Some scholars believe that if the Ark still exists, the most obvious place to look for it would be under the original site of the Holy of Holies. On that site today, of course, sits the Dome of the Rock.


The Dome of the Rock

The mosque was built on the spot where, according to Islam, the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. The site is also prominent in Jewish tradition, which holds that Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac there. An archaeological excavation in that area would require disturbing sacred places of two religions and possibly inflaming tensions among peoples who coexist uneasily in one of the most politically volatile cities on the planet— it's hard to imagine such a dig ever taking place.


Some believe the Ark is hidden somewhere beneath the rock itself.

Others, however, say it's unlikely that the Ark, or anything else from the original Temple of Solomon could still remain intact beneath the site. In the first century B.C., King Herod did major renovations on the second temple built on the site, which included digging down to the bedrock.

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