Indiana Jones: Lost Ark of the Covenant 'traced to Ethiopia'

German archaeologists have claimed to have found one of the fabled resting places of the Ark of the Covenant, the chest holding the Ten Commandments which gave the ancient Israelites their power.

By UK foreign staff
Published: 11:08AM BST 13 May 2008

Hollywood's Indiana Jones set on a quest for the Ark Photo: AP

The University of Hamburg say its researchers have found the remains of the 10th century BC palace of the Queen of Sheba in Axum, Ethiopia, and an altar which at one time reputedly held the precious treasure. Archaeologist Helmut Ziegert, who is leading the dig said: "From the dating, its position and the details that we have found, I am sure that this is the palace."

Ethiopian legends holds that the Ark was taken to the palace of the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon, the king of the Jews, after they fell in love. After the Queen's death her son, Menelek, rebuilt the palace and dedicated it to the cult of Sirius, but kept the Ark in its resting place there.

The team said evidence at the site included Sirius symbols, the debris of sacrifices and the alignment of sacred buildings to the rising-point of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. "The results we have suggest that a Cult of Sothis developed in Ethiopia with the arrival of Judaism and the Ark of the Covenant and continued until 600 AD," the university said. Sothis is the ancient Greek name for Sirius.

The German research, which began in 1999, is aimed at documenting the origins of the Ethiopian state and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The hunt for the Ark, which featured in the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, has become almost as legendary as the artefact itself. The 1981 film has the artefact recovered by the Nazis from a resting place in the "Well of Souls" in Tanis, Egypt – not to be confused with the Well of Souls on Temple Mount, Jerusalem. The Nazi treasure hunters are later killed when the Ark is opened.

The Old Testament recounts that Moses, on leading the Israelites from Egypt, received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. These Commandments, written on stone tablets, were later placed in a chest made from acacia wood, plated with gold and topped with two golden angels. This was the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark was then kept in the Temple of Solomon Jerusalem for centuries, according to the Old Testament. After Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC, the Bible and it entered the realm of legend. Ethiopian tradition claims that the Ark was moved to Axum from Jerusalem in 10th century BC. A sect in Ethiopia maintains that the Ark is kept at the church of St Mary of Zion, but the site is defended by monks and only one guardian is allowed to see it, making the claim impossible to verify

Human Biology

Volume 75, Number 2, April 2003

E-ISSN: 1534-6617 Print ISSN: 0018-7143

DOI: 10.1353/hub.2003.0036

Scacchi, R.
De Stefano, G. F.
Ruggeri, M.
Corbo, R. M.
Genetic Variation at Apolipoprotein E Locus in Ethiopia: An E5 Variant Corresponds to Two Different Mutant Alleles: E*5 (Glu212Lys) and E*5 (Gln204Lys; Cys112Arg)
Human Biology - Volume 75, Number 2, April 2003, pp. 293-300

Wayne State University Press

A previous investigation on apolipoprotein E polymorphism in the Ethiopian population highlighted the presence of a further variant allele named E*5 in addition to the three common alleles. The variant is considered rare elsewhere but has a frequency of more than 1% in this population. Now characterized by gene sequencing and restriction isotyping in many members of the families of the original carriers, the variant isoform has actually been found to be determined by two different gene mutations. Effectively rare in Ethiopians, one of the two, E5 (Gln204Lys, Cys112Arg), has never been described before. The other, E5 (Glu212Lys), previously described in a subject of Turkish origin, is present at the polymorphic level only in the Ethiopian population. No subjects bearing these variants had anomalous lipid or apolipoprotein patterns. In the course of the present investigation both have been found to occur as rare variants in the southern Italian population as well. The occurrence of the two variants in the populations of Ethiopia and of the Mediterranean basin could be explained by taking into account the relevant Caucasoid contribution to the Ethiopian gene pool.

Keepers of The Lost Tabot

አክሱም ጺዩን በአንደበታቸው

በአለም ላይ ይህ እጅግ በጣም የሚፈራ እና ድንቅ ተአምራትን የሚሰራው ታቦተ ህግ ለብዙ ሺህ አመታት ተጠብቆ የሚገኘው አክሱም ጺዮን ውስጥ መሆኑን በልበ ሙሉነት የምትናገረው ኢትዩጵያ ብቻ ብትሆንም የቀድሞ ባለቤቶቿ ግን ፈጽሞ ሊዋጥላቸው አልቻልም በርግጥም ጺዮን ለምን ለኢትዩጵያ እና ለኢትዩጵያውያን እንደማይገባን ሲናገሩም አይደመጡም ?... አሁንም ባገኙት አጋጣሚ ሁሉ ታቦተ ጺዮንን ፍለጋ የማወጡት ተራራ የማይፈነቅሉት ድንጋይ የለም ። እንደ እነ ኢንዲያና ጆን የመሳሰሉ የሆሊውድ ተረቶችን ጨምሮ ልፋ ያለው …..

