Wyatt Archaeological Research - Official Site of Ron Wyatt's Discoveries - Boat Shaped Object -- The Search Begins - - A Giant Shipwreck - - Radar Scans - - Noah's Ark Found! - - Laboratory Analysis - - The Mini Excavation - - A Rivet Discovered - - Hostage in the Mountains - - Analysis of Alloys - - Strange Formations - - The Route of the Exodus - - Where was the Crossing? - - Pihahiroth & Migdol - - Gulf of Aqaba - - Artifacts in the Sea - - Burned with Fire - - Ron Wyatt in Arabia - - Prince comes to Nashville - - Riyadh University - - Evidences at Jebel el Lawz - - We Found It! - - Traditional Mt. Sinai - - Golden Calf Altar - - The Rock at Horeb - - We Discovered It - - The Search Begins - - The Excavation Begins - - The Ark of the Covenant - - Inside The Ark - - Zedekiah's Cave - - 2003 Excavation - - 2005 IAA Report - - 2006 Excavation - - DETAILED SPECIAL - - How Were They Built - - Pyramid Building Machines - - The Ark of the Covenant - AT THIS TIME, WYATT ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH CAN PROVIDE NO CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE REGARDING THE DISCOVERY OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. Excerpts from and adaptations of the writings of Mrs. Ron (Mary Nell) Wyatt Ron Wyatt claimed that he found the Ark of the Covenant. He was never allowed to provide conclusive evidence. "More and more we are hearing of new books and tales about the location of the Ark of the Covenant, some based on theories and some based on actual claims of sightings. Ron Wyatt also claimed to have found the Ark in 1982 - but how do you know who to believe? Until you can see solid evidence for yourself, you cannot know for sure who is telling the true story." ......Mrs. Ron (Mary Nell) Wyatt 1978 Ron and his sons, Danny and Ronny, traveled to Israel. From there they drove to the western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba for scuba diving in search of chariot parts in the Red Sea. Ron became sun-burned and was forced to discontinue his diving in the Red Sea. While waiting for his return flight to the United States, Ron was walking along an ancient stone quarry, known to some as "the Calvary Escarpment." As he was walking, he began conversing with a local authority about Roman antiquities. At one point, they stopped walking, and Ron's left hand pointed to a site being used as a trash dump and he stated, "That's Jeremiah's Grotto and the Ark of the Covenant is in there." Even though these words had come from his own mouth and his own hand had pointed, he had not consciously done or said these things. In fact, it was the first time he had ever thought about excavating for the Ark. The man with him, quite out of character, also reacted strangely. He said, "That's wonderful! We want you to excavate, and we'll furnish your permits, put you up in a place to stay and even furnish your meals!" At that time Ron declined the man's offer until he could see if there was any reason to believe the Ark could be in that location. Ron returned home and began some serious research and study. Research: Why Would the Ark Be in That Location? In searching the Bible, Ron found the last mention in the Bible of the Ark's location in Jerusalem about the year 621 BC, just 35 years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. This indicated that the Ark disappeared from the Divine record sometime between 621 BC and 586 BC. Since the temple was completely destroyed, there is no doubt that it was NOT there after that time. Ron found in 2 Kings 24:13, 2Kings 25:13-18, and Jeremiah 52:17-23, a very detailed account of the items taken to Babylon from the "king's house" and from the "house of the Lord"- it even mentioned small items like "spoons", etc. But the Ark isn't mentioned. Neither is it mentioned in the lists of things brought back from Babylon in the book of Ezra. We are told in Jeremiah 28:3 that everything taken to Babylon from the "house of the Lord" would be returned, and since the Ark wasn't among the returned items, this indicates that it was never taken there. Shishak and Sennacherib also took items from the "house of the Lord" but they did not include the Ark of the Covenant. Ron's Theory: The Ark of the Covenant was hidden just prior to the destruction of the temple when the city was surrounded by the Babylonian siege wall. The Ark of the Covenant was hidden somewhere within the confines of the city wall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian siege wall. The entire city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians, so the Ark could have only escaped destruction or captivity by not being anywhere in the city. The site Ron had pointed to was, he believed, outside of the ancient city wall and within the siege wall. Two non-Biblical sources, 2 Maccabees and Parilipomena of Jeremiah, stated that the sacred objects from the temple were hidden by Jeremiah before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Ron's