptic manuscript that was, in turn, based on a far earlier account. This lineage remained so important to them that it was written into Selassie's two imperial constitutions, in 1931 and 1955.

    Before leaving Addis Ababa for Aksum, I went to the offices of His Holiness Abuna Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has some 40 million adherents worldwide, to ask about Ethiopia's claim to have the ark of the covenant. Paulos holds a PhD in theology from Princeton University, and before he was installed as patriarch, in 1992, he was a parish priest in Manhattan. Gripping a golden staff, wearing a golden icon depicting the Madonna cradling an infant Jesus, and seated on what looked like a golden throne, he oozed power and patronage.

    "We've had 1,000 years of Judaism, followed by 2,000 years of Christianity, and that's why our religion is rooted in the Old Testament," he told me. "We follow the same dietary laws as Judaism, as set out in Leviticus," meaning that his followers keep kosher, even though they are Christians. "Parents circumcise their baby boys as a religious duty, we often give Old Testament names to our boys and many villagers in the countryside still hold Saturday sacred as the Sabbath."

    Is this tradition linked to the church's claim to hold the ark, which Ethiopians call Tabota Seyen, or the Ark of Zion? "It's no claim, it's the truth," Paulos answered. "Queen Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem three thousand years ago, and the son she bore him, Menelik, at age 20 visited Jerusalem, from where he brought the ark of the covenant back to Aksum. It's been in Ethiopia ever since."

    I asked if the ark in Ethiopia resembles the one described in the Bible: almost four feet long, just over two feet high and wide, surmounted by two winged cherubs facing each other across its heavy lid, forming the "mercy seat," or footstool for the throne of God. Paulos shrugged. "Can you believe that even though I'm head of the Ethiopian church, I'm still forbidden from seeing it?" he said. "The guardian of the ark is the only person on earth who has that peerless honor."

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    "They shall make an ark of acacia wood," God commanded Moses in the Book of Exodus, after delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. And so the Israelites built an ark, or chest, gilding it inside and out. And into this chest Moses placed stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, as given to him on Mount Sinai.

    Thus the ark “was worshipped by the Israelites as the embodiment of God Himself,” writes Graham Hancock in The Sign and the Seal. "Biblical and other archaic sources speak of the Ark blazing with fire and light...stopping rivers, blasting whole armies." (Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark provides a special-effects approximation.) According to the First Book of Kings, King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem to house the ark. It was venerated there during Solomon's reign (c. 970-930 B.C.) and beyond.

    Then it vanished. Much of Jewish tradition holds that it disappeared before or while the Babylonians sacked the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

    But through the centuries, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the ark rests in a chapel in the small town of Aksum, in their country's northern highlands. It arrived nearly 3,000 years ago, they say, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die.

    One of the first things that caught my eye in Addis Ababa, the country's capital, was an enormous concrete pillar topped by a giant red star—the sort of monument to communism still visible in Pyongyang. The North Koreans built this one as a gift for the Derg, the Marxist regime that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991 (the country is now governed by an elected parliament and prime minister). In a campaign that Derg officials named the Red Terror, they slaughtered their political enemies—estimates range from several thousand to more than a million people. The most prominent of their victims was Emperor Haile Selassie, whose death, under circumstances that remain contested, was announced in 1975.

    He was the last emperor of Ethiopia—and, he claimed, the 225th monarch, descended from Menelik, the ruler believed responsible for Ethiopia's possession of the ark of the covenant in the tenth century B.C.

    The story is told in the Kebra Negast (Glory of the Kings), Ethiopia's chronicle of its royal line: the Queen of Sheba, one of its first rulers, traveled to Jerusalem to partake of King Solomon's wisdom; on her way home, she bore Solomon's son, Menelik. Later Menelik went to visit his father, and on his return journey was accompanied by the firstborn sons of some Israelite nobles—who, unbeknown to Menelik, stole the ark and carried it with them to Ethiopia. When Menelik learned of the theft, he reasoned that since the ark's frightful powers hadn't destroyed his retinue, it must be God's will that it remain with him.

    Many historians—including Richard Pankhurst, a British-born scholar who has lived in Ethiopia for almost 50 years—date the Kebra Negast manuscript to the 14th century A.D. It was written, they say, to validate the claim by Menelik's descendants that their right to rule was God-given, based on an unbroken succession from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. But the Ethiopian faithful say the chronicles were copied from a fourth-century Coptic manuscript that was, in turn, based on a far earlier account. This lineage remained so important to them that it was written into Selassie's two imperial constitutions, in 1931 and 1955.

    Before leaving Addis Ababa for Aksum, I went to the offices of His Holiness Abuna Paulos, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has some 40 million adherents worldwide, to ask about Ethiopia's claim to have the ark of the covenant. Paulos holds a PhD in theology from Princeton University, and before he was installed as patriarch, in 1992, he was a parish priest in Manhattan. Gripping a golden staff, wearing a golden icon depicting the Madonna cradling an infant Jesus, and seated on what looked like a golden throne, he oozed power and patronage.

    "We've had 1,000 years of Judaism, followed by 2,000 years of Christianity, and that's why our religion is rooted in the Old Testament," he told me. "We follow the same dietary laws as Judaism, as set out in Leviticus," meaning that his followers keep kosher, even though they are Christians. "Parents circumcise their baby boys as a religious duty, we often give Old Testament names to our boys and many villagers in the countryside still hold Saturday sacred as the Sabbath."

    Is this tradition linked to the church's claim to hold the ark, which Ethiopians call Tabota Seyen, or the Ark of Zion? "It's no claim, it's the truth," Paulos answered. "Queen Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem three thousand years ago, and the son she bore him, Menelik, at age 20 visited Jerusalem, from where he brought the ark of the covenant back to Aksum. It's been in Ethiopia ever since."

    I asked if the ark in Ethiopia resembles the one described in the Bible: almost four feet long, just over two feet high and wide, surmounted by two winged cherubs facing each other across its heavy lid, forming the "mercy seat," or footstool for the throne of God. Paulos shrugged. "Can you believe that even though I'm head of the Ethiopian church, I'm still forbidden from seeing it?" he said. "The guardian of the ark is the only person on earth who has that peerless honor."

    He also mentioned that the ark had not been held continuously at Aksum since Menelik's time, adding that some monks hid it for 400 years to keep it out of invaders' hands. Their monastery still stood, he said, on an island in Lake Tana. It was about 200 miles northwest, on the way to Aksum.

    Ethiopia is landlocked, but Lake Tana is an inland sea: it covers 1,400 square miles and is the source of the Blue Nile, which weaves its muddy way 3,245 miles through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean. At the outlet where the water begins its journey, fishermen drop lines from primitive papyrus boats like those the Egyptians used in the pharaohs' days. I glimpsed them through an eerie dawn mist as I boarded a powerboat headed for Tana Kirkos, the island of the ark.

