All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S18E05.Recovering.the.Ark.of.the.Covenant.

NARRATOR: It is the most highly
coveted lost relic in the world.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN COPPENS:
The Ark of the Covenant

is without question
the most significant

and powerful artifact
in human history.

NARRATOR: It was a
weapon of extraordinary power.

ANDREW COLLINS: It was
said to smite the enemies of Israel.

It was said
to bring about disease.

It was said to bring down
the walls of Jericho.

NARRATOR: And it provided direct
communication with the heavens.

WILLIAM HENRY: It was
the only physical manifestation

of God on Earth.

NARRATOR: But what happened
to the Ark of the Covenant?

AMIR HUSSAIN:
There's all sorts of stories.

Is it buried somewhere?

Was it looted? Was it stolen?

NARRATOR:
There are those who believe

that if the Ark is ever found,

it will provide undeniable proof
of extraterrestrial visitation.

NICK POPE:
The Ark of the Covenant

is the ultimate alien artifact.

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

DvX3m
www.opensubtitles.org

NARRATOR:
Jerusalem.

January 28, 2011.

It is a quiet winter night

inside the al-Aqsa
Mosque compound,

which sits on the Temple Mount,

a site considered
hallowed ground

by Muslims, Christians and Jews.

But at roughly 1:00 a.m.,

in the sky above
the Dome of the Rock,

an extraordinary scene unfolds
that is captured on video.

This pulsating light,
which was witnessed

from multiple different sources,
descends down...

(people speaking
in foreign language)

right on top
of the Temple Mount,

and all of the sudden, a flash.

(people shout)

And it disappears
up into heaven.

POPE:
If this is genuine,

- it's of extreme significance.
- MAN: Whoa!

It's a site
of immense significance

to all three of the world's
main religions.

They have all, for thousands
of years, worshiped there.

It is a site where they believe

there are things of great power,
maybe still hidden.

TZADOK:
What happened? What was that?

There are those who interpret
and understand this

to have been
something technological

possibly turning on.

(people shout)

TZADOK: Activating
something buried beneath.

There are many who believe
that this pulsating light

was connecting
with the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
The Ark of the Covenant?

The golden chest built
to house the Ten Commandments?

Could this incredible UFO event
have been connected

to one of the most revered

and most mysterious religious
artifacts of all time?

TZADOK: Is it possible
that the Ark of the Covenant

is still with us to this day?

It's possible. We don't know.

NARRATOR: According to
the stories of the Hebrew Bible,

the Ark of the Covenant did,
at one time,

reside in this very spot,
and there are those who believe

it is still hidden
somewhere on the site.

But this holy relic went missing
more than 2,500 years ago,

and people have been
searching for it ever since.

Considered the most sacred
and mysterious artifact

in ancient Israel,

the Ark of the Covenant
was revered by the Hebrew people

as the embodiment
of God's presence on Earth.

MICHAEL CARTER: What
was so special about the Ark

was that it housed the history

of the Israelites
once they left Egypt.

It reminded a people
who had been slaves

in Egypt for millennia
that they were not alone.

That this god was
constantly with them.

NARRATOR: The story of the
Ark begins in the 15th century BC.

According to the Bible's
Book of Exodus,

after the Israelites
were released from Egypt,

God summoned Moses
to the peak of Mount Sinai

and gave him two stone tablets

carved with
the Ten Commandments.

He also gave him
specific instructions

for building
the Ark of the Covenant.

McGOWAN: Moses was given
very specific measurements.

It was to be
two and a half cubits long,

one and a half cubits wide,
one and a half cubits deep.

So, we're looking at a container

that was a little over
four feet long

and about two feet wide
and two feet deep.

The container must be made
of acacia wood,

that it must be covered
with gold.

The top of the Ark was
to be surmounted by angels,

two cherubim with large wings
that would face each other,

and their wings
would cover the top of the Ark.

NARRATOR: The Ark was
designed to be carried by poles,

inserted into four gold rings,

two on each side
of the container.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
It was very important

that no one touch the Ark.

It was too powerful, too holy,

and a person would die
if they touched it.

It was also covered
in a very elaborate way

so that passersby
wouldn't look at it.

Such was the power of
the Ark of the Covenant,

that it would be dangerous
even to look at it.

HUGH NEWMAN: The lid of the
Ark was called the "mercy seat."

And there was said to be
two cherubims on top

with their wings
pointing to each other

with a gap between them.