conclusion: It was supposition based on study, but still only supposition. Yet, it was enough to base a decision on. He decided to go ahead with the excavation. The Excavation Begins January 1979 Ron Wyatt and his sons Ronny and Danny return to Jerusalem and began the excavations. They would eventually remove many tons of rock and debris, sifting through all of it for artifacts: A requirement of the Department of Antiquities which they were happy to comply with. They began by digging straight down along a cliff face, forming a steep wall with the earth they removed. Almost immediately, Ron noticed a "shelf-like" niche cut into the face of the cliff. Digging down further, he discovered there were three of these "niches" cut into the face of the cliff with a smaller one on the right side. "Niches" As the location of the dig was in the vicinity of the "skull face", known to be a crucifixion site, Ron was convinced that these were cut into the cliff-face to hold "signs" or notices stating the crime of the crucifixion victims in three languages (Hebrew, Greek and Latin). As Ron continued to dig he found a First Century building. His conclusion that it was a First Century building was based on the fact that the earliest coin he found in the dig was a Roman coin of Tiberius who was Emperor from 14 to 37 AD; the latest coins being from about 135 AD. This building was built directly adjacent to the cliff-face and portion of the back wall extended along the actual face of the cliff. The foundations of the building were still in place. Ron noticed a very unusual large rock which was too symmetrical to be a natural-shaped rock. When he lifted it, he discovered that it was covering a squarish hole chiseled into the bedrock. Stone covering "Squarish Hole" As he examined this hole and cleared away the dirt around it, he discovered that it had a large crack extending out from it. As they removed more dirt and debris, he discovered a platform-like shelf of bedrock which extended out about 8 feet from the face of the cliff, and this squarish hole was chiseled in this "shelf." "Squarish Hole" and crevice His earlier conclusion that the cut-out niches were for signs, stating the crucifixion victim's crime, was now supported by the fact that he had found more square holes, all about twelve to thirteen inches square, cut into the bedrock. He was convinced that these holes once held crosses. The building structure that remained intact showed that it originally covered the entire site. He concluded, based on the evidence they'd found, that a Christian church had been built over the place of the crucifixion of Christ - the stone wall extended along the cliff-face directly behind the cross-hole that was on the "platform-like" shelf of bedrock. It appeared that this was the place where the "featured" criminal-victim was crucified, being elevated several feet above those crucified around him. He believed that the one elevated above the rest (on the shelf-like platform of bedrock), held the cross of Christ. The crack extending out from the cross-hole on the elevated "platform" appeared to Ron to have been caused by an earthquake. It displayed no evidence of being chiseled. As he removed debris from the cross-hole, he finally reached the bottom and measured it - it extended 23.5 inches into the solid bedrock, while the crack appeared to extend much deeper. 1980 By this time, Ron and the boys had been working here for almost two years. They had begun in January of 1979 and it was now late 1980. They had explored the entire underground cliff-face, looking for an entrance into a cave or tunnel. If the Ark was in that location, it certainly would be hidden in a cave, he reasoned. Finally, as they continued to search, Ron made the comment to the boys that he was "impressed" that they should just break through the rock of the cliff-face. Ronny said he thought that was a good idea, but Ron resisted. That rock is extremely hard and he knew what difficult work it would be. Finally, when Danny told his father that he, too, believed they ought to go ahead and break through the cliff face, Ron relented and agreed. It was the only option left. With hammers and chisels, they began their work. It wasn't long before they broke through the rock into an open space. Enlarging the hole, they saw behind it a cave which was about 15 feet in height and of about the same width. Crawling through, they finally were inside the actual mountain called "Moriah." Most people think that were the temple was is the highest point on Mount Moriah. Actually the mountain keeps getting higher and higher up the area in which Ron was digging. As the mountain kept getting higher, it was impossible for the northern walls of the city to be defended. In order to alleviate the problem an escarpment or "a dry moat" was dug outside the northern wall so that an invading army would have to go down through the escarpment before