    Slowly the boatman threaded his way through a maze of tree-covered islands so dense that he began to wonder aloud whether we were lost. When, after two hours, we suddenly confronted a rock wall about 30 yards high and more than 100 yards long, he cried, "Tana Kirkos" with obvious relief.

    A fish eagle circled and squawked as a barefoot monk clad in a patched yellow robe scurried down a pathway cut into the rock and peered into our boat. "He's making sure there are no women aboard," my translator said.

    The monk introduced himself as Abba, or Father, Haile Mikael. "There are 125 monks on the island, and many are novices," he said. "Women have been banned for centuries because the sight of them might fire the young monks' passions."

    Another monk, Abba Gebre Maryam, joined us. He, too, wore a patched yellow robe, plus a white pillbox turban. A rough-hewn wooden cross hung from his neck, and he carried a silver staff topped by a cross. In response to my questioning, he elaborated on what Abuna Paulos had told me:

    "The ark came here from Aksum for safekeeping from enemies well before Jesus was born because our people followed the Jewish religion then," he said. "But when King Ezana ruled in Aksum 1,600 years ago, he took the ark back to Aksum." Ezana's kingdom extended across the Red Sea into the Arabian peninsula; he converted to Christianity around A.D. 330 and became hugely influential in spreading the faith.

    Then Abba Gebre added: "The baby Jesus and Mary spent ten days here during their long exile from Israel." It was after King Herod ordered the death of all boys under the age of 2 in Bethlehem, he said. "Would you like to see the place where they often sat?"

    I followed him up a wooded path and onto a ridge where a pair of young monks were standing by a small shrine, their eyes closed in prayer. Abba Gebre pointed to the shrine. "That's where Jesus and Mary sat each day while they were here."

    "What proof do you have that they came here?" I asked.

    He looked at me with what appeared to be tender sympathy and said: "We don't need proof because it's a fact. The monks here have passed this down for centuries."

    Later, Andrew Wearring, a religious scholar at the University of Sydney, told me that "the journey by Jesus, Mary and Joseph is mentioned in only a few lines in the Book of Matthew—and he gives scant detail, though he does state they fled into Egypt." Like its former parent institution the Orthodox Coptic Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox faith holds that the family spent four years in western Egypt, Wearring said, in the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta, before returning home. But western Egypt is over 1,000 miles northwest of Lake Tana. Could Jesus, Mary and Joseph have traveled to Tana Kirkos? There's no way to know.

    On the way back to the boat, we passed small log huts with conical thatched roofs—the monks' cells. Abba Gebre entered one and pulled from the shadows an ancient bronze tray set on a stand. He said Menelik brought it from Jerusalem to Aksum along with the ark.

    "The Jerusalem temple priests used this tray to collect and stir the sacrificial animals' blood," Abba Gebre went on. When I checked later with Pankhurst, the historian said the tray, which he had seen on an earlier visit, was probably associated with Judaic rituals in Ethiopia's pre-Christian era. Lake Tana, he said, was a stronghold of Judaism.

    Finally, Abba Gebre led me to an old church built from wood and rock in the traditional Ethiopian style, circular with a narrow walkway hugging the outer wall. Inside was the mak'das, or holy of holies—an inner sanctum shielded by brocade curtains and open only to senior priests. "That's where we keep our tabots," he said.

    The tabots (pronounced "TA-bots") are replicas of the tablets in the ark, and every church in Ethiopia has a set, kept in its own holy of holies. "It's the tabots that consecrate a church, and without them it's as holy as a donkey's stable," Abba Gebre said. Every January 19, on Timkat, or the Feast of the Epiphany, the tabots from churches all over Ethiopia are paraded through the streets.

    "The most sacred ceremony occurs at Gonder," he went on, naming a city in the highlands just north of Lake Tana. "To understand our deep reverence for the ark, you should go there."

    Gonder (pop. 160,000) spreads across a series of hills and valleys more than 7,000 feet above sea level. On the advice of a friendly cleric, I sought out Archbishop Andreas, the local leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. As Andreas ushered me into a simple room in his office, I saw that he had the spindly frame and sunken cheeks of an ascetic. Despite his high position, he was dressed like a monk, in a worn yellow robe, and he held a simple cross carved from wood.

    I asked if he knew of any evidence that the ark had come to Ethiopia with Menelik. "These stories were handed down through the generations by our church leaders, and we believe them to be historical facts," he told me in a whisper. "That's why we keep tabots in every church in Ethiopia."

    At noon the next day, Andreas, in a black robe and black turban, emerged from a church on a slope above Gonder and into a crowd of several hundred people. A dozen priests, deacons and acolytes—clad in brocade robes in maroon, ivory, gold and blue—joined him to form a protective huddle around a bearded priest wearing a scarlet robe and a golden turban. On his head the priest carried the tabots, wrapped in ebony velvet embroidered in gold. Catching sight of the sacred bundle, hundreds of women in the crowd began ululating—making a singsong wail with their tongues—as many Ethiopian women do at moments of intense emotion.

    As the clerics began to walk down a rocky pathway toward a piazza at the center of town (a legacy of Italy's occupation of Ethiopia in the 1930s), they were hemmed in by perhaps 1,000 more chanting and ululating devotees. At the piazza, the procession joined clerics carrying tabots from seven other churches. Together they set off farther downhill, with the trailing throng swelling into the thousands, with thousands more lining the road. About five miles later, the priests stopped beside a pool of murky water in a park.

    All afternoon and through the night, the priests chanted hymns before the tabots, surrounded by worshipers. Then, prompted by glimmers of light sneaking into the morning sky, Archbishop Andreas led the clerics to celebrate the baptism of Jesus by playfully splashing one another with the pool's water.

    The Timkat celebrations were to continue for three more days with prayers and masses, after which the tabots would be returned to the churches where they were kept. I was more eager than ever to locate the original ark, so I headed for Aksum, about 200 miles northeast.

    Just outside Gonder, my car passed Wolleka village, where a mud-hut synagogue bore a Star of David on the roof—a relic of Jewish life in the region that endured for as long as four millennia, until the 1990s. That was when the last of the Bet Israel Jews (also known as the Falasha, the Amharic word for "stranger") were evacuated to Israel in the face of persecution by the Derg.

    The road degenerated into a rutted, rocky pathway that twisted around the hillsides, and our SUV struggled to exceed ten miles per hour. I reached Aksum in darkness and shared the hotel dining room with United Nations peacekeepers from Uruguay and Jordan who told me they were monitoring a stretch of the Ethiopia-Eritrea border about an hour's drive away. The latest U.N. bulletin, they said, described the area as "volatile and tense."

    The next day was hot and dusty. Except for the occasional camel and its driver, Aksum's streets were nearly empty. We weren't far from the Denakil Desert, which extends eastward into Eritrea and Djibouti.