እንዴት ተደርጎ ወደ ኢትዩጵያ ውስጥ ይገባል፣ የማይሆን ነገር ነው፣ አፈ ታሪክ ነው፣ ሳባ አረብ ናት፣ቀዳማዊ ሚኒልክ የኢትዩጵያውያን ፈጠራ ነው ሲሉ ይቆዩኑና አይናቸውን በጨው አጥበው ደግሞ ትግራይ ነው ያለው፣ መጀመርያ ያረፈው ጣና ደሴት ላይ ነው አብረው የመጡትም እዛው ተቀብረዋል፣ ትክክልኛዋ ጺዩን እንዳትታወቅ 50000 ተመሳሳይ ጽላቶችን ሰርተዋል ፣ በደናግላን ነው የምትጠበቀው ይሉናል። እንደገና ይመለሱ እና እውን ታቦተ ጺዩን በኢትዩጵያውያን እጅ ከሆነች ለምን በድርቅ፣ በረሃብ፣ በበሽታ፣ብስደት፣በርስ በርስ ጦርነት፣በዘርኝነት፣በጎጥኝነት፣ በመልካም አስትዳደር እጦት ይሰቃያሉ ይላሉ ። ወዲያው ይመለሱ እና እንደ ኢትዩጵያውያን ጠላቶች መብዛት፣ እና እስካሁን እንደ ተሳተፉበት ጦርነት ቢሆን ኖሮ ካለ ታቦተ ጺዩን ጠባቂነት ኢትዩጵያ እንደ ሃገር እዚህ ምድር ላይ አትኖርም ነበር መሬት መንቀጥቀጥ አያውቁ፣ቶርኔቶ አያውቁ፣ሱናሚ አያውቁ፣ ብለው ይሉናል።

እንድገና ሌላ ጨዋታ ይጀምራሉ የጽላቱ ሃይል በምድር ላይ የሚያክለው የለም፣ በጦር ሜዳ ላይ በቅጽበት ድልን ያቀዳጃል፣ የዚህን ሀይል የሚለካ መሳሪያ የለንም፣ ከኒውክለር ይበልጣል ሲሉ ይቆዩና፣ ተመልሰው ጽላቱን በአይናችን እንየው፣ ብእጃችን እንንካው፣በአይናችን እንድናይ እስካልተፈቀደልን ድረስ ጽላቱ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ መኖሩን አንቀበልም አሁን ደግሞ ሙዝየም ውስጥ ይቀመጥልን እያሉ ባግኙት አጋጣሚ ሁሉ ይውተውታሉ ፣ አንዳንዴማ ጆሮ አይሰማው የለ አይን አያየው የለ እነዚህ ሰዎች በጤናቸው ነው ያስብላል።

ምናልባት ይህንን ሙሴ ከእግዚአብሔር በሲና ተራራ የተቀበለው ታቦተ ህግ በኢትዬጵያ አክሱም ጺዮን ውስጥ እንደሚገኝ በማስረጃ የተደገፈ ግኝት በተከታታይ አራት ክፍል ቀርቦ ሲመለከቱት ምናልባት ከተምታታበት ሃሳባቸውን ፈቅ ሊሉ ይችሉ ይሆናል እርሶም በጽሞና ይከታትሉት ።

ሙሴ ከእግዚአብሔር በሲና ተራራ የተቀበለው ታቦተ ህግ በኢትዬጵያ አክሱም ጺዮን ውስጥ እንደሚገኝ በማስረጃ የተደገፈ ግኝት በተከታታይ አራት ክፍል።

Ark of the Covenant

will not be shown:

Ethiopia priest

Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:08pm GMT

By Tsegaye Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The head of Ethiopia's Orthodox Church on Tuesday denied reports that he is about to unveil to the world the Ark of the Covenant that Moses is said to have stored the Ten Commandments tablets in.

Patriarch Abune Paulos said Italian media had incorrectly reported that he would place the Ark in a museum in the country's north.

Legend has it that the box-shaped Ark has been hidden from sight in Ethiopia since 642 BC.

"I am deeply disappointed that the Italian media misquoted me and disseminated false information about me unveiling the Ark of the Covenant to the world," he said at a news conference.

"It is a fabrication, disinformation."

Some Ethiopians believe that Prince Menelik I -- who is said to be the result of a union between Israel's King Solomon and the Ethiopia Queen of Sheba -- took the Ark from Jerusalem to Ethiopia while he was in power around 950 BC.

"I would like to confirm once again that the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred tablets containing the Ten Commandments that God delivered to Moses are in Ethiopia," Abune added.