This is actually the gap
where Yahweh, or God,

was supposed to have spoken.

MCGOWAN: In Exodus
25:22, God tells Moses,

"When you build this,

"I will meet you
between the cherubim,

and I will give you commands."

NARRATOR:
Ancient accounts of the Ark

portray it as possessing
mysterious powers

that aided the Israelites
during their journey

to the Promised Land,

parting rivers,
leveling mountains

and destroying armies.

But it was also incredibly
dangerous to handle.

ERICH VON DANIKEN: Whatever
the Ark of the Covenant was,

the object was definitely
very, very dangerous.

In the second, uh,
Book of the King,

you can read that
several accidents happened.

A priest with the name
of Uzzah touched the Ark

and like an electrical shock,

he just fell on the ground,
and he was dead.

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: In
the Bible, we have multiple stories

of people not only dying

when they came
in contact with the Ark,

but some didn't die, but only
died a week or two later.

And how did they die?

Because they had boils
on their skin

and their hair
started to fall out.

Well, that is a sign

of radioactive poisoning
or radioactive fallout.

COLLINS: The most important
thing about trying to understand

how the Ark of the Covenant
functioned

is the fact
that specific instructions

were given by God to Moses

about how
it was to be manufactured.

The exact size,

how it is to be raised
off the ground,

how it is to be carried.

So there was specifics here
that had to be carried out,

and this tells us,
almost certainly,

that we are dealing
with technology.

A technology that was given
either by God

or by some kind of entity or
being of non-terrestrial origin.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

that the baffling powers
ascribed to the Ark

provide evidence that
it contained highly advanced

and perhaps
extraterrestrial technology?

In 957 BC,
construction was completed

on King Solomon's Temple
in Jerusalem,

built on the same site

where the Dome of the Rock
stands today,

and designed
with the primary purpose

of housing
the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark would remain here
for 350 years

and then disappear from
the historical record forever.

In 586 BC,

the Babylonians,
under King Nebuchadnezzar,

sacked and destroyed Jerusalem
and the Temple of Solomon.

It was said that
they carried away, to Babylon,

all of the treasures
of the Israelites,

the treasures of the temple.

However, there is no mention
in any account

that they took away
the Ark of the Covenant.

So, what happened
to the Ark of the Covenant?

CARTER: The first theory is
that Jeremiah or King Josiah

took the Ark
and hid it away in a cave.

There's another, uh,
piece of speculation

is that the Babylonians just
took it and they desecrated it.

But if they had done that,
people would've known about it.

POPE: The voice of God
was heard though the Ark.

And for those people
that believe the voice of God

was extraterrestrial,
well, the Ark of the Covenant

is the ultimate alien artifact.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut
theorists believe that finding the Ark

will result
in incredible revelations

about humanity's
extraterrestrial past

and could also facilitate
direct communication

with otherworldly entities
still watching over Earth today.

But does the Ark still lie
hidden at Temple Mount?

Many claim the most
compelling evidence

points to the Ark leaving
Jerusalem centuries ago,

spirited away by a band
of warrior monks.

NARRATOR:
July 1099 AD.

Muslim-controlled Jerusalem

is captured
by medieval Christian forces.

The bloody siege
leaves the city ransacked

by the victorious crusaders.

But spared from destruction

are two mosques that have stood
on Temple Mount for 400 years.

These holy sites were saved
to serve another purpose.

The Dome of the Rock
is converted

into a Catholic church.

And the al-Aqsa Mosque
is given to a newly-formed

monastic fighting force,
the Order of Solomon's Temple,

also known
as the Knights Templar.

YOUNG: This was
a holy order of knights

who were interested
in the safety of travelers

going from Europe
to Jerusalem, to the temple.

And they would guard them...

and they would
protect their wealth.

They essentially invented
banking as a way to protect

travelers from highwaymen.

NARRATOR:
But protecting pilgrims

was not the Templars'
only directive

while stationed at Temple Mount.

They were also charged
with searching for treasure

and religious artifacts.

CHILDRESS: The Knights Templars
got a commission from the pope

to actually do excavations
at Solomon's Temple.

And the Templars, uh,
that is largely what they did

while they were in Jerusalem.

The story there goes that
the Templars actually discovered

a secret chamber
beneath the temple.

They claimed to have found
all sorts of holy relics.

