Petra, Jordan. Atop Jabal Haroun stands a solitary monument tomb. Tradition identifies this as the burial place of Aaron, Moses' brother and Israel's first High Priest.

According to Torah, God personally selected Aaron for this sacred responsibility. Throughout his life, Aaron served as High Priest. After his death, his descendants, the Levites, continued this holy duty for generations.

This select group carried the sacred burden of transporting the Ark. Their leader alone possessed the privilege of approaching it directly to communicate with God.

Communicate with God? How? Even individuals who were not prophets?

The answer lies in the Ark's design. Torah describes God manifesting in the small space between the wings of the two cherubim angels atop the Mercy Seat. There, the deity would materialize and speak with chosen servants.

Jews call this space the Mercy Seat. Scientifically analyzed, the Ark's construction precisely matches an electrical capacitor. Conductive exterior, insulating middle layer, conductive interior. Whatever object it contained served as power source.

Approach carelessly, and lethal electrical shock occurred.

The High Priests wore metal breastplates called the Breastplate of Judgment, embedded with twelve specific stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. But these stones served function beyond mere symbolism.

Talmudic texts describe their operation. When the priest approached the Ark to communicate, a high-pitched buzzing pulse emanated from between the cherubim wings. These vibrations resonated with the breastplate, causing the twelve stones to illuminate.

The stones were called Fire Stones. Through patterns of illumination, priests received messages. A form of Morse code, essentially.

But communication was not limited to coded pulses. Between the wings of the two angels, God's form would manifest visibly to chosen servants.

The technology this suggests is immediately recognizable. Holographic projection.

One hundred years after the Philistines returned the cursed Ark to Israel, King David brought it to the new capital, Jerusalem. He commissioned construction of the first great temple to house God's dwelling place.

David's son Solomon completed the temple. The Ark was placed in the most sacred chamber, called the Holy of Holies. From there, it guided Israel for three more centuries.

Guided is not metaphorical. The Ark literally served as the temple's power center. Solomon's mastery of these ancient technologies represents its own fascinating subject. His use of advanced devices, their power sources, and construction details all trace back to this chamber.

God dwelt there through the ages, providing counsel to servants and governing the Israelites directly. But after hundreds of years, the unexpected occurred. The people of God, under divine protection, suffered military defeat by Babylonians they considered pagan. God's own house was destroyed.

This catastrophe marked a turning point for Israelite faith. On that day, both their god and the Ark vanished from history. Neither's current location is known.

Or is it?

Surigi Mountain, Japan. Shinto practitioners perform a peculiar ritual bearing uncanny resemblance to ancient Israelite practice, despite being thousands of kilometers from Jewish territories with no apparent connection. They carry a golden chest to the mountain summit. According to their belief, God's spirit and secret dwell within.

Japanese researchers who noticed these parallels began studying Torah. They discovered remarkable similarities between the two religions. Examination of Kojiki texts revealed mythological narratives identical to Torah accounts. This led some to theorize an unknown common origin linking these faiths.

Research continues. Some scholars believe the Ark was smuggled from Israel following Babylon's destruction and transported to this Japanese mountain for safekeeping until the appointed time.

Japanese historian Takage Masanuri became so convinced the Ark resided in this mountain that he initiated excavation in 1936. Years of searching yielded nothing. The area was declared a national park and further excavation prohibited.

The Ark may not have been found in Japan, but its legend had already spread worldwide. The search continues today.

Recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls reshaped understanding of religious history. Among them, one stands apart. The Copper Scroll.

According to Jim Barfield, the Copper Scroll contains no divine stories or spiritual teachings. It is a treasure map. Specifically, it details locations where important riches and relics from Solomon's Temple were hidden following the Babylonian invasion. Including, potentially, the Ark of the Covenant.

The Book of Maccabees supports this account. Prophet Jeremiah allegedly accomplished exactly this mission. Narratives describe his escape through tunnels beneath the temple.

Extensive tunnel networks definitely exist beneath the temple site. None functioned as escape routes until 2007, when researchers discovered a hidden passage leading directly from the temple center to the nearby Kidron Valley. According to theory, the Ark and treasures were smuggled through this route to Qumran, the same region where Dead Sea Scrolls were later discovered.

The Copper Scroll describes 64 hidden locations scattered throughout the Qumran area, each concealing various treasures. One entry reads: Steps eastward, forty cubits in length.

According to the scroll, 500 kilograms of silver lay beneath this specific location. Barfield searched and found the site. He then sought a second location described as having a well and courtyard. He found that too. Allegedly, 33 tons of gold waited beneath that spot.

After discovering both locations, Barfield presented evidence to authorities requesting excavation permits. All requests were denied. He conducted metal detector surveys of the areas. The readings went off the charts. He submitted this data. Again denied.

Undeterred, Barfield used directional analysis from two confirmed ancient reference points to triangulate a third location mentioned in the scrolls: a cave containing even greater treasures. The cave existed precisely where predicted. Its entrance had been sealed long ago. With concrete.

Barfield's metal detector readings at this location showed five times the metallic density of the previous two sites. Predictably, excavation permits were denied again.

While Barfield believes the Ark remains in the region, many historians disagree. They argue a mysterious organization removed it from the area centuries earlier. The famous Knights Templar.

During Crusader pillaging of Jerusalem, a peculiar organization emerged. Calling themselves Knights Templar, they suddenly possessed inexplicable wealth and claimed dedication to protecting secret knowledge discovered beneath the Second Temple.

Legends state the Templars found both the source of their riches, gold and precious stones in hidden temple chambers, and sacred manuscripts and the Ark itself. These were allegedly transported to France.

For centuries, the Templars expanded their fortune through a banking system they created. Eventually, they were captured and burned by French King Philip IV, heavily indebted to them and supported by the Vatican. An extreme but effective method of debt cancellation.

After this massacre, rumors spread. Some claimed the Templars smuggled the Ark to Scotland, then to Oak Island in the Americas. Others insisted it went to Ethiopia. The information became hopelessly muddled.

But consider the classic thief's wisdom: to hide something, place it in plain sight. The search for the lost Ark returns to Jerusalem.

We stand before the Dome of the Rock. According to Muslim belief, this marks the spot where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven on the Buraq to converse with God. This supremely important Islamic site rests directly atop the ruins of the Jewish Temple. This creates the primary obstacle preventing Israeli excavation for the Ark.

But in 1981, someone breached that barrier. Rabbi Yehuda Getz, senior rabbi of the Western Wall, began secret, illegal excavation with a small team. Muslims in the mosque heard digging sounds and notified police. The operation was raided. Tensions flared. Confrontations erupted. Fortunately, police intervened before violence escalated. The tunnel was sealed.

But Rabbi Getz maintained they came within meters of finding the Ark. He insisted Jews had sacred duty to complete this mission.

Could this be true? Did the Ark never leave its home? Some theorists answer yes. They connect this to a very strange modern phenomenon.

UFO sightings increasingly reported over the region.