    By chance, in the lobby of my hotel I met Alem Abbay, an Aksum native who was on vacation from Frostburg State University in Maryland, where he teaches African history. Abbay took me to a stone tablet about eight feet high and covered in inscriptions in three languages—Greek; Geez, the ancient language of Ethiopia; and Sabaean, from across the Red Sea in southern Yemen, the true birthplace, some scholars believe, of the Queen of Sheba.

    "King Ezana erected this stone tablet early in the fourth century, while still a pagan ruler," Abbay told me. His finger traced the strange-looking alphabets carved into the rock 16 centuries ago. "Here, the king praises the god of war after a victory over a rebel people." But sometime in the following decade Ezana was converted to Christianity.

    Abbay led me to another stone tablet covered with inscriptions in the same three languages. "By now King Ezana is thanking 'the Lord of Heaven' for success in a military expedition into nearby Sudan," he said. "We know he meant Jesus because archaeological digs have turned up coins during Ezana's reign that feature the Cross of Christ around this time." Before that, they bore the pagan symbols of the sun and moon.

    As we walked on, we passed a large reservoir, its surface covered with green scum. "According to tradition, it's Queen Sheba's bath," Abbay said. "Some believe there's an ancient curse on its waters."

    Ahead was a towering stele, or column, 79 feet high and said to weigh 500 tons. Like other fallen and standing steles nearby, it was carved from a single slab of granite, perhaps as early as the first or second century A.D. Legend has it that the ark of the covenant's supreme power sliced it out of the rock and set it into place.

    On our way to the chapel where the ark is said to be kept, we passed Sheba's bath again and saw about 50 people in white shawls crouched near the water. A boy had drowned there shortly before, and his parents and other relatives were waiting for the body to surface. "They say it will take one to two days," Abbay said. "They know this because many other boys have drowned here while swimming. They believe the curse has struck again."

    Abbay and I made our way toward the office of the Neburq-ed, Aksum's high priest, who works out of a tin shed at a seminary close by the ark chapel. As the church administrator in Aksum, he would be able to tell us more about the guardian of the ark.

    "We've had the guardian tradition from the beginning," the high priest told us. "He prays constantly by the ark, day and night, burning incense before it and paying tribute to God. Only he can see it; all others are forbidden to lay eyes on it or even go close to it." Over the centuries, a few Western travelers have claimed to have seen it; their descriptions are of tablets like those described in the Book of Exodus. But the Ethiopians say that is inconceivable—the visitors must have been shown fakes.

    I asked how the guardian is chosen. "By Aksum's senior priests and the present guardian," he said. I told him I'd heard that in the mid-20th century a chosen guardian had run away, terrified, and had to be hauled back to Aksum. The Neburq-ed smiled, but did not answer. Instead, he pointed to a grassy slope studded with broken stone blocks—the remains of Zion Maryam cathedral, Ethiopia's oldest church, founded in the fourth century A.D. "It held the ark, but Arab invaders destroyed it," he said, adding that priests had hidden the ark from the invaders.

    Now that I had come this far, I asked if we could meet the guardian of the ark. The Neburq-ed said no: "He is usually not accessible to ordinary people, just religious leaders."

    The next day I tried again, led by a friendly priest to the gate of the ark chapel, which is about the size of a typical suburban house and surrounded by a high iron fence. "Wait here," he said, and he climbed the steps leading to the chapel entrance, where he called out softly to the guardian.

    A few minutes later he scurried back, smiling. A few feet from where I stood, through the iron bars, a monk who looked to be in his late 50s peered around the chapel wall.

    "It's the guardian," the priest whispered.

    He wore an olive-colored robe, dark pillbox turban and sandals. He glanced warily at me with deep-set eyes. Through the bars he held out a wooden cross painted yellow, touching my forehead with it in a blessing and pausing as I kissed the top and bottom in the traditional way.

    I asked his name.

    "I'm the guardian of the ark," he said, with the priest translating. "I have no other name."

    I told him I had come from the other side of the world to speak with him about the ark. "I can't tell you anything about it," he said. "No king or patriarch or bishop or ruler can ever see it, only me. This has been our tradition since Menelik brought the ark here more than 3,000 years ago."

    We peered at each other for a few moments. I asked a few more questions, but to each he remained as silent as an apparition. Then he was gone.

    "You're lucky, because he refuses most requests to see him," the priest said. But I felt only a little lucky. There was so much more I wanted to know: Does the ark look the way it is described in the Bible? Has the guardian ever seen a sign of its power? Is he content to devote his life to the ark, never able to leave the compound?

    On my last night in Aksum, I walked down the chapel road, now deserted, and sat for a long time staring at the chapel, which shone like silver in the moonlight.

    Was the guardian chanting ancient incantations while bathing the chapel in the sanctifying reek of incense? Was he on his knees before the ark? Was he as alone as I felt? Was the ark really there?

    Of course I had no way of answering any of these questions. Had I tried to slip inside in the darkness to sneak a look, I'm sure the guardian would have raised the alarm. And I was also held back by the fear that the ark would harm me if I dared defile it with my presence.

    In the final moments of my search, I could not judge whether the ark of the covenant truly rested inside this nondescript chapel. Perhaps Menelik's traveling companions did take it and spirit it home to Ethiopia. Perhaps its origins here stem from a tale spun by Aksumite priests in ancient times to awe their congregations and consolidate their authority. But the reality of the ark, like a vision in the moonlight, floated just beyond my grasp, and so the millennia-old mystery remained. As the devotion of the worshipers at Timkat and the monks at Tana Kirkos came back to me in the shimmering light, I decided that simply being in the presence of this eternal mystery was a fitting ending to my quest.

    Paul Raffaele is a frequent contributor to Smithsonian. His story on Congo's imperiled mountain gorillas appeared in October.

    Books
    Ethiopia & Eritrea by Matt Phillips and Jean-Bernard Carillet, Lonely Planet Publications (Oakland, California), 2006
    Searching for the Ark of the Covenant by Randall Price, Harvest House Publishers (Eugene, Oregon), 2005
    The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant by Graham Hancock, Simon & Schuster, 1992


     
    Comments

    I believe the Arc was given as gift from father to son. I believe King Solomon as wise as he is believed that his son was not staying to rule Israel but Ethiopia, so he believed Menilik, the son that he loves deserved part of the ark. Just commonsense Thank you

    Posted by yasfela on November 26,2007 | 09:09AM

    Great story! What a tantalizing mystery.

    Posted by John on November 26,2007 | 09:40AM

    Ok. There is one guy who is not allowed to step away from the monastery and is not allowed to let anyone else see it...... Does anyone else find it rather interesting?

    Posted by mSky on November 26,2007 | 09:42AM

    It is well documented that Ethiopia was not known as Sheba at the period in which the bible was written. Additionally, examination of the many arks in Ethiopia has revealed them to be replicas.

    Posted by Thadd on November 26,2007 | 10:33AM

    Nice story, but face it-- this is a total snow-job. One guy can see the box, and nobody else? Please... even if they showed it to you, it would still be a box. In hundreds of years, I'm pretty sure they could have made a box. Lame!