And we know
they found certain things

because they became
very rich very quickly.

But legend said that amongst
all these things they found

was the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
On July 4, 1187,

the Knights Templar
were forced to leave Jerusalem

when Muslim armies
retook the holy city.

The Templars set sail
for Europe, and it was rumored

that they carried with them
the holy relics

they had recovered
at Temple Mount,

including the Ark
of the Covenant.

By the end of the 13th century,

the Knights Templar
had established

a new base of operations
in France.

CORNWALL: I do believe that
the Templars did find the Ark

and successfully
transported it to Paris,

where they were hailed as heroes
for some reason overnight.

Nobles were trying
to join the order.

The king of France
was promoting them.

I believe the reason for that
is because they succeeded

in their mission
to find the Ark,

which is why they were there
in the first place.

NARRATOR: The Templars
used their vast wealth

to finance the construction
of Chartres Cathedral,

one of the finest examples
of Gothic-style architecture

in the world.

And it was rumored
that the Cathedral

had a direct connection
to the Ark of the Covenant.

COLLINS:
In 1966, in a book called

The Mysteries
of Chartres Cathedral,

Louis Charpentier claimed

that the Templars had indeed
found this holy object

and had brought it
back to France.

And that this had,
some way, inspired

the design
of Chartres Cathedral,

which embodied many principles
of sacred geometry,

mathematical ideas
that had been brought over

from the Sufi, and Islamic
peoples of the holy land.

Sufism included a lot of ideas
relating to sacred architecture.

This was how to design
the perfect house of God.

NARRATOR: Some believe
that the Knights Templar

actually built
this breathtaking cathedral

to house the Ark
of the Covenant.

And they point to one
very credible source

that claims the Ark
was deposited here:

the cathedral itself.

Carvings on the north portico
depict the Templars

recovering the Ark of the
Covenant, then carrying it off,

led by an angel with God
hidden overhead in a cloud.

Inscribed in Latin text
are the words:

"Here is hidden
the Ark of the Covenant."

McGOWAN: There are
many legends in France

about where the Ark was kept
during the time period

the Templars were the guardians.

Some say it was in the crypt
of Chartres Cathedral.

It's likely that the Ark of
the Covenant was moved around

to different locations in France
to protect it

and to keep it
from being discovered.

NARRATOR: All who have attempted
to find the Ark of the Covenant

at Chartres Cathedral
have come up empty-handed.

But if the Templars truly were
in possession of the Ark,

there is good reason to believe
they would have moved it

at least once more,
to keep its otherworldly powers

from the hands
of a dangerous enemy:

the king of France, Philip IV.

CORNWALL: The
Templars were incredibly rich,

and King Philip was
engaged in a series of wars

that were depleting his coffers.

He tried to become
their Grand Master

and they said no.
They refused him.

So, he decided to take
what they had by force instead.

But they did know he was coming.

It was obviously time
to get the Ark out of Paris.

NARRATOR:
On Friday, October 13, 1307,

King Philip of France,
with the backing

of Pope Clement V,

ordered the arrest
of every Templar in France.

King Philip accused
the Templars of heresy,

immorality, and worship
of a demonic idol.

But ancient astronaut theorists
suggest that,

based on accounts of the idol,

this may be a case
of misunderstood technology.

TSOUKALOS: There were
rumors that the Templars

were in possession
of this horrible-looking idol

with one glowing red eye

and another eye
that's barely blinking.

Of course, a-a technologically
primitive person

would not recognize that
that is a type of a machine,

but I think this was
an extraterrestrial device.

McGOWAN: It was said
they spoke to this demon.

That this demon
would speak back to them

and give them instructions.

We know from scripture,

we know from the Bible itself

that the Ark was built
as a communication device.

NARRATOR:
For some researchers,

the description
of a demonic idol

with glowing red eyes

that gave instructions
to the Knights Templar

brings to mind
the biblical accounts

of how the Israelite priests
communicated with God

through the Ark of the Covenant.

TZADOK:
The high priest

was required
by biblical law to wear

a special type of a breastplate,

which had special types
of gemstones on it.

The high priest could
oscillate his voice

to create specific
types of sounds.

It would cause these stones
to come alive.

The stones on the breastplate
would light up.

They would begin to emit
rainbow colors.

So, you have light flashing
off of this high priest

as he's firing up
the Ark of the Covenant.

And then the Ark had
rainbow light coming off of it.

