Raiders of the lost Ark

Dr. Indiana Jones manages to find the golden idol of a local deity in South America, but it is taken from him by his French rival Belloq, and Jones barely escapes with his life. Back in the United States, after giving a lecture at his college, he is visited by two government agents who inform him that the Germans are conducting excavations in Cairo. An intercepted telegram reveals that they have found the lost city of Tanis, the supposed resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, and need a specific artifact to locate it. The artifact was last known to be in the possession of Abner Ravenwood, with whom Jones studied. To get ahead of the Germans, Jones is sent to Nepal to retrieve the artifact from Ravenwood's daughter. They then travel to Egypt, where the Germans think they have located the Ark with a copy of the artifact, but the copy is flawed, and they are digging in the wrong place. Together with Sallah, an old friend of Jones, they manage to find the true location, but the Germans steal the Ark from them. Jones and Marion barely escape death. Indy manages to steal the Ark back from the Germans while Sallah and Marion head to Cairo. The Ark is put on a ship, but en route, a German submarine appears and takes possession of the Ark. Marion is taken along, and the captain pretends that Jones was killed in order to sell the woman later. Jones manages to infiltrate the German submarine and reaches a Greek island where the Ark is to be opened with a Jewish ritual to confirm its authenticity. While trying to rescue Marion, Jones is captured. Both are tied to a post and forced to witness the events. When the Ark is opened, a ghostly figure appears and kills everyone who looks at it. All the Germans, including Belloq, perish. Only Jones and Marion survive by closing their eyes until the Ark shuts itself. Back in the USA, Jones is informed that the Ark will not be displayed in the museum as agreed, but instead will be examined by "experts." Jones feels betrayed by this decision. In the end, it is shown that no examination takes place, and the Ark is stored in a large warehouse among many other wooden crates.

The Hovitos

It is the year 1936. The film begins in an unspecified part of South America, where our hero is searching for a supposed golden idol in a hidden Chachapoya temple. Did the Hovitos exist? Did they possess golden idols that they kept in temples? The idol that Indiana Jones grabs is sacred to the Hovitos, so sacred that they would kill to get it back. The Hovitos were likely based on the Chachapoya, who lived in the Andes of the Amazon region in northern Peru. This area borders Ecuador to the north. The capital of the region is Chachapoya, named after the historic Andean people. The Andes here are higher than any other mountain range outside of Asia, and somewhere there lived the Chachapoya, so high that they were "in the clouds." They were therefore known as Cloud Warriors and were also called Fog Warriors or Cloud People. They spent their time hunting and raiding in the hot, humid, ever-green forests. Shortly before the arrival of the Spaniards in Peru in the 16th century, the Inca had defeated the Chachapoya. The Hovitos idol may have come from the Inca gold treasure. The capital of the Inca Empire was Cuzco. In the center of Cuzco was a large Sun Temple, the Coricancha, which in Quechua, the language of the local Indians, meant "storehouse of gold," "golden temple," or "golden courtyard." There, cult figures from all the provinces conquered by the Incas were kept. Allegedly, there was so much gold in this temple that even the walls and floors were covered with it. The inner courtyard of the temple had golden statues, and even in the temple itself, sanctuaries were stored. It is also possible that the Hovito temple is based on the historic Chachapoya temple of Kuelap, which was about 580 meters long and built on the top of a 3,000-meter-high mountain. The outer walls of Kuelap are made of stone blocks, each weighing 1,000 tons. To reach Kuelap, one had to climb a very narrow, 30-meter-long path bordered by inward-leaning walls. The Chachapoya wanted to protect themselves from the Inca, as they could attack intruders from above while they struggled up the narrow path. To reach the Hovitos temple, Indiana Jones had to climb a similarly narrow path. The Chachapoya dominated northern Peru from 700 to 1480 when the Inca conquered them. The Quechua people living in Peru today still speak the ancient language of the Inca. They wear ponchos and hats in bright colors with distinctive patterns, just as the Quechuas do in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Archaeologists are well acquainted with the ruins of the Chachapoya. The people built fortresses throughout the mountains, and military strength was very important to them. Because they had long fought fiercely against the Inca, the Chachapoya warriors were considered brutal and aggressive. In 1547, Spanish soldiers arrived in Chachapoya and corralled the remaining natives into settlements where poverty and disease quickly spread. Under Spanish rule in the following 200 years, the Chachapoya population decreased by 90 percent. When Indiana Jones reached Peru in 1936, the Chachapoya were long gone, and archaeologists only knew the location of a few Chachapoya ruins. Their fortresses, cult objects, and mummies were buried deep in the dangerous jungle beneath the dense cloud cover.