    Posted by DaveX on November 26,2007 | 10:33AM

    This is not a "tantalizing mystery" many authors have already debunked this idea, its sad that a magazine would publicize it like this, when it is a historic myth that has many times over been shown as just a legend.

    Posted by Thadd Nelson on November 26,2007 | 10:35AM

    He worried the ark would harm him? This guy is no Indiana Jones, that's quite obvious. In Ethiopia, I doubt that anything of value exists in this temple- seems to me it'd be pretty easy to overpower this keeper and steal it (if it was there). After all, if this thing existed, it'd be quite valuable. Was this from "Smithsonian Magazine" or the National Enquirer?

    Posted by El Bob on November 26,2007 | 01:59PM

    As an Ethiopian and Orthodox Christian and considering material and immaterial evidences I do believe that the Ark is indeed in Ethiopia. It is amazing to read some people describe this fact as a myth or legend while providing no proof to support their take.

    Posted by Getachew Assefa on November 26,2007 | 02:28PM

    Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. You can't just claim to have the Ark of the Covanent (or space aliens or a tasty, fat-free sundae)) behind the curtain without submitting to detailed inspection. That's the difference between belief and science (no matter what you personally believe the "mix" to be). The Ark may be there, but sayin' doesn't make it so.

    Posted by Michael 'Mickey' Sattler on November 26,2007 | 04:19PM

    Who really cares, myth or truth,it's a box and if that makes them happy not to share it with the world, it is their loss not ours.

    Posted by Barry Bigelow on November 26,2007 | 06:01PM

    "And I was also held back by the fear that the ark would harm me if I dared defile it with my presence." Ah that was a good one. Killed by the power of make-believe. Seriously. If they really had the ark it would be a great symbol around which to rally. Why woudl they not use it to convert the world and to rid their destitute country of it's poverty? Simple, they do not have it. In all likelihood it does not exist. Even if they had "the" ark it would not be the one Moses made for the following reasons: 1. Moses is not a historical person. He is mythological. 2. The Exodus did not happen. It is a myth. This whole thing is just silly. This stories real value to do show how sad and wasteful human credulity can be.

    Posted by Puskara on November 26,2007 | 06:08PM

    It would be relatively easy to validate or disprove this claim. Call on Sam Fisher of Splinter Cell fame to sneak in, sticky shock the virgin monk and get pictures. We might need a remote control bomb squad robot if this thing is really dangerous.

    Posted by Vince on November 26,2007 | 07:18PM

    I do not know if the story is true. I was in Askum 45 years ago. It is a very small church, surrounded by an iron fence. There is a lot of empty space around the fence. Nobody but the single priest is inside the fence; he does not give interviews. Trust me El Bob, if you tried to get through or over the fence, you would die. It seems like nobody is watching, but a 100 eyes are on you every moment. It is not a place to make a wrong move. The idea of overpowering the guard is, without a massive bloodbath, not going to happen. And Askum is a loooong way from any place a thief would feel safe. For a very long time, only one person has known what is actually in the building. Everybody else takes the story very, very seriously. Nobody will sell out. The chances that any person other than the single priest having certainty is nonexistent

    Posted by adexterc on November 26,2007 | 08:20PM

    The Ark itself is not nearly as important as it's contents. To have the Ark does not necessarily mean that one has the tablets. It is conceivable that the Ark was sent or brought to Ethiopia to disguise the true whereabouts of the tablets. And the tablets, hidden some time before in Israel from thieves or invaders, remain there, possibly buried somewhere in the Temple Mount, where they should be.

    Posted by joe tompkins on November 26,2007 | 08:42PM

    Unlike most of those who have left comments above, I don't pretend to know if the ark is or is not in Ethiopia. If however, it was shown to be there, and Aaron's rod were still contained inside with live flower buds on it, what affect would that have on the worldview of the devout skeptics. It would seem some adjustments would have to be made.

    Posted by The One on November 26,2007 | 09:55PM

    "...while providing no proof to support their take." Except the burden of proof is on those who make the claim it is real. Besides, the magic man won't let anyone see the magic box.

    Posted by john on November 26,2007 | 11:03PM

    Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. For anyone to claim that the Ark is in Ethiopia with any authority they would need to present something more convincing than a visit with an lonely old man occupying an even lonelier and older chapel.

    Posted by One-Liner Duke on November 26,2007 | 11:36PM

    The Ark of the Covenant is still in Jerusalem, where Jeremiah hid it. 2 Macabees 2:1-8 (from the Apocrypha) One finds in the records that Jeremiah the prophet ordered those who were being deported to take some of the fire, as has been told, and that the prophet after giving them the law instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord, nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment. And with other similar words he exhorted them that the law should not depart from their hearts. It was also in the writing that the prophet, having received an oracle, ordered that the tent and the ark should follow with him, and that he went out to the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God. And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: "The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. And then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will appear, as they were shown in the case of Moses, and as Solomon asked that the place should be specially consecrated." __________________________________________ Since Jeremiah hid the Ark during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem while the city was surrounded, verse 4 is probably mistaken, as the mountain being referred to is on the far side of the Jordan river. I suspect that the author mistakenly wrote "the mountain where Moses had gone up and had seen the inheritance of God" rather than the mountain Moses saw that was the inheritance of God (Jerusalem and Mount Moriah). The Ark would have been hidden between Jerusalem and the siege wall built by Nebuchadnezzar. And it is there to this day.

    Posted by Berkana on November 26,2007 | 11:58PM

    Well that is a fascinating story and would make a terrific screenplay, but I'm afraid we wouldn't be reading about it if the artifact actually existed.

    Posted by Casual Observer on November 27,2007 | 12:13AM

    Thank God something remains untouched and in mystery. Imagine the PC crowd and media with their hands on the Ark. I thank Mr Raffaele for expending the resources for this article, a contribution that keeps faith & hope alive. Hopefully the faithful will always out number the skeptics. Deacon George

    Posted by Deacon George on November 27,2007 | 07:05AM

    Wouldn't an infrared camera show a metal object if the building is made of stone. I am surprised that with all the travelling expenses incurred, that perhaps some modern technology could/wouldn't have been used to catch a glimpse or confirmed the existance of some metal structure inside. Chance of a wooden structure lasting 3000+ years is slim to nil. I believe that it truly did exsist, but for one culture to hord it seems very greedy to me.... I don't think God would have wanted it that way. He made if for everyone to see and believe.

    Posted by KEVIN on November 27,2007 | 07:17AM

    Santa Claus lives in my basement...no one is allowed to see him but me.

    Posted by Frederick Schmeck on November 27,2007 | 08:10AM

    How many times can the same (non-)story be told? Each time it ends with "Well, we still just don't know if the legend is true or not". The Discovery Channel (or History Channel) did a one-hour program on the possibility of the Ark being in Ethiopia not long ago. It too, not surprisingly, ended with "...and they wouldn't let us see it".