NARRATOR: To this day,
many researchers believe

that the idol the Templars
were accused of worshipping

was the Ark of the Covenant.

But if so, what became of it?

Some suggest the world's
most sacred religious relic

ultimately ended up

hidden in a mysterious chapel

in Scotland.

NARRATOR:
Paris, France. March 18, 1314.

Jacques de Molay,
the 23rd and final Grand Master

of the Knights Templar,

is executed
by order of King Philip IV.

But according
to historical accounts,

he already had a plan in place

for the surviving Templars
to make their escape

in the event of his capture.

McGOWAN: Jacques de Molay
had an enormous responsibility

to protect the legacy

of who the Templars were
and what they stood for.

And part of this legacy

was their guardianship
of these holy relics

and, specifically,
the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR: King Philip set out to
capture a fleet of 18 Templar ships

that were said to be docked
at the port of La Rochelle

on the Atlantic coast of France.

But when the king's
forces arrived,

there was not a ship in sight.

COLLINS: The Knights Templar
disappeared, as well as

many of the holy relics

that they unquestionably
held in their possession.

NARRATOR:
Vatican records suggest

the fleet of ships carried
the escaping Templars

and their mysterious treasure
to Scotland,

where they were welcomed
by King Robert the Bruce.

Like the Knights Templar,

Robert the Bruce had been
excommunicated by the Pope.

He was also embroiled
in a bitter war of independence

against Edward II of England,

and according to the story,

the Templars joined his forces

on the battlefield.

CORNWALL:
There is a wonderful legend

of knights in white

at the Battle of Bannockburn
defeating, decimating

the English army.

The Templar Knights

had to have been at that battle.

NARRATOR: The Templars
were revered as great warriors,

but some question
whether they were aided

by a powerful weapon they may
have been carrying with them,

the Ark of the Covenant.

People have asked, could this
actually be used as a weapon?

Of course it could be.

I mean, can you imagine

having that kind of technology?

HENRY: There's no question
that the Ark of the Covenant

radiated a power
that could be used

for military advantage.

When the Israelites
carried it into battle,

it assisted them
in assuring their victory.

McGOWAN: If the Ark
was carried before an army,

that army would
become invincible.

There are stories
of the Ark killing scorpions

and serpents.

The Ark, in many ways,
was protective,

it was protective of the
Israelites on their journey.

TZADOK: The Ark of the Covenant
would march before

the children of Israel
as they went through the desert,

clearing out anything
that was a danger to them.

When you're in the wilderness,
you have wild animals,

you have poisonous serpents.

The Ark would prepare the way.

How it did this
we still do not know.

No one had actual
visual awareness

or contact
with what was happening.

All we have is the mystery

of knowing that it did march
miles before the people,

preparing the way for them.

COLLINS: In my opinion,
the Ark of the Covenant

functioned as a capacitor,

drawing in electrostatic
energies from

the environment
into its interior.

But that something
was then triggering it

to radiate out some kind of
electromagnetic field.

One that was so strong

that it would strike people down
who came too close.

And I would say

that it contained
something radioactive.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the Ark of the Covenant

was a radioactive device

that could be used
as a devastating weapon?

And could knowledge
of the Ark's awesome powers

be a reason that

the Knights Templar kept
this dangerous object hidden

and away from the hands
of their enemies?

Some researchers say
that Templar allies,

the powerful Sinclair family,

understood the importance

of protecting the Ark and built

an elaborate hiding place
for the dangerous object,

Rosslyn Chapel.

COLLINS:
Rosslyn Chapel

is one of the most mysterious

holy places
in the whole of Scotland.

Many people have
likened its design,

its cruciform design,

to the layout
of King Solomon's Temple.

And this has raised the question

of whether or not

the Knights Templar

may have brought
the Ark of the Covenant

to Scotland,

and that Rosslyn Chapel
could have been constructed

as its new resting place.

CHILDRESS:
That chapel contains a crypt

deep beneath it,

and many historians believe
that the Ark of the Covenant

was kept there for a while.

McGOWAN: Rosslyn Chapel is
full of Templar symbolism, including

carvings of Templar Knights and

a gravestone that belonged
to another Templar.

The Templars are inextricable

with the legends
of Rosslyn Chapel.

Rosslyn Chapel
is really the symbol

of Templar presence in Scotland.

