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

645 Pages·1992·7.5 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: 978-0-30782904-7
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