approaching the wall. Because of the escarpment, most people do not realize that the area known as "the place of the skull" is actually the highest point on Mt. Moriah. Perhaps the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac? (See the Map Below) Map of Mt. Moriah Inside the Cave System For almost two years, they had been tunneling underground, finding artifacts and uncovering exciting structures almost daily. But now, they were in a barren cavern that they would soon learn was only a very small part of a very extensive honeycomb of natural caves and tunnels within the mountain. The Ark of the Covenant January 1981 As 1981 came to an end, Ron and the boys returned to Jerusalem. Even though it is cold there in the winter, the cave system was always a very comfortable and constant temperature, both in summer as well as winter. The work, however, was beginning to take a toll on all three of them. They all began to develop a fever and slight chills and pneumonia-like symptoms. On December 24th Ron had to send Ronny back to the US because he was so ill. Danny had to follow on December 31. Ron was sick too; but continued to work, for as he prayed, in his mind came the promise that he would find the Ark of the Covenant at that time. January 1, 1982 Alone, without the boys, Ron needed some help. Ron had met one young local man named "James". whom he had discovered was very honest and trustworthy. He began to use him in the actual excavation when Ronny and Danny weren't available. Ron and the boys had explored most of the tunnels over the last year, but Ron's plan this trip was to leave no possibility unexplored. He and "James" crawled through the vast system of tunnels, now much larger and extensive because of the passages they had opened up and the walls they had chiseled through. Ron would decide where to go next and he and "James" would follow that tunnel. If and when they found a small opening, Ron would enlarge it enough for "James" to crawl through, and he would carefully check it out and report to Ron everything that he saw. They followed one particularly difficult passageway which took them through a "chimney" which extended straight up and a tight tunnel which was so small that Ron had to exhale in order to squeeze through. He had to stop to take a breath and when he inhaled, the tunnel was so tight he couldn't fill his lungs completely. A tight tunnel When they got through, Ron saw a very small opening in the wall of the tunnel they were now in. Directly in front of it was a stalactite about 16 inches long which almost appeared to be "guarding" the tiny hole. He broke the stalactite off. Enlarging the tiny hole enough to see in, Ron could see, with the aid of his flashlight, a cave chamber completely full of rocks, (all larger than "fist" size), with about 18 inches of clearance between the rocks and the ceiling. The chamber did not look promising at first but leaving nothing unexplored, Ron enlarged it enough for "James" to crawl through. Almost as soon as "James" crawled through the tiny opening, he frantically came tumbling back out, shaking and shouting "What's in there? What's in there? I'm not going back in there!!" Ron saw in his eyes sheer, complete and utter terror; yet James said he had seen nothing! Whatever he experienced was real, for he left not only that chamber, but the entire cave system, never to return. "James'" reaction sparked a hesitant excitement in Ron - he would have never given that chamber another look if not for "James'" terror. Now alone in this vast cave system, he took his hammer and chisel and enlarged the hole, crawling through. With only about 18 inches clearance, he had to lie on his stomach with nothing but his flashlight in his hand for light. January 6, 1982 - 2 PM Shining his flashlight down through the massive pile of large rocks, his eye caught a glimpse of something shiny. He began slowly removing the rocks one at a time and discovered some dry-rotted wooden timbers just beneath the rocks, and then some also dry-rotted remains of animals skins that turned to powder when he moved them. The animals skins were covering a gold veneered table with a raised molding around the side which consisted of an alternating pattern of a bell and a pomegranate. It only took him a moment to realize that at the least this was an object from the first temple! But he was in such a confined space, he couldn't uncover the entire table. He later concluded, after closer examination, that this was the Table of Shewbread. With great anticipation, he looked around to see what else he could see, which wasn't much. He shined his flashlight around the open area and then up to the ceiling. There, he saw something that caught his eye - it was a crack in the ceiling with a black substance within the crack. Crawling slowly and painfully over the rocks to the rear of the chamber, he saw a stone case extending through the rocks. It had a flat stone top