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true Mt. Sinai, the location on the Red Sea crossing, Noah’s Ark, the 12 altars erected by Moses,
Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham’s family tomb in Hebron. Plus, his work has produced the
most information on the Ark, all of which seems to be compatible with Scripture.
Dr. Gary Collett believes that Maccabees actually refers to Qumran, and says that the layout
of Cave IV is similar to the Temple, and that its lower level may have been the containment
room used by Jeremiah to temporarily protect the Ark. In 1992, two scientists from the
Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science at Tel-Aviv University used a ground-breaking
radar known as a molecular frequency analyzer and a seismic-reflection device near two caves at
the Wadi la-Chippah (‘the dome of the bridge’) which indicated the presence of a room
containing the same sort of pottery known to contain scrolls. Preliminary trenches dug in 1993
failed to turn up anything substantial.
Once Christianity became the official religion of Rome, the treasures plundered by its legions
fell into the possession of the Catholic Church. Nelson Canode, of Amarillo, Texas, a former
Benedictine monk at a monastery at Subiaco, Italy, about 30 miles from Rome, said that he was
taken to a cave, four levels below the monastery, where ancient artifacts were being shuttled
from there to the underground vaults of the Vatican, and included the Ark and the disassembled
Tabernacle. There are many who believe that once Jerusalem becomes an international city, the
Vatican will return any Temple items in their possession.
Because of the research done by Graham Hancock for his book The Sign and the Seal, some
people think the Ark may be in Ethiopia. Menelik I, the royal son of King Solomon, returned to
Ethiopia, after his mother, the Queen of Sheba, died. When he was twenty years old, he returned
to Israel, and Solomon treated him with so much favor, that the elders were jealous and wanted
him to return home. Solomon agreed to send him home, on the condition that the first born sons
of all the elders would go with him. Solomon wanted to give him a replica of the Ark to take
with him. However, Azarius, the son of Zadok, the High Priest, worried about the idol worship
which was flourishing, switched the Arks, and took the real one.
The Ark was taken to Egypt, on the island of Elephantine in the middle of the Nile, near
Aswan, where a temple was built to protect it. It remained there for 200 years, until the temple
was destroyed. The Ark was carried along the Nile, and the Takazze tributary into Ethiopia. They
arrived at Lake Tana, which was considered a holy place. The Ark stayed on the island of Tana
Kirkos for 800 years, where it was taken to the Church of St. Mary of Zion, which had been built
in 372 to hold the Ark. During the 1530’s, when the Muslims attacked, it was moved to safety,
but returned a hundred years later to a rebuilt St. Mary’s, which had been constructed on the
ruins of the first. It remained there until 1965, when Emperor Haile Selassie (who called himself
the “Conquering Lion of Judah” and claimed to be a direct descendent of King Solomon) moved
it to the Church of Zion near the center of Aksum (Axum), in northern Ethiopia. Though the
communists overthrew the monarchy in 1974, killed Selassie, and imprisoned much of the Royal
family, the Ark remained safe because of its reputation for possessing an awesome amount of
power, which has generated enough superstition to prevent people from trying to get to it. During
all these years, the Ark has been guarded by Menelik’s descendents, and the descendents of those
who accompanied him, who became known as ‘Falasha’ (exile) Jews, or the ‘Black Jews’ This
area became part of the independent nation of Eritrea in 1993.
It was alleged, that when Israel became a nation, an appeal was made to Emperor Salassie to
return the Ark. He said: “In principle, I agree that the Ark should be returned to the Temple, but
the correct time has not yet come.” Many researchers believe that the Ark is at the chapel at
Aksum, although it has never been seen.