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were later returned by the Persians, but the Ark was not discussed. So, either the Ark was
destroyed along with the Temple (possibly indicated by the destruction of the “goodly vessels” in
2 Chronicles 36:19), or the Ark was hidden before it could be found.
When Rome invaded Judea in 63 BC, and the Roman General Pompey swept through
Jerusalem, entering the Temple, and the Holy of Holies, it was empty. Jewish history records the
high priest making his offering upon the foundation stone of the Holy of Holies, and not the Ark.
After Titus returned to Rome with some of the Temple treasure, the Arch of Triumph (or Arch of
Titus) was built in 81 AD at the entrance to the Forum, in the Palatine section of Rome, to
commemorate his victory. It depicted the seven-branched candelabra known as the menorah
(with an octagonal base, rather than a three-legged stand, which it actually has; which could
indicate that it was a duplicate kept in the Treasury), the golden table of the showbread, and the
seven trumpets of the Jubilee. The Ark is not pictured, thus adding to the evidence that the Ark
was not in the second Temple, and has been hidden.
According to the Mishnah (Sotah 9a), after the Temple was built, the Tabernacle was stored
under the “crypts of the Temple.” It is believed that King Solomon constructed a secret chamber
in the recesses of the Temple Mount to hide the Ark, which is where it was placed during the
reign of Manasseh. Jewish tradition has held that the Ark and the Altar of Incense were hidden in
a secret location under a woodshed on the western side of the Temple, near the Holy of Holies.
This is not such a far-fetched idea when you realize that under the city of Jerusalem there is
an underground city consisting of a number of tunnels, chambers, and cisterns; which were
created to establish a water storage system, as quarters for guards, chambers to hold sacrificial
animals, rooms containing ritual bathing areas, prison cells, and storage areas for Temple
treasures. The best known of these subterranean areas is Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was
constructed to make sure Jerusalem would have fresh water in case the city was attacked. It
started at Gihon Spring, and ran for a third of a mile, through solid rock, spilling into the Pool of
Siloam. An escape tunnel used by King Zedekiah which ran from the Tower of Antonia, to a
point near the Eastern Gate, emerging outside the walls of the city, covering a distance of over
8,000 feet.
The nine original members of the Knights Templar were received by King Baldwin I
(Baudouin) in Jerusalem in 1119, and they established their headquarters in a wing of the al-
Aqsa Mosque, which had been converted to a palace. They were given complete access to the
palace and various outbuildings which were on the site where Solomon’s Temple originally
stood, which was adjacent to the Dome of the Rock. Although their goal was “to keep the road
from the coast to Jerusalem free from bandits,” for nine years they rarely left the palace grounds.
It was an unrealistic pledge, because it would have been difficult for the nine to patrol this fifty
mile road; besides, a military order known as the Knights of Saint John were already performing
that task before the Templars showed up. It is now known that they had some knowledge about
the Temple treasures, because there is evidence which indicates that they were engaged in a
massive excavation project.
Vast arched subterranean rooms were used by Knights during the Crusades to keep horses,
and were known as “Solomon’s Stables.” The Templars were aware of these hidden areas
underneath the Temple grounds, and believed that the Ark would be found there. They mounted
an operation to plunder whatever treasurers they could find. Although it is questionable that they
found the Ark, it is believed that they discovered treasure, relics and ancient manuscripts dating
back to the time of Moses. Israeli archaeologists, engaged in excavations on the southern side of
the Mount, found the exit point of a tunnel which had been dug by the Templars. It lead inward