    Posted by Gary on November 27,2007 | 11:56AM

    It is an interesting story but so what?. I am not too sure if this will make Ethiopians proud or humble. One can claim to be a christian. But if the fruit of the life doesn't show, it is a tragedy. Jesus saves!

    Posted by Boez on November 27,2007 | 12:59PM

    Puskara... I'd really like to know what evidence you have that Moses is a mythical person and the exodus never happened. I'm very curious.

    Posted by Brandon on November 27,2007 | 01:27PM

    Ark or no ark, the history and culture of these Ethiopian people lasting through the millenium is rich and facsinating.

    Posted by Arizzzona on November 27,2007 | 01:39PM

    I have heard this story before, giving that the chapel/temple in askum has not been breeched except by those who are supposed to live there and guard it, I suppose that it could be there. Bob Cornuke (sp?) did a video of his search for it, showing the island in the middle of the nile, with the holes in the rock which coorispond accuratly to the dimensions in the bible for the tent over the ark. The ledgends he traces in his travels to Ethiopia, coorespond to the history of the region very well. I guess this like everything esle in the bible is something to be taken on faith. "Faith, believing in things unseen."

    Posted by Michael Alan bridges on November 27,2007 | 05:58PM

    They cannot really show the Arc as they really don't have it. How can you show some thing you dont have.

    Posted by A.J.B.Nazareth on November 27,2007 | 07:10PM

    This was a tremendously fascinating story. Thank you.

    Posted by Bill Parrish on November 27,2007 | 08:08PM

    There is no ark anywhere, and there never was any ark in the first place. This "Ark" legend was produced in Egypt where the Kibre Negest and Fitha Negest were first writen inorder to impose and keep Ethiopia under a "Solomonic" dynast. Ethiopian historians such as Dr. Lapiso Delaebo and Dr. Taddese Tamrat have writen on the subject and they have shown that the story of Queen of Sheba and king solomon to be a legend. But this legend has taken a life of its own, especially in Ethiopia where the Ethiopian Orthodox church, a church that was very much attached to the "Solomonic" dynast that was ruling Ethiopia from around 12th century up until it was over-thrown in 1974 by popular revolt. Ethiopians are believers, and if there was any thing that was able to help Ethiopians during their famine when families starved to death during 70s and 80s the Emperor, and after him, the Derg, would have done something about the Ark.

    Posted by abebech gemeda on November 27,2007 | 10:24PM

    One friend in Australia, a person who was deeply interested in this topic, told me the ark has been discovered in a cave right below the crucifixion site where it was positioned so that the blood o the Lord flowing down the cross dripped on the mercy seat. The story seems to indicate the orthodox Jews keep this fact hidden to the world else they would have to acknowledge the divinity of One they refused and are still refusing. I have also understood from the story there exists a tremendous friction between the Jews, Christians and Muslims concerning this particular peace of real estate. In my view it would be one of the greatest news this world has ever known if the ark was shown to have its recorded content: the tablets of law written by the hand of God, pot of manna to prove how the Israelites were fed in wilderness and also the budding rod of Aaron. All the items are miracles by God's power and He may yet unhide them for all to see. However, blessed are those who did not see and believed.

    Posted by Andy Beach on November 27,2007 | 10:57PM

    I am surprised that Israel is not more interested in this potential Holy object. Especially at a time of such national peril! Do you suppose they might try to have it returned?

    Posted by Nigel on November 28,2007 | 12:02AM

    Most commentators here want to see it before they believe it actually exists... This is where a believer differs from a materialist. The main point is those people keep their faith, value it and live by it; if the tradition is to keep it away from ordinary people, that is what they do. They do not care whether you belive it or not. Take it or leave it, the Ark is there.

    Posted by Ewne on November 28,2007 | 02:42AM

    Don't you know that Jeremiah took the Ark with him to the British Isles along with the stone that Jacob used as a pillow? It's all in the indisputable historical book entitled "The Scepter and The Birthright".

    Posted by whataboutbob on November 28,2007 | 03:15AM

    I receive regular emails from Ethiopia. I am told that I am a winner in a national lottery, or I am a recipient of a large amount on money In a bank account. All I need to do is send 1,700 dollars to help the process move forward. And all these mails are being sent from inside that building!! People want to believe in anything intangible that gives them hope. We live in a world that is becoming more chaotic by the moment, and this chaos is fueled by overpopulation and greed. Let's hope that this ark exists. It can bring us peace and a beautiful new world. And if it does not exist... well, I bought the T shirt.

    Posted by Mr. Ficheye on November 28,2007 | 03:16AM

    The absence of EVIDENCE...does NOT necessarily conclude there is evidence of ABSENCE...in the context of the Ark, its existence and/or location... Interesting article!

    Posted by Steve Belt on November 28,2007 | 04:23AM

    ( Berkana’s post of November 26,2007 pointed out some truth.) In the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem none of the artifacts taken listed the Ark, and they kept detailed lists of everything they did. Jeremiah buried the Ark outside the city in an underground passage way and sealed it up. In a blog I read some time ago, an archeologist believes he has proof that it was buried under Golgotha. Strange, but it makes sense to me, as the blood of Jesus may very well dripped down upon the Mercy seat keeping with Mosaic temple laws of the sacrificed lamb. Something to think about!

    Posted by Vince Martone on November 28,2007 | 05:26AM

    Suffice it that the Ethiopians believe they are in possession of the Holy Ark. Our belief is neither required nor requested. They grant to us the telling of the story of how they came into its possession and they allow us to consider their faith in that story. For the believer, no more proof is needed. For the doubter, no proof would ever be enough. The balance has now been struck between the known and the unknown.

    Posted by Redoubt on November 28,2007 | 06:40AM

    God bless Ethiopia and the Ethiopians who are the guardians of the "ARK". AMEN

    Posted by Tesfaye Tadesse (Cdr. Rtrd.) on November 28,2007 | 06:53AM

    Actually the Queen of Sheba were from Yoruba land in Nigeria. The English researchers have found the site in Ogun state. In fact it is out side of an ancient city north of Lagos. In fact my wife is from there from a royal family older then the royal family of England. It is rather sad this information has not been dispenced to the public. The fact of underminding the bible I guess is at stake or to think that Sheba is too far away from Europe is another problem. Let truth ring. O'yes did I mention Noah's ark? This is another story of the ark in Nigeria outside of another historical city in Yoruba land. To think that God would put his people where food grow in abundance is crazy right? Well the idea that God would place Noah in a mountainous area where nothing grows is another crazy idea.

    Posted by Horace J. Batiste on November 28,2007 | 06:58AM

    At least one person outside the chapel has seen it- Mengistu the former dictator. He's still alive living in Zimbabwe perhaps someone could ask him what it looks like. I understand that it has been made reasonably clear that what is in the chapel is a tabot, ie carved tablet, not a box. I read some similar article which suggests that this is the case. I think that there has been some linguistic confusion. The Ethiopians call the original Ark tabot, they also call the tablets they have in every church tabot. The one in Aksum is said, in some sense, to be the original tabot, so there is a mix up and they think they have the Ark. The British museum has some tabots, or tabotat to use the Ethiopian plural. Some are wood, some are stone, they varyin size and style, so to call them replicas seems to me to be stretching it. Unofortunately as I typed this the left hand edge of the page was concealed, so I can't actually see all that I have typed. Apologies for any typing errors.