NARRATOR: While millions
of people are convinced

that the Knights Templar
recovered

the Ark of the Covenant
at Temple Mount

and hid it somewhere
along their journeys,

likely in France or Scotland,

there are just as many
who believe

that it was taken
out of Jerusalem

long before the Templars
even existed.

And some profess
to have seen the Ark

and witnessed
its ethereal powers

with their own eyes

in a most unlikely place:

Ethiopia.

NARRATOR:
Aksum, Ethiopia.

November 2020.

Pro-government troops storm
the ancient sacred city,

searching out soldiers
aligned with the region's

former ruling party, the TPLF.

It is one episode in a conflict

that has been raging for weeks,

but this time, the soldiers
target Aksum's holiest site,

the Church of Our
Lady Mary of Zion.

Incredibly, hundreds

of civilians race to the defense

of the church
and prevent the soldiers

from gaining access.

A staggering 800 are reportedly
killed in the process.

But more than the church itself,

they were protecting the
extraordinary religious artifact

that is said to be held inside,

the Ark of the Covenant.

HENRY: There are many who
believe that the Ark is in Aksum.

In fact, it's believed
by millions

of Orthodox Christians that the
Ark of the Covenant is there.

NARRATOR: Although
many researchers believe

there is strong evidence that
the Knights Templar recovered

the Ark of the Covenant
during their excavations

at Temple Mount,

others say that the Ark
had been removed from Jerusalem

centuries before
the Templars even arrived.

The main proponents
of this theory are the

Christians of Ethiopia,

who believe the Ark
was brought to Aksum

nearly 3,000 years ago,

where it has continued to exert
its strange powers ever since.

One version of the fate
of the Ark of the Covenant

is contained within
a Ethiopian holy book

known as the Kebra Nagast.

It's a story involving
King Solomon,

who had the Ark,

and his meeting
with the Queen of Sheba.

And it was said that
they had a liaison,

and that a son was born
to the Queen of Sheba

by the name of Menelik.

And that, eventually,

Menelik traveled from
his homeland of Ethiopia

to visit his father
Solomon in Israel.

NARRATOR:
According to the story,

when Menelik left Israel,

he and his men secretly took
the Ark with them.

The details of
their journey back

to Ethiopia
once again illustrate

the otherworldly power

of the Ark of the Covenant.

They first go
from Jerusalem to Gaza,

and then from there
they travel into Egypt

with the Ark of the Covenant.

And then the Ark of the Covenant

is made to fly their wagon,

and they then fly
across the Red Sea

to the Saudi Arabian Yemen
side of the Red Sea.

This is all detailed
in the Kebra Nagast.

This book is thousands
of years old.

It is clearly described
that Solomon's son

were flying with
the Ark of the Covenant.

They were not on the ground,
they were flying

over Egypt.

Some temples were destroyed

because of the noise
and the trembling.

They were flying
and came to Ethiopia.

The Ark of the Covenant was
then put in a special church

built for it in Aksum.

One Ethiopian Coptic priest

is allowed to live

in that special church

and only he

is allowed to view the Ark,

and he is essentially,
while he lives,

the custodian
of the Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
The guardian of the Ark

chooses who will be
his successor when he dies.

The job is both highly coveted

and highly dangerous.

NEWMAN:
The guardians who've been there

generation after generation
protecting it

have gone blind.

They've had radiation poisoning.
They've got cancer.

So, it seems that the Ark may
have had radioactive qualities,

which actually
cause harm to people

if you're in the vicinity
of it for too long,

and this echoes
the original stories

saying it was some
all-powerful device.

VON DANIKEN: The same
description you find in the book

of the kings of the Ethiopians,
the Kebra Nagast,

there they say,
the inside of the Ark

is not from this planet.

NARRATOR: Some believe
that the ailments suffered

by those said to guard the Ark

at the church in Aksum

provide compelling evidence that
they are, in fact, protecting

an otherworldly technology.

But there is still another,

even more audacious theory
regarding

what happened
to the Ark of the Covenant

and a man who claims
to have found it.

NARRATOR:
Johannesburg, South Africa.

1985.

British scholar Tudor Parfitt

is giving a lecture
on his academic specialty,

the history of ancient Jews
who settled in Africa.

During his lecture,

Parfitt is intrigued
by a group in the audience.

They're dressed in traditional
African garments,

but wearing what look like
Jewish skullcaps.

PARFITT:
They explained that they were

the Lemba people,

and that they were Jews.

