The Real Histories Behind These Indiana Jones Artifacts

Publish date: 2024-05-07

The ark of the covenant is the main, Nazi-face-melting artifact in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," which the movie does to some degree get right, and in other respects gets wrong. According to the biblical account, the ark is where the Israelites kept the two tablets of the Ten Commandments given to the prophet Moses. The movie does well in matching the biblical description, given in detail in the Book of Exodus. 

In "Raiders," the story is that the ark was captured by the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak and kept in Tanis, which was then consumed by a year-long sandstorm — as the character Marcus Brody says in the movie, "Wiped clean by the wrath of God." The only support for this story is from the first Book of Kings, which notes that the Egyptians brought treasure with them, but not necessarily the ark. 

As for Tanis, there is no evidence to support it being where the ark was hidden, although Tanis is just as exciting as a major archaeological dig site in Egypt. Furthermore, the bible's chronology does not line up with Tanis, the latter being too old to be associated with the ark. As for the eventual fate of the ark, there are several theories on its resting place, ranging from Rome to Mount Nebo to Ethiopia. However, it is almost certainly not in a giant warehouse, as depicted at the end of the movie.

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