Kuelap

Kuelap is a former fortress and village of the Chachapoya. It is located high above the Utcubamba River Valley, near Chachapoyas, in the Luya Province of the northern Peruvian Andes. The fortress stands on a ridge and housed over 300 individual houses on its three levels. Archaeologists are not in agreement about whether the fortress was a permanently inhabited village or whether the residents of the surrounding villages only retreated there in times of emergency. The area is described as having perhaps the highest density of undiscovered and unexplored "places of historical interest" in all of South America. The fortress was built by the Chachapoya, whose culture existed from about 900 to 1400. It was rediscovered in 1843 by Don Juan Crisóstomo Nieto, a judge from Chachapoyas. The ruin complex is 580 meters long in the north-south extension, and the greatest width in the east-west direction is 110 meters. In places where there is not already a very steep slope, it is secured with a wall up to 21 meters high. Entrance is only possible through one of the three high but extremely narrow entrances, through which, for strategic reasons, only one person can pass at a time. The main entrance is designed in such a way that, should an enemy manage to get inside, they can be thrown out again at the directly opposite exit. Different social classes were settled on the various levels of the fortress, which can be seen in the decoration of the houses with typical Chachapoya elements and patterns. The uppermost level, the "Castillo," was presumably inhabited by the nobility; the "upper village" was inhabited by military personnel. In the "lower village," there are simple residential houses, often with basements. The structure of the room layout with kitchen and grinding stone is still well recognizable in some places. In the middle of the fortress, there is also a square house, which probably dates back to the Incas, as the Chachapoya traditionally built their houses round. It is believed that it was used for meetings of the highest social class. In January 2017, a cable car was opened, which leads shortly after the village of Nuevo Tingo to the entrance area, making the site much more accessible.

The Golden Idol

The golden statuette with ivory-colored eyes is based on a real existing idol found by archaeologists in South America—the female goddess Tlazolteotl. Tlazolteotl was the goddess of lust and forbidden love in Aztec mythology. She was also known as Tlaelquani and was regarded as the goddess of repentance and purification. Tlazolteotl was the one who tempted people into debauchery, adultery, and sexual excesses. She was also seen as the bearer of sexually transmitted diseases, which were often interpreted as punishment for sexual excesses. At the same time, she was the one who forgave these sins, cleansing the sinner through her "eating of filth." This dual function was expressed through her epithet Ixcuina. Aztec prostitutes framed their mouths with melted black rubber to indicate their association with Tlazolteotl. They saw themselves as priestesses of the filth goddess, as they absorbed the bad passions of their clients. Found in Mexico, the statuette is now located in the pre-Columbian section of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, DC. However, the real idol was not made of solid gold but carved from a block of jade or another type of stone.

In the film, it had to have a special visual effect. Presenting it in gold heightened the competition for this valuable object between Dr. Jones and his rivals Forrestal and Belloq even more. To reach the idol and, most importantly, to leave alive, it was necessary to overcome various dangerous traps. Although these types of traps actually existed in the past, they did not occur in Aztec culture. There was the possibility of hidden chambers or tombs, but such traps to keep or even kill tomb raiders only existed among the ancient Egyptians. Through this short section from the beginning of the film, director Steven Spielberg shows us how he goes to great lengths to bring the Indiana Jones films as close as possible to real archaeology.