The story that they told me
was rather compelling,

and they invited me to go
with them to their villages,

which I did.

And I was convinced
by what I saw

in these little villages
that there was something

profoundly Semitic
about this group.

(speaking native language)

NARRATOR: Although the
Lemba are native to Zimbabwe,

they not only observed

Semitic dietary laws
and cultural practices,

they claimed to be
descendants of Jews

who fled the Holy Land
thousands of years ago...

Jews known in history as
the ten lost tribes of Israel.

And according to the Lemba,

their ancestors brought
a mysterious object

into Africa from
the great temple in Jerusalem.

In his book,
The Lost Ark of the Covenant,

Parfitt recounts
the description of the object,

called the ngoma lungundu,

as a wooden drum

used to store sacred objects.

PARFITT:
They would often tell me about

the ngoma lungundu,
the-the drum which thunders.

It's quite similar
to the Ark of the Covenant.

Like the Ark of the Covenant,

there were carrying rings
on each corner.

Like the Ark of the Covenant,

it had the reputation
of being a murderous weapon

that they carried into war,

and it assured victory
in combat.

So, in lots of ways,

the, uh, ngoma

seemed to be

very similar to the idea
of the Ark of the Covenant.

HUSSAIN: Not only is there
this secret object that's lost,

it's a sacred wooden object
that's carved,

that has rings on it

that poles are put through
to transport it.

Let's look at the Ark of War,
as it's known in Deuteronomy,

and let's think about
this, uh, ngoma,

this-this drum that thunders.

This idea that this drum speaks
with the voice of God.

The Ark of the Covenant
is the presence of God.

Could they in fact be one
and the same object?

NARRATOR:
According to the Lemba,

the ngoma lungundu had been kept
in a cave for centuries

before mysteriously
disappearing.

But could the powerful
object they described

have really been the lost
Ark of the Covenant?

And were the Lemba
truly the descendants

of the ancient Israelites?

In 1997,

thanks to advances
in DNA technology,

Tudor Parfitt and a group

of British scientists
are able to identify

a specific genetic signature
for descendants

of ancient Israelite priests
called kohanim,

who were entrusted
by Moses's brother Aaron

with the full knowledge

of the Ark of the Covenant's
hidden powers.

HENRY:
We know that it was the

descendants of Aaron
who are responsible

for caretaking and operating
the Ark of the Covenant.

Recently, geneticists
have discovered

that that lineage continues
up into the modern day.

Now, if the Ark of the Covenant

were brought into
our world today,

it would make sense
that we would need

the descendants of Aaron

to once again operate the Ark.

NARRATOR:
To Parfitt's astonishment,

when members of the Lemba
undergo DNA testing,

they are found to have
the genetic signature

of the kohanim,

called the
Cohen Modal Haplotype.

PARFITT: We were looking
for the Cohen Model Haplotype

among the Lemba,

and we found the Lemba

to be relatively rich

in the Cohen Model Haplotype.

Once it seemed that the
priestly tribe of the Lemba was

the same as the priestly tribe
of the Jews,

then the question
of the ngoma became

very much more
interesting to-to me.

NARRATOR: Parfitt spent
much of the next decade

traveling across Africa
and the Middle East,

following every lead
in search of the ngoma lungundu.

In 2007,

he was ready
to give up the search,

but decided to follow
one last lead

to a small museum in Harare,
the capital of Zimbabwe.

HUSSAIN: He goes to
the museum, and he goes

into one of the storerooms,

and it's almost
straight out of a movie.

PARFITT: I looked
around the various places

where things might have
been deposited,

and to my considerable surprise,
I found it.

HUSSAIN:
It's an old piece of wood,

but he's amazed because one
of the first things he notices

is the scorch marks.

It's been burned
exactly like the story

that says, oh, at a, at
a particular point in history,

there was a fire that came out
of this that actually

killed the people who were
standing, uh, beside this.

NARRATOR: Critics complained
that the crude wooden object

did not resemble the biblical
descriptions of the Ark.

But Parfitt points out that,
according to Lemba tradition,

the original wooden box was
destroyed in a fiery explosion,

and this smaller object
was reconstructed

from a piece
of the original artifact.

One could imagine that there
have been a succession of Arks,

which have been used,

but worn out and were rebuilt,

and which finally led

to the Ark, which, today,
is to be found

in a small museum in Harare.

