An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

345: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Part 1)

June 26, 2023

Description

The most important object in the universe, but also a somewhat invisible presence in the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant has fuelled stories for millennia, whether as a weapon of mass destruction,...
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Books Referenced

King Solomon's Mines

Author: H. Rider Haggard

Context:

Discussed as a Victorian imperial fiction classic that influenced Raiders of the Lost Ark and the adventure serial genre that Spielberg drew upon

God and Anatomy

Author: Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Context:

Described as 'a wonderful new book' by a professor of biblical studies at Exeter, discussing the idea that the Ark may have originally been a footstool for God's feet

Kebra Nagast

Author: Anonymous (Ethiopian)

Context:

Described as 'this ancient text' meaning 'the glory of the kings' - an Ethiopian epic that tells the story of how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia through Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

The Sign and the Seal, The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant

Author: Graham Hancock

Context:

Mentioned as a 1992 book by the former East Africa correspondent for The Economist, proposing that the Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia and connecting it to Knights Templar theories

The Ark of the Covenant

Author: Roderick Grierson and Stuart Munro Hay

Context:

Described as 'a very good book on the Ark of the Covenant' by two scholars, quoted regarding how Graham Hancock's book created unwanted attention for the clergy at Axum