The Nazis and the Occult

After Indiana's adventure with the idol of the Hovitos, he returns to his professorship at Marshall College in Connecticut. There, two intelligence officers from the US Army appear to hire him to search for the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, which they believe the Nazis are after. The Nazis are seeking a mysterious power and want to find Abner Ravenwood, who was Indiana Jones' mentor before he earned his doctorate. Ravenwood is one of the world's leading experts on Tanis, an ancient Egyptian city where the Nazis are digging for the Ark. The US Army believes that the Nazis are looking for Ravenwood because he possesses the headpiece of the Staff of Ra, which is the key to pinpointing the exact location of the Ark. Many high-ranking Nazis like Rudolf Hess, Heinrich Himmler, and Richard Walter Darré had a keen interest in the occult. Hitler himself believed he was a being chosen by "Providence." He claimed that during World War I, he followed a voice that urged him to leave his position in a crowded trench. Immediately afterward, the trench was indeed hit by a shell, killing all of Hitler's comrades. From then on, he believed he was destined for a special task in this world. He was obsessed with the idea that a supernatural power protected him. Another episode reinforced this belief. During World War I, he escaped the deadly shot of a British soldier. Henry Tandey had the corporal Hitler in his rifle's sights but at the last moment lowered his weapon. Out of a feeling of pity and empathy, he spared the young man on the opposing side. Tandey's kindness later plunged the world into terrible suffering. Strangely enough, Tandey was one of the most highly decorated soldiers of the British Army. He received the Victoria Cross for bravery during the Battle of Marcoing—the very battle in which he spared the future Führer. Hitler saw Tandey lower his rifle and decided that the gods of war had descended to earth to save him. In memory of this sacred moment, Hitler asked for a picture of Tandey in 1937, which he later hung in his summer residence in Berchtesgaden. Some people believed that Hitler was possessed by demons, but there is no evidence for this. Hermann Rauschning, an insignificant Nazi politician and a rather unreliable source of information, wrote a book claiming Hitler was possessed. Pope Pius XII performed three exorcisms on Hitler—from a distance. Pope Benedict XVI also considered it possible that Hitler was possessed by demons. Hitler himself, of course, did not believe this. Rather, he thought he was under the protection of the gods and had a spiritual role to play in the world. But the belief of the Nazis in mysticism and divine intervention in their favor goes much deeper than Hitler's obsession with himself as a god-like power. The German public largely believed in this myth as well. For many Nazis, Hitler was a kind of second Jesus, idealized as a savior sent by God. Heinrich Himmler was fascinated by Germanic neopaganism. Neopaganism is a modern form of paganism that involves animal sacrifices. The deities of Germanic neopaganism included Anglo-Saxon and Norse gods. Followers of this religion venerated their ancestors and considered the gods to be their forefathers. Germanic neopaganism also included rituals that summoned dwarves and elves. Himmler promoted esoteric Hitlerism. He believed he was a reincarnation of Henry I, also known as Henry the Fowler, one of the great Roman-German kings of the Middle Ages. Henry had been Duke of Saxony since 912 and King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. Himmler had his private rooms in Wewelsburg decorated in honor of this king and organized many SS rituals as the reincarnation of Henry I. This makes it clear that many high-ranking Nazis indeed had a great interest in various areas of the occult. The SS employed many occultists to assist them in warfare. Ludwig Straniak, Dr. Wilhelm Gutberlet, and Wilhelm Wulff advised the Nazis Walter Schellenberg and Himmler. Astrologer Wilhelm Wulff was tasked with finding Mussolini, who was hiding 50 miles south of Rome. Using astrology and dowsing, Wulff sought an answer. Using his mediumistic abilities, Wulff actually managed to locate Mussolini on the island of Ponza, where Allied troops were holding him. Architect Ludwig Straniak was ordered to find a battleship on a secret Nazi mission at sea. Straniak let his pendulum swing over a map and located the ship near the Norwegian coast.

The Headpiece of the Staff of Ra

Let's start with a story: On November 1, 1922, the next excavation began, and on November 4, workers at the tomb of Ramses VI stumbled upon a stone staircase leading downwards. After the debris was cleared from the staircase, they found a walled-up door with intact seals. This was the famous tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun. The media frenzy following the discovery was immense. Many journalists traveled to the Valley of the Kings to be on-site. In 1923, the London "Times" received an exclusive contract allowing them to be the first to report on all the findings. Lord Carnarvon died on April 5, 1923. The newspapers immediately linked his death to the pharaoh's curse, claiming that those who disturb the pharaoh's rest would be cursed and die. This was supposedly written on a clay tablet found in Tutankhamun's tomb, although the existence of this tablet is doubtful. However, the press coined the term "pharaoh's curse" after Lord Carnarvon's death. All individuals involved in the excavation who died in the following period were said to be victims of the curse. The fact that others, such as Carter himself or Lord Carnarvon's daughter who was present at the tomb opening, lived for many years played no role—the supposed curse persisted... Now, why are we talking about the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb? Not only because it is a highlight of archaeological history, but also because jewels found in the treasure chamber alongside the sarcophagus served as inspiration for artifacts in the first Indiana Jones film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Specifically, the headpiece of the Staff of Ra.

