What happened to the Ark of the Covenant

A recently translated Hebrew text has offered a tantalizing new reference to several ancient treasures.

The text, known as the "Treatise of the Vessels", appears to describe what happened to a number of ancient treasures from King Solomon's temple including the fabled Ark of the Covenant, the biblical chest said to contain the original stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed.

Far from providing a precise map to its whereabouts however the text speaks of the Ark rather cryptically, claiming that the exact location "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David."

Having been brought to mainstream attention thanks to movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark of the Covenant remains one of the most highly sought-after and enigmatic artifacts in history. Believed to have been moved from King Solomon's Temple before it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 597 BC, the Ark's final resting place has puzzled historians for centuries.

Over the years several locations have been linked to the Ark including Chartres Cathedral and Rennes-le-Château in France, Mount Nebo near Jerusalem and even a cave in the Dumghe mountains of South Africa, but to date the location of the Ark itself, if indeed it still exists, remains undiscovered.