While listeners of his group are not
archaeologists by trade – they're doctors, nurses,
structural and construction engineers, and businessmen –
they are teaming with professional archaeologists from the
Israel Antiquities Authority, which has sanctioned the dig.
In 1982, Wyatt entered the caves
from a location since sealed, but believed there was an
alternate passageway used by the prophet Jeremiah to protect
the Ark from invading Babylonians some 600 years before the
birth of Christ.
Ironically, during his Ark quest 21
years ago, Wyatt and his crew decided to take a break and go
to the movies. Unaware of what was playing, they were
surprised to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark," which had just
been released.
This summer's research team used
ground-penetrating radar to peer below the surface, trying
to pinpoint the alleged tunnel of Jeremiah.
Rives believes they met great
success while taking samples behind a man-made wall.
"We found a void where Ron said
there would be a passageway," Rives said.
It's at the end of that passageway
where Wyatt believed the sacred container rests.
But once the diggers started
excavating beneath the wall, they encountered a problem
forcing a halt to the hunt.
"We lost our ceiling to prevent
collapse," Rives said. "The people in the antiquities
department insisted we stop and do more architectural
engineering to determine what it would take to continue
safely."
The group is now studying the
situation with experts and hopes to be back in business
within the next six months.
This latest search effort reignites
debate over whether or not the Ark is even located there,
since many theories have sprouted concerning the container's
whereabouts.
Some claim it's
currently in Ethiopia,
having been brought there after a visit to Solomon's Temple
by the ancient Queen of Sheba. Others have suggested the box
is hidden in Spain, Canada, Elephantine Island in Egypt, the
Baltic Sea island of Bornholm and even somewhere in America
near Utah.
The Bible's final mention of the
Ark recounts King Josiah's order to return the chest to the
temple:
Put the Holy Ark in the house
which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build;
it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders. (2
Chronicles 35:3)
Spiros Zodhiates, editor of the
Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, expounds on the Ark's
possible fate subsequent to that verse.
"It may have been carried away by
[Babylonian King] Nebuchadnezzar along with the other saved
articles, when he plundered the temple," Zodhiates writes.
"Since no reference is made to the
Ark by Ezra, Nehemiah or even [Roman historian] Josephus
after the capitivity, it is believed that there was no Ark
in the second temple and that the Holy of Holies [where the
Ark was situated in the temple] stood empty."
Biblical scholar and modern-day
relic hunter Mike Sanders, who has gained notoriety with his
Biblical Mysteries
programs, believes the original Ark was destroyed by a
different pagan king, and a replica was constructed to
replace it.
"The Ark was certainly taken by the
Egyptian King Shishak," Sanders told WorldNetDaily. "There
were obviously subsequent copies made as there were of all
the other temple accoutrements which were also looted many
times over the centuries. This has enabled the myth makers
to come up with many wild and wonderful scenarios."
Sanders believes the Ark's contents
– the stone tablets etched by God with the Ten Commandments
– are located in the foundation deposit of an Egyptian
temple he discovered in the Judean hills.
"Hopefully we will extract the
contents live on the Internet and on television sometime
early next year when the situation in Israel is somewhat
safer," he says.
Sanders is among those critical of
Wyatt's assertions about the Ark.
"When he was alive, I spent some
time asking him questions and asking for evidence
[regarding] his claims. None was ever forthcoming to me or
anyone else," Sanders said. "In those areas where I have
done some investigations, he has proven to be a charlatan."