HUSSAIN: It's this amazing
story because here's Tudor Parfitt,

this great, respected academic,

who's now announced
that he has discovered

the Ark of the Covenant.

That makes international news,
and there's great debate.

PARFITT:
If one is to think that the Ark

exists anywhere,
why not in Africa?

Makes a lot more sense
than many other places

where it has been
imagined to be.

The Lemba were very
straightforward about their Ark.

They said, at a certain point,
it was destroyed.

We made another one.

But what I do think
is that this, uh,

object is probably
the closest thing

that has ever been found

to the original
Ark of the Covenant.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that an ancient
wooden object on display

in a museum in Zimbabwe

represents the last remnants
of the Ark of the Covenant?

Some researchers believe
the otherworldly

technology that
the scorched wooden vessel

is alleged to have held
still exists,

and it will soon be found,
not in Africa,

but back in its rightful home

on Temple Mount.

NARRATOR:
Mount Scopus, Israel.

Here, in northeastern Jerusalem,

lie 9,000 tons of soil

illegally excavated and removed
from Temple Mount

in 1999 by the Islamic
religious trust.

Excavations are not permitted

on the sacred space
of Temple Mount,

but because this soil
has already been removed,

both experts and volunteers have
been able to sift through it,

and, incredibly,

it has produced hundreds of
thousands of ancient artifacts.

Might clues pointing
to the existence

of the Ark of the Covenant
and, perhaps, its location,

be found in the soil
from Temple Mount?

TZADOK:
In modern-day Israel,

many have tried
to go under Temple Mount,

and it is well known
that there are secret catacombs,

and that there are passageways
that have been blocked off,

which lead to many,
many secrets.

What is down there, who can say?

POPE:
Temple Mount is a site

where many people believe

there are things of great power,

maybe still hidden.

It's a site
of immense significance

to all three of
the world's main religions.

HUSSAIN: The importance of
Temple Mount is really interesting.

For Jews,
when Isaac is offered up

for sacrifice by Abraham,

this happens
on the Temple Mount.

It then gets connected

to the Christian tradition
that comes later.

For Muslims,

this spot is important
because this is where

the prophet Muhammad
ascends up to heaven.

There very much is this idea

that there's a holiness
in this spot.

Observant Jews aren't even
supposed to walk

on the area of the Temple Mount

because the space
is so powerful.

The idea is that
the presence of God is here.

NEWMAN: Interestingly,
this is the actual site where,

in 2011, there were
multiple reports of

strange lights
seen above Jerusalem.

(men exclaiming)

NARRATOR: If the event recorded
on video over Temple Mount

on January 28, 2011,

was, in fact, related
to the Ark of the Covenant,

as some ancient astronaut
theorists suspect,

could it be evidence that
the Ark still resides there?

Many people think it was fake,

but we have too many witnesses
from too many sources

that can prove that this
actually happened.

It gives us to speculate

that, indeed, the Ark

was sending
and receiving signals

from some actual,
tangible place,

from which we will have contact
in time to come.

NARRATOR: As far as ancient
astronaut theorists are concerned,

whether the Ark of the Covenant
lies beneath Temple Mount

or is hidden
thousands of miles away,

one thing is certain,

it remains the world's
most important lost relic.

CHILDRESS:
I think it's very possible

that the Ark of the Covenant
does still exist.

And I feel that it's likely
that at least some people

actually know where it is.

TSOUKALOS:
The Ark of the Covenant

is one of the greatest pieces

in the ancient astronaut theory

because there was
an actual physical object

that had a connection

to the so-called
celestial realm.

So, I mean, the Ark of the
Covenant is one of the most

enduring ancient mysteries
of all time.

HENRY:
The Ark holds the promise

that it will bring
a new revelation with it.

It could completely transform
our civilization.

This is the potential power
with the Ark of the Covenant.

TZADOK: The Ark
might actually be the proof

that we have been seeking
throughout human history

of our forgotten past

and our greater potential
of contact

with the greater universe
and world.

Indeed, if we could have the Ark

and operate it

and make contact,

who would we be talking to?

What would we be opening up?

NARRATOR:
Could an otherworldly device

of unfathomable power

that our ancestors encountered
thousands of years ago

still exist somewhere
on Earth today?

Perhaps the Ark of the Covenant
will soon be revealed

to humanity once again,

and within this sacred box,
we will find

the undeniable proof
of our celestial origins.