    Posted by Ivan Viehoff on November 28,2007 | 07:24AM

    It is stories like these which stray us from the truth, which will be revealed when He is ready.

    Posted by Tom on November 28,2007 | 08:02AM

    The story is BS; when Italy invaded and occupied Ethiopa b/f WWII, they easily could have taken it. I'm sure that had the ark been real, it would've been made Mussolini's greatest stolen treasure.

    Posted by Ron on November 28,2007 | 08:13AM

    The story is meant to test your faith. If you believe, the story is enough justification. If not you're no better off with or without it. Simple as that.

    Posted by Pr0x1 on November 28,2007 | 08:43AM

    Fascinating story indeed! Further, if a rumoured Fourth Temple is built in Jerusalem on the Messiah's return, you can be sure the original ark (wherever it may be) will also return with unprecedented fanfare. Why hasn't anyone mentioned Revelation 11:19 in which the Apostle John declares he saw the ark in heaven?

    Posted by lifeway731 on November 28,2007 | 08:53AM

    heh ... I will wager that the Arc is not in that shrine, but I'll also wager that they do have it tucked away elsewhere, safely out of reach of 30 centuries of journalists, thieves and commandos.

    Posted by mrG on November 28,2007 | 08:54AM

    Maybe they THINK that what they have is indeed the Ark, but I really think otherwise. If people really thought this, they would of killed every last one of them to find it.

    Posted by jim on November 28,2007 | 09:38AM

    Fascinating! But the author pointed something out, that kind of got me thinking. This place was under communist control. What is one of the first things that communists would do in a place like this? I am pretty sure that this place would of been one of their first raids in order to prove its lack of value as a social entity per se. I do not say communists are not religious, but for the time frame pointed out, mysticism and myth does not equate to productivity of the populace so that "Ark" would of had to go. How does the author explain that not happening?

    Posted by L_Clavell on November 28,2007 | 09:53AM

    HOW DID THESE PEOPLE GET THE ARK INTO SUDAN WITHOUT TOUCHING IT..BECAUSE THE BIBLE IS CLEAR WHEN WE READ THAT NO MAN CAN TOUCH THE ARK. IN 70 AD THE ROMANS TOOK EVERYTHING OUT OF THE TEMPLE GOLD SLIVER AND THE ARK...BECAUSE IT WAS STILL THERE AT THE TIME JOHANN DOHMANN USA.

    Posted by JOHANN DOHMANN on November 28,2007 | 12:22PM

    I read all the comments and it is surprising that people just throw their comments. You do not have to see to believe if you have faith. Even seeing a queen or a king requires certain restriction let along seeing the arc filled with God's power. Asking to see the arc is like asking to see GOD. The bible states the same way of handling that only the Levi priest was allowed. The fact that the guardian dedicates his life to serve God is a sign of faith that most of us can not able to do. For those of you who commented on the power of the arc or try to use technology or overpower the guardian or test the power of Ethiopian to protect the arc, you should go there and see if you still feel trying to do a wrong move. These people are well known in history to protect their country from invaders. BTW Ethiopia is the only country that has never been colonized by western. They have kept their religion and tradition for years and years that tell you how important it is to them. Someone mentioned about Bob Cornuke. He lived their for 10 years I don't thing he was able to talk to the guardian at all and I believe Mr. Raffaele was blessed to see and talk to the guardian. Thank you Mr. Raffaele for sharing this fascinating story. I trust the faithful will always out number the skeptics.

    Posted by Mine on November 28,2007 | 12:29PM

    A careful reading of the Book of Revelation will reveal the exact location of the Ark of the Covenant. Which was replaced with a new and better covenant which nobody can break. People seem not to know much about either the old Covenant or the NEW ONE! Sign me: Nan

    Posted by Nancy McLeod on November 28,2007 | 01:06PM

    Actually, the idea that only one person is allowed to see it or be in the same room with it is in line with scripture. During all the time the ark was in the tabernacle and all the time it was in the temple(s), only one person was allowed to enter the room where it was kept and then, only once a year. So, that part of the story sounds realistic. As for what the communists would or would not do...as much trouble as they're having with the Tibetan monks, I wonder if they might have felt it was safer to let it alone. Historically, the ark made disbelievers very ill. I wouldn't want to mess with it. Interestingly enough, the more science uncovers, the more it proves the stories of the Bible e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah, light as the source of creation, and others. We live in such exciting times because now we have the opportunity to see how the events of the Bible really happened!

    Posted by L Walker on November 28,2007 | 02:41PM

    seems like National Geographic has beaten Smithsonian to the punch. Check out http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/07/01/html/ft_20010701.6.html?source=33AF for a nearly identical travelogue from 2000.

    Posted by heavy reader on November 28,2007 | 04:39PM

    after reading all these comments ill have to go with rev 11-19 where john said he saw it in heaven

    Posted by elwood on November 28,2007 | 04:44PM

    "The tabots (pronounced "TA-bots") are replicas of the tablets in the ark, and every church in Ethiopia has a set, kept in its own holy of holies." From the bible, we know that: "But God struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they had looked into the ark of the LORD." - 1 Samuel 6:19a (NIV) "When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God." - 2 Samuel 6:6-7 (NIV) So, I'm just wondering how the Ethiopian church made replicas of the tablets since no one should survive after looking into or even touching the ark.

    Posted by Patrick Tay on November 28,2007 | 07:45PM

    What a crock of an article. How beneath the Smithsonian. The guy goes all the way to Ethiopia and comes back with nothing? Not a shred of proof? Just hearsay?

    Posted by jamie on November 28,2007 | 08:57PM

    Revelation 11:19 19Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

    Posted by Mark Honeycutt on November 28,2007 | 08:58PM

    Hey, folks, don't take yourselves so seriously! Does it really matter? Through the article I learned more than I ever knew about Ethiopia, and what a treat to learn about a place that I've never been. Since all of religion is a myth, why is it so important to zero in on this one in an attempt to prove or disprove authenticity. We're not talking empirical method here. Why don't you save your pennies and take a trip to Ethiopia to participate in the rituals that have been described. There are many Ethiopians at my job. They are warm and delightful people. Go visit their country, get acquainted with them and worry less about the meaning of the ark. From the Ethiopian restaurants in our area, I've learned that they have great food, so GO, MAKE FRIENDS, EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS, and ENJOY! Life is much too short to get hung up on such trivia.

    Posted by Webb Naas on November 28,2007 | 09:13PM

    The Ark is in the UK, as stated in the book The Discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, by Grant Berkley, Trafford Publishing. Don't prejudge before reading the background material, or seeing the photos of the site, with obvious archaeological evidential clues.