which was cracked completely in two and the smaller section was moved aside, creating an opening into the stone case. But the top was too near the ceiling for him to look inside. Yet he knew what was inside. The crack in the ceiling was directly above the cracked part of the lid, where it was open, and the black substance had fallen from the crack into the case because some of it had splashed onto the lid. It was at this time, as Ron recalls, as the instant realization of what had happened here dawned on him, that he passed out. When he realized that the crack in the ceiling was the end of the crack he had found in the elevated cross-hole many feet above him, and the black substance was blood which had fallen through the crack and into the stone case. Ron then knew that the Ark of the Covenant was in the stone case: But the most overwhelming realization was that Christ's Blood had actually fallen onto the Mercy Seat. Ron Wyatt became the first witness to the literal fulfillment of the "type" represented by all the sacrifices made by God's people since Adam and Eve, and later specifically directed by God, Himself, in the laws of the sacrificial system. When Ron came to it was 2:45 PM. The condition of the chamber, completely full within 18 inches of the ceiling, made it impossible for Ron to do anything else. He could not foresee any possible way of bringing anything out unless the entrance to the chamber through which the objects were originally taken in was found. He climbed out the small hole, back through the tortuous series of tunnels and sealed the passageway with a stone. To anyone looking through the tunnel, it would appear that it came to an abrupt end. However, the rock could and would be easily removed by Ron when he returned. Ron did not report his experience to anyone at that time. He had expected to find the Ark and bring it out, but that now seemed impossible. He made several more trips into the chamber, and eventually reported to the authorities what he had found. Inside the Ark of the Covenant LATER... Ron returned to the chamber. Using a star tipped drill he made a 5/8 inch hole in the stone case. Ron had brought with him a colonoscope (a medical device with a powerful light source used to look into the human body). Inserting the colonoscope into the hole he could see the crown-molding around the top of the Mercy Seat and the flat golden side. As the colonoscope doesn't allow viewing of a large area, and since he had little means to guide it other than a small latitude of rotation, he couldn't see a great deal. But he saw enough to know for sure that it was the Ark of the Covenant. LATER... During his several visits to the chamber, Ron tried to thoroughly explore the contents. He measured the chamber and found it to be 22 feet long by 12 feet on 2 sides, while the other 2 sides followed the line of the cliff-face, forming a chamber that narrowed down in one corner. The objects he saw in that chamber that he feels confident in identifying are: the Ark of the Covenant in the Stone case; the Table of Shewbread; the Golden Altar of Incense that was in front of the veil; the Golden Censer; the seven-branched Candlestick holder, (which didn't have candles but had tiny, bowl-like golden oil lamps which are built into the tips of the candlestick); a very large sword; an Ephod; a Miter with an ivory pomegranate on the tip; a brass shekel weight; numerous oil lamps; and a brass ring which appeared to be for hanging a curtain or something similar. There are more objects, but these are all Ron could positively identify. All of these objects were covered by the dry-rotted dark-colored animal skins, then dry-rotten wooden timbers on top of the skins, and finally the large rocks piled over everything. On the back of the Ark is a small open cubicle which still contains the "Book of the Law" and is presumably the one Moses, himself, wrote. Ron found the Scrolls, written on animal skins, to be in perfect condition. The Original Passage Used to Carry the Ark into the Cave Before permanently sealing the passageway, Ron had gone into the chamber with the Ark and opened the original entrance to see if he could follow it to its point of origin. When he opened it, he discovered on the other side a very large tunnel which extended in both directions. He observed that the tunnel appeared to be a natural tunnel that had been enlarged as he saw chisel marks. It was completely blocked with large stones in both directions. The problem now to be solved was determining the path taken by those who put the items in the chamber. To resolve this question, Ron began by using simple reason. The items had been in the temple - that was their point of origin. They were now in this chamber, many feet below ground level. A great number of tunnels have been found under the temple mount and the city, but none that he knew of were heading in this direction. … truncated (22,101 more characters in archive)