Replicas of the Ark are in more than 50,000 Orthodox churches in the Horn of Africa country, the church says.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church says it keeps the Ark in a holy shrine in the north of the country. Only a small number of priests can even go near the room where it is said to be kept.

II Patriarch of Ethiopia: "The world will know the Ark of the Covenant"

 

Roma, 17 giu. (Adnkronos) - Soon the world will admire the Ark of the described in the Bible as the container of the Tables of the Law which God gave to Moses and the center, over the centuries, of research and studies.

He said in an interview exclusive video all 'ADNKRONOS, Ign visible on the site, tested on-line site Adnkronos (www.adnkronos. com), the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia Abuna Pauolos, in these days in Italy for 'G8 of Religions', and that tomorrow will meet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time and to which, "if you ask - continued the Patriarch - tell the whole of part of the current situation."

"The Ark of - reaffirms Pauolos - is in Ethiopia for many centuries. Patriarca As I saw with my own eyes and only a few very qualified people have been able to do the same, so far." According to the patriarch is kept in a church, but to defend the authentic copy of a religious symbol and 'been placed in every church in the country.

The official announcement that the Etopia give the world the keys to the secret part of the millennium, will be given next Friday during a press conference at the Hotel Aldrovandi 14 Rome from the Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, along with Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Selassie, and the Duke Amedeo D'Aosta, which will be in Rome tomorrow morning.

According to some studies, the Ark was stolen from Jerusalem by the son of King Solomon and brought to Axum, regarded as the Jerusalem of Ethiopia. It will rise to Axum Museum named to host the Ark, whose project was funded by the Foundation of the prince, heir-designate to the throne by Haile Selassie before he died, Crhijecllu, acronym of the initials of the names of the children of Prince Christian , Jessica, Clarissa, Lucrezia.

A few weeks ago had been shown around the world the news that would have been seen by a journalist in the Ark authentic Ethiopian church. It 'was then that the Patriarch has gained Pauolos the decision to "say once and for all the world the truth'" on the wooden crate and gold with the Tables of the Law of God. The Patriarch has judged the time ripe to close permanently chapter in which up to now no history, no research, no 'Indiana Jones', was able to write the word order.

The Patriarch of the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church has wanted to be at his side in this adventure, the grandson of the Negus, head of an important family, whose role is recognized both in Ethiopia and abroad. Prince heir who two years ago managed to reconcile the Christian and Muslim factions at the center in Ethiopia for a hard contrast.

It 'started the countdown to finally unveil the mystery of the sacred Ark of the Covenant, capable, according to legend, to release bursts of divine light and lightning can incinerate anyone who was affected, as is effectively described in the cult movie 'I lost part of the predators'. From the fiction film will now be transferred to reality..

Friday press conference with the official announcement, an event was possible thanks to the collaboration of Paul Salerno, collaborator of Prince and the journalist Antonio Parisi, who for several years following the historical events of royal families and the Ethiopian in particular, and of course part of the Alliance.

What is the Ark of the Covenant, one of the greatest mysteries of antiquity on which fantasy, legend and history have continued to interlacing for centuries? The Ark, in Jewish tradition, contained the Tables of the Law, ie the Ten Commandments, and the artefact, acacia wood, was built by Moses. Outside decorations were gold and has long been kept by the Jewish people: it has accompanied its vicissitudes, the battles and defeats, the wanderings and struggles against the Philistines and was kept in various places until the King David is not l 'was placed in the fortress of Jerusalem.

But it is Solomon, son and successor of David, to put the Ark in the Temple of Jerusalem which he himself had built. This story then interwoven with historical events and other religious and national traditions. In fact, the Ark of the disappeared in 586 BC with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the consequent destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem.

However it can be ruined, there is no written testimony, then l 'Arca symbol becomes eternally sought by men and found in various parts of the world, from Africa to the Middle East. Ethiopian tradition places the Ark in the kingdom of Axum, after Solomon had given to the son of the Queen of Sheba, Menelik I. Here, it remained over the centuries protected by Orthodox monks in the city 'in the holy of Lalibela to Axum, where would be today.

The Ark, which is not visible to anybody except a monaco that the guards, is preserved in the complex of the cathedral of Saint Mary of Zion, and 'therefore hidden to all and is carried in procession once a year but wrapped in a cloth .

The Ark has access to the imagination of archaeologists, writers, religious groups, seven of every kind. In fact, tradition states that it adopts a particular power but also that those who were touched fulminates. An object that given its location - the Temple of Jerusalem - has been from time to time in the middle of stories related to Masonry or Templars. However, it should be remembered that there are many churches in Ethiopia and in which 'kept un'''arca'', as well as other scholars - often moving at the edge of mystery and legend - the place in various parts of the world.
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