The Headpiece of the Staff of Ra has two siblings, which are not medallions but are practically identical. The Headpiece of the Staff of Ra is based on earrings found in a casket in the treasure room, which Tutankhamun likely wore as a child. As you can see, they are practically identical. If we isolate the round part and then the highest part of the earrings, we can see that both the earrings and the medallion are almost identical, with clear corresponding differences. There are also small details, such as the bird's legs, tail, etc., that show us how important these jewels were for the creation of the film artifact. Anyone who has seen the film will surely remember.

Tanis

Tanis (ancient Egyptian Djanet; Arabic Sān el-Hadschar/صان الحجر/Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar) was an ancient Egyptian city in the northeastern Nile Delta. The earliest finds date back to the late Ramesside period and include simple burials, sometimes in so-called slipper coffins. Earlier habitation has not yet been proven. This is consistent with the lack of textual sources. The archaeological site is located southeast of the present-day village of San al-Hagar. In older research, particularly in many essays by the excavator Pierre Montet, the city was equated with Pi-Ramesses. This assumption has since been proven incorrect; Pi-Ramesses is now located about 30 km south near the modern town of Qantir. Only at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period (1075–652 BC) did a large city suddenly emerge, which also became the capital of Egypt during the 21st Dynasty. This is evidenced on the one hand by a written source of the Egyptian name of the city, Djanet, in the story of Wenamun. On the other hand, archaeological evidence shows that due to the silting up of the Pelusiac Nile branch, the abandoned Pi-Ramesses served as a quarry for Tanis since the 21st Dynasty, as this period marked the beginning of the construction of large temple complexes. Newer interpretations suggest that Pi-Ramesses was even deliberately relocated, with the most important representative buildings dismantled and moved to the Tanite Nile branch to establish the new capital there. Many rulers of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties found their final resting place here. Throughout the further course of the Egyptian Late Period, Tanis remained an important site.

The Map Room and the Well of Souls

The room in which Indiana Jones, with the help of the Headpiece of the Staff of Ra, finds the Well of Souls, where the Ark of the Covenant is hidden, is called the Map Room or Model Room. It is an underground structure with a barrel vault, very similar to the tombs of Deir-el-Medina in Egypt. At the other end of the room is a pair of jackals in the lunette, reminiscent of the decoration in Sennedjem's burial TT1. On the walls, you can see scenes from the Book of the Dead. The Egyptian tombs were indeed fully adorned with scenes from the Book of the Dead to help the soul of the deceased on its journey to the afterlife.

The room with the model of Tanis reproduces the classic elements of an Egyptian necropolis. There is a pyramid, an obelisk, and two giant pharaohs sitting on thrones, similar to the famous Colossi of Memnon. According to the script, Pharaoh Shishak I stole the Ark of the Covenant and buried it in Tanis in a secret chamber called the Well of Souls.

René Belloq and the High Priest's Attire

Efod or Ephod (Hebrew אֵפוֹד) refers to the liturgical garment of the high priest of the Israelites. The detailed description of the Efod is found in Exodus 28:6-14. The garments of the high priest were for glory and beauty. This is also said of the garments of the priests (the sons of Aaron). However, while only two or three verses are dedicated to the garments of the priests, the clothing of the high priest is described in great detail. This is certainly because the high priest is a figure of the Lord Jesus, the true high priest. Six garments of the high priest are mainly presented in Exodus 28: the breastplate, the ephod, the robe, the tunic, the turban, and the sash. The high priest likely did not put on these garments in this order. We need to see more of a moral order here. Remarkably, the detailed enumeration does not begin with the breastplate but with the ephod. The ephod was the symbol of the priestly service par excellence. The ephod featured four colors known from the curtains of the Tabernacle, testifying to the various glories of the Lord Jesus. Cherubim were not woven in, as the idea of judgment does not fit the high priest. The sash belonging to the ephod was made of the same work as the ephod itself. On the shoulder pieces of the ephod were two precious onyx stones set in gold with braided gold chains. Each stone had six names of the tribes of Israel engraved on it, in the order of their birth (the first name was Reuben). The order of birth reminds us that it is not about the behavior of the tribes or a moral order in this context. When the high priest entered the sanctuary, he wore the ephod, and the names were on his shoulders. When God saw the high priest, he also saw the names of the tribes

The Ark of the Covenant

In the first episode of the film saga, Indy and Marion search for one of the most fascinating and controversial historical artifacts in history—the Ark of the Covenant. But did it really exist? If so, where is it today? The Ark of the Covenant is first mentioned in the Old Testament. According to tradition, it contains the remnants of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, a golden jar of manna, and Aaron's budding rod. The Ark is described in detail in the Book of Exodus. It was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. The lid was also covered with gold leaf, and on it stood two cherubim with outstretched wings. Between the cherubim, it is said that God Himself appeared. The Ark of the Covenant was mostly kept covered because it had the power to kill anyone who merely attempted to look at it or touch it.

