The Ark of the Covenant and the Languedoc

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What was the Ark of the Covenant? And where is it now?

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest in which the Jews kept their most holy objects. The chest was kept in the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Soloman in Jerusalem.

The name says exactly what it was: an ark is simply a box (Noah's ark was actually a floating cuboid box rather than a ship as is often assumed. Although the word is not extensively used in modern English, farmers still refer to Pig boxes as arks). The Covenant was the covenant made between God and his chosen people the Jews.

The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned several times, and described in some detail in the Old Testament.

It is not known what happened to the Ark of the Covenant after Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in AD 70. According to depictions on Trajan's Column in Rome, Jewish treasure like the Menorah (the large Jewish seven branched golden candlestick) were carted back to Rome, but the fate of the Ark of the Covenant is something of a mystery.

One theory is that it was quietly shipped off the Ethiopia before the Romans arrived. There are Ethiopian Christians who claim to still have it.

Another theory is that it was indeed part of the Roman booty, and when Rome was in turn sacked by Christian [sic] barbarians, it was taken back to one of the Visigothic regional capitals - perhaps Carcassonne or Rhedae - modern day Rennes-le-Chateau.

Either way, it seems that Middle Eastern nomadic peoples had a long lasting tradition of keeping their special possessions in boxes like the Ark of the Covenant. The tradition survived into modern times. If you're interested in facts rather than the Harrison Ford version read the book shown on the right.