Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2008-03-12 05:36.
Just finished the book. What a disappointment. SPOLIER ALERT: Parfitt claims the Ark is really a drum that was also somehow loaded with primitive gun powder which caused it to explode and fume and ignite, scaring the hell out of people (e.g., Walls of Jericho, et al). He runs all over the world in a shaggy dog tale that winds up in a dusty museum in Zimbabwe looking at "ancient" fragments of an old "African" drum that he claims is THE Ark of the Covenant. Actually, he fudges seriously by showing that there were probably many "arks," and this one was built sometime in the late Middle Ages in the same design as the "original." God knows where the original is, of course. If this causes any stir whatsoever, people ought to have their heads examined. Better off sticking to the Indiana Jones version if you want entertainment. As with so many grail myths, this one simply peters out, alas and alack. Also, we are reminded that most historical events and personalities have grown serious whiskers over the centuries and need to be taken with considerable blocks of salt, especially those with religious implications.
Parfitt's new book on the Ark of the Covenant
Just finished the book. What a disappointment. SPOLIER ALERT: Parfitt claims the Ark is really a drum that was also somehow loaded with primitive gun powder which caused it to explode and fume and ignite, scaring the hell out of people (e.g., Walls of Jericho, et al). He runs all over the world in a shaggy dog tale that winds up in a dusty museum in Zimbabwe looking at "ancient" fragments of an old "African" drum that he claims is THE Ark of the Covenant. Actually, he fudges seriously by showing that there were probably many "arks," and this one was built sometime in the late Middle Ages in the same design as the "original." God knows where the original is, of course. If this causes any stir whatsoever, people ought to have their heads examined. Better off sticking to the Indiana Jones version if you want entertainment. As with so many grail myths, this one simply peters out, alas and alack. Also, we are reminded that most historical events and personalities have grown serious whiskers over the centuries and need to be taken with considerable blocks of salt, especially those with religious implications.