This major work of historical detection and true adventure reveals how Graham Hancock located the Ark of the Covenant after a search that began in 1983. Acting on the traditional beliefs of millions of Ethiopian Christians and Jews that the Ark was somewhere in their country, Hancock embarked on a quest that would take him through archives in Europe, and to remote corners of the Third World as well as Israel and Egypt. In the course of his investigation he discovered vital connections between this awesomely powerful sacred object and the Knights Templar, the legends of the Holy Grail, Parsifal, and the saga of the Falasha Jews in Ethiopia. The Bible, in more than two hundred detailed references, describes the Ark of the Covenant and delineates its whereabouts up until the time of Solomon (970-931 B.C.). After that it vanishes from the Bible and from the temple built by Solomon to house the Ark. In this engrossing book Hancock reveals what the Ark was and explores its frightening and real power. Readers will be taken step-by-step through the research and travel that led Hancock ultimately to the ancient sanctuary in Ethiopia where the Ark rests today.