    Posted by mjromanko@earthlink.net on November 28,2007 | 09:21PM

    Amos.9 9:7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Then GOD kept the holy of holy to the right place. You people are thinking material world and no soul belive this kind of facts. For Ethiopia this is not a problem that you belive or not. The main point is this very valuable GOD's gift make people strong in their phase and dignity. Please go and look at the people of Ethiopia and you can read how they proud people.Every country good time and bad time and do not look how this people dressing and living, but inside they have buitiful strong enovgh reliogion that keep them touch with GOD. They do not have like 7-eleven church that to benfit material.This country one of the first GOD creating people destination. existing many centuries. Another fact is that ADAM is from Ethiopia,The four rivers that flow to ADEN is ethiopian river, The wife of Mosses is Ethiopian, God talk through his prophets more than fourty times in the bible. Does thes facts false? Even Mousseloni lost his invasion? Yes because the people of Ethiopia carried the holy ark and fight him with the help of GOD and look at this people never colnize and free people. Go see how any white people to Ethiopia and see how this people proud and great people. Do not look what your white skin. The skin ethiopian is no body can get because the God itself say about it and read more the bible if you want to know The Great Ethiopian people history. Finally The ARK is there belive or not.

    Posted by Tesfaye on November 28,2007 | 09:43PM

    Genesis 2:13: And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia Numbers 12:1: And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman Psalms 68:31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. 87:4I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. 43:3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Daniel 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. Amos.9 9:7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? Zephaniah 2:12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword. 3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering NEW TESTAMENT Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.

    Posted by Tesfaye on November 28,2007 | 09:55PM

    Actually he true Ark of the Covenant is in my house along with the TRUE Spear of Destiny and the Shroud of Turin, however being a bachelor my rooms are so messy they'll never find them! At least not until I find the true HolY Grail AKA (a preferibly female) "San Graal" that I can be the Baby Daddy of Jesus II. -Yoda (Who's just being silly) Cool Article though. -Yoda

    Posted by J.M.Yoda AKA Rob Kowal on November 29,2007 | 12:31AM

    Dear Mr. Raffaele, I would like to point out that Sign and the Seal is not out of print. If you go to Amazon it is available at: http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Seal-Quest-Lost-Covenant/dp/0671865412/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196342079&sr=8-1 I couldn't help but notice that you relied very heavy on Graham Hancock's book, I'm sure it was just an oversight that you referenced his book as out of print. Thank you, Steve Detwiler

    Posted by Steve Detwiler on November 29,2007 | 05:19AM

    Faith does not require any proof. If anyone has doubt, can take the trip and see what will happen after seeing THE ARK. It is that easy if you require proof from God. God’s willpower shall prevail in that land eternally . Thank you for this interesting article.

    Posted by Mofo on November 29,2007 | 07:43AM

    I would like to know where we can see more of the beautiful depictions of Mary and Jesus, and whether prints are available. European artists' depictions of the Holy Family, Christmas, the lives of Jesus and Christian disciples are everywhere, but more diverse and authentic images are so hard to come by! When our December issue of the Smithsonian arrived the other day, I was delighted to see an alternate perspective on the upcoming holy season boldly featured on its cover. I believe alternate models of discourse enrich our thinking and strengthen our capacities for connecting with one another. I'm touched by the humility and devotion of the worshipers. Wouldn't it be interesting to read more stories and see more illustrations about people's devotions to Jesus and his mother, presented from post-colonial perspectives in public journals? I'd also love to know more about the geography, histories and cultures of the people in the highlands of Eritrea-Ethiopia. Raffaele's article is prompting an interesting dialogue: How cool is that! Best regards to all, Marie-Celeste

    Posted by Marie-Celeste Condon Weisenburg on November 29,2007 | 08:03AM

    Hi my name is Johnathan. I personaly like this article because I love to read about history at any time. Johnathan

    Posted by Johnathan Brinkley on November 29,2007 | 10:20AM

    First of all, anyone who can believe that the Lord of the Universe lives in a box needs help. Secondly, as Graham Hancock reasonably deduces in his book "The Sign and the Seal", the Ark may well have been (or still is) a potent instrument employing little-known technology for generating a huge electrical capacitance. That alone would have awed people in ancient times. The Egyptians knew something about solar and electrical power, and Ark-like structures (complete with winged beings) are known from their carvings and murals. I find nothing odd in the idea of an ancient object remaining intact - who knows what is in the Great Pyramid which undoubtedly has not yet revealed all its interior structures? Even so, it's stretching credulity a little to accept the insistence of the Guardian of the Ark that NO-ONE can be allowed to see what is, after all, a man-made creation, however intriguing. Superstition not science is at work here unfortunately.

    Posted by Phil Senior on November 29,2007 | 10:34AM

    Organized Religion is so backward and archaic...when do we leave that pernicious creation behind and move together as a species...as one? EARTH TO EARTH...WE ALL WORSHIP THE SAME GOD, AND GOD IS LOVE...there can be no greater truth...

    Posted by Eric on November 29,2007 | 12:09PM

    Fake! No one has the Ark and if they did would present it to the world to prove their God is real. Only one man can ever see the Ark? How does anyone know that he is telling the truth?

    Posted by Brains on November 29,2007 | 12:10PM

    Anybody want to address the DNA testing of Etheopians in the late 90's that showed MC DNA 99% matches with decendents of old testiment patriarchs? Very high groups of decendents of Isreal who intermixed with the local population over the years. Faces changed but tradition did not... Thank on that if you will.

    Posted by Corey Goode on November 29,2007 | 08:23PM

    The question as to whether or not the Ark *really* exists is of interest only to literalists, whether those of religious or materialist bent. It's appalling to me that people have lost appreciation for the aesthetics of mystery and ambiguity. Not everything HAS to be resolved in a black-or-white, either-it-is-or-isn't, fashion. Metaphor, imagery, myth, narrative---all these are powerful aspects of human understanding that really don't need or care about the literal truth of a proposition. "Show me the goods or else I won't believe." Who cares if you believe or not? I mean, seriously. Who are you? "Let's take infrared pictures or raid the place and then we'll know." While you're at it, why don't you kill your lover and remove her heart, just to confirm that she really loved you from the bottom of it? See what I mean. Literalism and positivism don't always equal smart. Enjoy the travelogue. Savor the images that the storyteller presents. Wonder about millennia past and about what might have happened. Appreciate that not everything needs to be resolved in either/or terms. Recognize that truth and fact need not always be synonymous. Otherwise, you're just a bean counter, which is kind of sad.

