Archaeologist pinpoints possible location of the Ark of the Covenant

The location of a chest believed to contain the Ten Commandments has long been a mystery, but now an expert believes he can pinpoint its hiding place.

Archaeologist Dr Chris McKinny has proposed a new theory that suggests the lost Ark of the Covenant resides in the City of David — and he has a plan to prove it.

According to the Bible, the sacred relic, described as an ornate, gold-plated wooden chest, was built by the Israelites shortly after they fled Egypt around the 13th century BC, with Moses placing the Ten Commandments inside.

Some Biblical historians believe the relic was then kept inside the Holy Of Holies: the innermost chamber of the ancient Temple Of Jerusalem, seen only by the high priest of the Israelites on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

However, during the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC, the Bible said the Ark vanished without a trace. 

Though McKinny does not claim to have discovered the Ark of the Covenant or to know its exact location with certainty, he has proposed the Ark could be hidden within underground spaces in the City of David, just south of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Researchers now plan to scan the City of David using powerful technology designed to detect buried metals and hidden chambers deep beneath the surface, Daily Mail reports.

McKinny and his team believe that this technology could detect the Ark, if it still exists, as it is said to be plated with gold both inside and out.

However, he stressed that this remains more of a long-term possibility and theory rather than an active excavation project.

The theory comes from his documentary Legends of the Lost Ark, which was released on April 7, where the archaeologist explores three major theories on what may have happened.

According to McKinny, each of these accounts suggests that the Ark was deliberately hidden to protect it from invading forces to save it from being destroyed or captured, and all feature Jeremiah at the centre of efforts to safeguard the relic.

The first theory, often called the Mount Legend, suggests the Ark was hidden beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Advanced scanning tools could potentially digitally identify tunnels, chambers and concealed spaces beneath Temple Mount which could aid in this search.

According to McKinny this could help gain greater insight into one of archaeology’s biggest blind spots because traditional excavation using ‘the spade or the trowel’ is largely forbidden.

A second legend, known as the Rock Legend, depicts the prophet Jeremiah hiding the Ark at a mysterious rocky site located between two mountains.

The third and oldest legend, often referred to as the Mount Nebo Legend, claims instead that Jeremiah carried the Ark to a cave or tomb on Mount Nebo.

Despite this, the precise location described in the texts still remains unclear.

In a recent interview, McKinny said he is ‘excited and hopeful for what will come from that,’ while acknowledging that significant religious, political and logistical barriers still stand in the way of such work.

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