Graham Hancock

452 Pages·2017·7.14 MB·English

by  Graham Hancock

The Sign and the Seal
‘And as concerning the Ark of the Covenant … the work thereof is marvellous. It
catcheth the eye by force, and it astonisheth the mind and stupefieth it with
wonder. It is a spiritual thing and is full of compassion; it is a heavenly thing
and is full of light; it is a thing of freedom and a habitation ofthe Godhead,
Whose habitation is in heaven and Whose place of movement is on the earth …’
Kebra Nagast, Ethiopia, thirteenth century
Also by Graham Hancock
Journey through Pakistan
Ethiopia: the Challenge of Hunger
AIDS: the Deadly Epidemic
Lords of Poverty
African Ark: Peoples of the Horn

Copyright © 1992 by Graham Hancock
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
Published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 201 East 50th Street, New York, New York 10022. Member of the Crown Publishing
Group.
CROWN is a trademark of Crown Publishers, Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Hancock, Graham.
The sign and the seal: the quest for the lost Ark of the Covenant / Graham Hancock.
p. cm.
1. Ark of the Covenant—Miscellanea. 2. Ethiopia—Description and travel—1981– 3. Hancock, Graham—Journeys—Ethiopia.
I. Title.
BM657.A8H36 1992
916.304’7—dc20 91-39041
eISBN: 978-0-307-82904-7
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgements
I Legend
1 Initiation
2 Disenchantment
II Holy Ark and Holy Grail
3 The Grail Cipher
4 A Map to Hidden Treasure
5 White Knights, Dark Continent
6 Resolving Doubts
7 A Secret and Never-Ending Quest
III Labyrinth
8 Into Ethiopia
9 Sacred Lake
10 Ghost in a Maze
11 And David danced before the Ark …
IV A Monstrous Instrument
12 Magic … or Method?
13 Treasures of Darkness
V Where is the Glory?
14 The Glory is departed from Israel
15 Hidden History
16 Door of the Southern Countries
VI The Waste Land
17 Supping with Devils
18 A Treasure Hard to Attain
References
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I want to thank Carol, my partner of ten years, for the precious gifts she
gave me. Our marriage did not survive this book. I hope that our friendship will. Thanks,
too, to my children: Sean and Leila, Luke and Gabrielle. You’ve paid a heavy price for your
dad’s commitment to his quest. I mean to make it up to you. I’m enormously grateful to
Donald and Muriel Hancock, to James Macaulay, and to Harold Elborn, for their constant
support and interest, for their many readings of the evolving manuscript, and for the
wealth of helpful suggestions and advice that they have offered. I would also like to put on
record the appreciation that I feel for the invaluable contributions made by my friends
Colin Skinner, Caroline Lasko, and Claire Lasko. As well as reading the manuscript at
various stages, and commenting on it, they offered me consolation and solidarity in times of
trouble and put up patiently with my often exasperating behaviour. In Ethiopia, Professor
Richard Pankhurst was both a friend and a colleague to me. I’m honoured to have worked
so closely with him. And in England I benefitted greatly from the input of a series of
research assistants: Sadie Maine, Alex MacIntyre, Claire Wise, David Mestecky and Julia
Hallawell. In addition, my Anglophone editors on both sides of the Atlantic, Tom Weldon at
Heinemann, Jim Wade at Crown, John Pearce at Doubleday Canada, as well as my literary
agents Bill Hamilton and Sara Fisher, have all shown an interest in this project and a
commitment to it that has been above and beyond the call of duty.
Many other people in many different walks of life have also helped along the way. Some
would not want to be mentioned at all and others will, I hope, forgive me for not setting
out here a list that would be too long for the available space. I cannot close, however,
without expressing my very special thanks and gratitude to one person in particular –
Santha, who took most of the photographs in this book and who saved my life.
Graham Hancock, March 1992
Part I: Ethiopia, 1983
Legend

Chapter 1
Initiation: 1983
It was growing dark and the air of the Ethiopian highlands was chill when the monk
appeared. Stooped and leaning on a prayer stick he shuffled towards me from the doorway
of the sanctuary chapel and listened attentively as I was introduced to him. Speaking in
Tigrigna, the local language, he then sought clarification through my interpreter about my
character and my motives: from which country had I come, what work did I do there, was I
a Christian, what was it that I wanted from him?
I answered each of these questions fully, squinting through the gloom as I talked, trying
to make out the details of my inquisitor’s face. Milky cataracts veiled his small sunken eyes
and deep lines furrowed his black skin. He was bearded and probably toothless – for
although his voice was resonant it was also oddly slurred. All I could be sure of, however,
was that he was an old man, as old as the century perhaps, that he had his wits about him,
and that he did not seem to be seeking information about me out of idle curiosity. Only
when he was satisfied with everything that I had said did he condescend to shake hands
with me. His grip was dry and delicate as papyrus and from the thick robes that he wore,
faint but unmistakable, arose the holy odour of frankincense.
Now that the formalities were over I got straight to the point. Gesturing in the direction
of the building that loomed in shadowy outline behind us, I said: ‘I have heard of an
Ethiopian tradition that the Ark of the Covenant is kept here … in this chapel. I have also
heard that you are the guardian of the Ark. Are these things true?’
‘They are true.’
‘But in other countries nobody believes these stories. Few know about your traditions
anyway, but those who do say that they are false.’
‘People may believe what they wish. People may say what they wish. Nevertheless we do
possess the sacred Tabot, that is to say the Ark of the Covenant, and I am its guardian …’
‘Let me be clear about this,’ I interjected. ‘Are you referring to the original Ark of the
Covenant – the box made of wood and gold in which the Ten Commandments were placed
by the prophet Moses?’
‘Yes. God Himself inscribed the ten words of the law upon two tablets of stone. Moses
then placed these tablets inside the Ark of the Covenant – which afterwards accompanied
the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness and their conquest of the Promised
Land. It brought them victory wherever they went and made them a great people. At last,
when its work was done, King Solomon placed it in the Holy of Holies of the Temple that he
had built in Jerusalem. And from there, not long afterwards, it was removed and brought to
Ethiopia …’
‘Tell me how this happened,’ I asked. ‘What I know of your traditions is only that the
Queen of Sheba is supposed to have been an Ethiopian monarch. The legends I have read
say that when she made her famous journey to Jerusalem she was impregnated by King
Solomon and bore him a son – a royal prince – who in later years stole the Ark …’