There is a story in the Bible that tells of the fall of the walls of Jericho, the oldest walls known to humanity. The story recounts that the Israelites, in order to reach the Promised Land, had to cross the city of Jericho. Upon reaching the city walls and carrying the Ark of the Covenant before them, they began to play their trumpets. At that moment, as if shaken by an earthquake, the walls of Jericho collapsed, allowing them to pass.

Further according to the Bible, we learn that the Hebrews carried the Ark of the Covenant during their journey into the desert and, upon arriving in Jerusalem, deposited it in the so-called Temple of Solomon. The architect Hiram built the famous temple on behalf of Darius and later King Solomon himself. According to rumors, he acquired architectural knowledge from the Egyptians and their pyramid construction and applied it to the building of the temple. Even the Sistine Chapel in Rome and other churches are said to have been built centuries later using the same technique. From here, every trace of it is lost.

General interpretations by historians hypothesize that the Ark of the Covenant was destroyed in 587 BC when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. However, there is no documentation explicitly mentioning the destruction of the Ark. Some even believe that the Ark was removed from the Temple before the Babylonians arrived.

In 925 BC, the king of Egypt, Shishak I, marched into Jerusalem and took all the treasures of the temple. Was the Ark of the Covenant among these treasures? This is actually the hypothesis on which the Indiana Jones film is based. The Ark of the Covenant hidden among the ruins of Tanis, the ancient capital of Egypt.

There is also another story. In 1760, James Bruce, one of the pioneers of African exploration, discovered a document that suggested a connection between Ethiopia and the Hebrews. Written down in an ancient religious text called "Kebra Nagast," it is said that King Solomon allegedly had a romantic relationship with the Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia and had a son named Menelik with her. According to legend, around 950 BC, Menelik stole the Ark of the Covenant from the temple and brought it to Ethiopia.

In the 1990s, based on this information, the English journalist Graham Hancock undertook an attempt to find the Ark of the Covenant, which took him 2 years. This eventually led him to the Ethiopian city of Axum. In fact, the Hebrew community there still claims to have the Ark of the Covenant in their possession and that it is kept in the Church of St. Mary of Zion. However, only selected priests are allowed to enter the so-called Sancta Sanctorum. Unfortunately, Hancock was only able to speak with the guardian, who did not allow him to see the alleged Ark of the Covenant. Many important personalities followed in his footsteps, hoping to see the Ark, but they were also unsuccessful.

Nowadays, it is said that there is only one photo in existence where it can be seen. Due to structural damage caused by a civil war between 1974 and 1991, a team of architects was commissioned to renovate the church. During the repair work, one of them gained unauthorized access to the Sancta Sanctorum and took a picture of the alleged Ark of the Covenant. But is it really? Is the object in the photo the actual Ark of the Covenant mentioned in the Bible? No one has been able to confirm or deny this to this day. Many believe that the photo, despite its poor quality, shows the true Ark of the Covenant, and they are convinced that the book "Kebra Nagast" tells the true story and explains its sudden disappearance.

In the aforementioned village, where the Ark of the Covenant is said to be located, there is an annual festival called the "Feast of Timkat." During the procession, a small replica of the Ark is carried on the head. The Ark of the Covenant is thus not only an important element of the film but also demonstrates its significance in real archaeology, or more precisely, in "Biblical Archaeology."

According to other sources or traditions, the Ark of the Covenant appears in other places as well. One of these places is, for example, the outer columns of the Cathedral of Chartres in France, which depict the Ark of the Covenant with the inscription "Arca cederis." Legend has it that the Knights Templar found the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem and brought it to France. We know that this cannot be true as the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and all treasures were taken away. Evidence of this event can be found carved into the Arch of Titus in Rome. The Ark of the Covenant was considered lost then and is still considered lost today. Many archaeologists have searched for it but never found it. One thing is certain: it remains a source of stories and legends.