    Posted by Jason B.P. Mierek on November 30,2007 | 09:56AM

    The question as to whether or not the Ark *really* exists is of interest only to literalists, whether those of religious or materialist bent. It's appalling to me that people have lost appreciation for the aesthetics of mystery and ambiguity. Not everything HAS to be resolved in a black-or-white, either-it-is-or-isn't, fashion. Metaphor, imagery, myth, narrative---all these are powerful aspects of human understanding that really don't need or care about the literal truth of a proposition. "Show me the goods or else I won't believe." Who cares if you believe or not? I mean, seriously. Who are you? "Let's take infrared pictures or raid the place and then we'll know." While you're at it, why don't you kill your lover and remove her heart, just to confirm that she really loved you from the bottom of it? See what I mean. Literalism and positivism don't always equal smart. Enjoy the travelogue. Savor the images that the storyteller presents. Wonder about millennia past and about what might have happened. Appreciate that not everything needs to be resolved in either/or terms. Recognize that truth and fact need not always be synonymous. Otherwise, you're just a bean counter, which is kind of sad.

    Posted by Jason B.P. Mierek on November 30,2007 | 09:59AM

    Is it true that the entire collection of Old Testament stories are a fiction, mythology, borrowed myths from prior and surrounding civilisations? Yes. See: http://tinyurl.com/2tnhwe The above is based on fact: archeology. The magazine story is based upon myth, nothing more.

    Posted by Roland on November 30,2007 | 12:18PM

    Wasn't the entire Old Testament a foreshadow and Type of the Main Event to come ? Old wineskins won't hold new wine. The Old accomplished it's purpose....leading to the Way. Ralph Gaily

    Posted by Ralph Gaily on November 30,2007 | 04:14PM

    Yes i belive the arc existance,and if they say so for sure it is in ethiopia.but the argument actualy is just to reffer that how could be in such poor and black country,but the fact is in terms of belife, it is just the contrary.It is not a comodity,it is not a government or diplomatical issue,but it is a spiritual and god things and i guss only few holly persons have a knoladge where about.Finally it is a god will when will be seen by all of us.Even it doesn't matter where the arc is,but it matter it's existance some were and we value it.

    Posted by sam on November 30,2007 | 06:17PM

    Thanks, Paul and the Simithoian for this insightful account on Ethiopian history, culture and belief system. Discounting the Ethiopian history is just the same as discounting the existance of all religous faith. Face it, you can't have a black and white proof for religious belief system, whether it is christianity, judaisum, budhisum, moslim, hindusim, etc. We base our belief system based on faith. Why is it so hard to acknowledge Ethiopians claim? I have read what little written information I could find on Ethiopian history and find it fascinating. Their culture is like going back into the bilblical era and their language, Amharic is similar to Aramiac, the language of Christ. I sat next to an Ethiopian friend in a movie theatre watching, 'The Passion of Christ' and she understood most of what they were saying. Let's not put a price tag on this graceful culture. Let them preserve what is left of their rich history.

    Posted by Sally on December 1,2007 | 06:36AM

    Paul Raffaele's article is extremely interesting and has aroused my interest in seeking other resources that provide additional information on Christians in Ethiopia, both at the time of the ark's appearance in Ethiopia and today's Christian relevance in Ethiopia. Could you provide me such a list of references or direct me to a source(s) where I could find this material? Thank you.

    Posted by Edward J. Shephard on December 1,2007 | 11:14AM

    "You must have faith in things unseen." The modern world has lost faith, we do not believe in things, which cannot be proven by science. Yet, we still have faith that tomorrow, our sun will rise, and we will have air to breathe. The sacred items of God are not meant to be found, or brought forth to the light of the world. Just as God buried Moses, so that he would not be martyred, and his grave site would be made into a shrine. Likewise, was done with the biblical artifacts of God. An interesting question must be asked. If the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of Noah were to be discovered, and brought forth to the world. "Who would be more important the artifact, or creator of it?"

    Posted by Oren 1 Chronicles 26 on December 1,2007 | 11:49AM

    We should embark on a mystical adventure to reclaim it in the name of history, but then sell it on ebay. Then that money could go to feed all of Africa so Bill Gates wouldn't have to send them all of his money.

    Posted by Indiana Jones on December 1,2007 | 02:14PM

    Yee of little,or NO faith.

    Posted by tmilesjr on December 1,2007 | 02:16PM

    Just like God has hidden the burial site of Moses so that the site would not become a shrine which would take man's eyes away from God, He has done the same with the ark. The biblical ark was meant by God to be His representation of His manifest physical Presence to His people nation of Israel. In this way it was a token forshadowing of the ultimate Presence of God Himself amongst mankind when He came as the Lord Jesus. God has hidden or destroyed the ark, or at least the ravages of time has consumed it. What the ark forshadowed has found it's fulfillment in Jesus Who John 1:1-3 and Revelation 1:8 tells us is the Almighty God Who created us and leventually redeemed us. Of what value then is a box?

    Posted by Seth Schlifer on December 1,2007 | 02:16PM

    It has not been debunked in that nobody has ever seen the ark within the walls of that place. It is not a myth as we know that it existed; however, it remains unproven due to the fact that those who protect it will not allow it to be seen, touched or tested. I have spent my life studying the so-called ark lore and I do not find it settled, on either side.

    Posted by Paul on December 1,2007 | 02:17PM

    I believe the ark exsists. Yet I am not the one telling the world I have it. IF they actually have the Ark then show it. As the ole saying goes "Put up or shut up"

    Posted by Terry on December 1,2007 | 02:17PM

    Just like God has hidden the burial site of Moses so that the site would not become a shrine which would take man's eyes away from God, He has done the same with the ark. The biblical ark was meant by God to be His representation of His manifest physical Presence to His people nation of Israel. In this way it was a token forshadowing of the ultimate Presence of God Himself amongst mankind when He came as the Lord Jesus. God has hidden or destroyed the ark, or at least the ravages of time has consumed it. What the ark forshadowed has found it's fulfillment in Jesus Who John 1:1-3 and Revelation 1:8 tells us is the Almighty God Who created us and leventually redeemed us. Of what value then is a box?

    Posted by Seth Schlifer on December 1,2007 | 02:17PM

    There's nothing new about this story. I've heard about the Ethiopians protecting what they believe to be the Ark of the Covenant since I was a kid. I find it humorous how all of a sudden it's something new. I do believe that they just might have it. For all we know they do. The fact that it was lost means that it could have ended up anywhere. The thought of a group of people, believing so much, saying they have, and have had the ark, for so long is amazing in itself.

    Posted by Rey on December 1,2007 | 02:20PM

    please lets face it the only country that still have the treasures from the beginning of the bible is Ethiopia and it's a country that we all want to visit and see that building of Aksum and the lalibela. so I think and know that the ark is in Aksum, Ethiopia and it belongs to the beautiful country of Ethiopia and her People as well. so I will say buck of becuase it's a treasure that was given to us the people of Ethiopia as a gift from God our Father. thanks just being cerious and have to give my comment to this response.

    Posted by Shumet on December 1,2007 | 02:21PM

    o the ark the acacia drawn nigh

    Posted by Yu Sareba on December 1,2007 | 02:21PM