NARRATOR: According to the stories of the Hebrew Bible,
the Ark of the Covenant did at one time reside
in this very spot, and there are those who believe it is still
hidden somewhere on the site.
But this holy relic went missing more than 2,500 years ago,
and people have been searching for it ever since.
Considered the most sacred and mysterious artifact
in ancient Israel, the Ark of the Covenant
was revered by the Hebrew people as the embodiment
of God's presence on earth.
MICHAEL J.S. CARTER: What was so special about the Ark
was that it housed the history of the Israelites
once they left Egypt.
It reminded a people who had been slaves in Egypt
for millennia that they were not alone, that this God was
constantly with them.
NARRATOR: The story of the Ark begins in the 15th century BC.
According to the Bible's Book of Exodus,
after the Israelites were released from Egypt,
God summoned Moses to the peak of Mount Sinai
and gave him two stone tablets carved
with the Ten Commandments.
He also gave him specific instructions for building
the Ark of the Covenant.
KATHLEEN MCGOWAN: Moses was given
very specific measurements.
It was to be 2 and 1/2 cubits long, 1 and 1/2 cubits
wide, 1 and 1/2 cubits deep.
So we're looking at a container that
was a little over 4 feet long and about
2 feet wide and 2 feet deep.
The container must be made of acacia wood,
that it must be covered with gold.
The top of the Ark was to be surmounted by angels,
two cherubim with large wings that would face each other,
and their wings would cover the top of the Ark.
NARRATOR: The Ark was designed to be carried by poles
inserted into four gold rings, two
on each side of the container.
It was very important that no one touch the Ark.
It was too powerful, too holy, and a person
would die if they touched it.
It was also covered in a very elaborate way
so that passers-by wouldn't look at it.
Such was the power of the Ark of the Covenant
that it would be dangerous even to look at it.
HUGH NEWMAN: The lid of the Ark was called the mercy seat,
and there were said to be two cherubims on top
with their wings pointing to each other
with a gap between them.
This is actually the gap where Yahweh or God
was supposed to have spoken.
In Exodus 25:22, God tells Moses, when you build this,
I will meet you between the cherubim,
and I will give you commands.
NARRATOR: Ancient accounts of the Ark
portray it as possessing mysterious powers that
aided the Israelites during their journey
to the promised land--
parting rivers, leveling mountains,
and destroying armies.
But it was also incredibly dangerous to handle.
ERICH VON DANIKEN: Whatever the Ark of the Covenant was,
the object was definitely very, very dangerous.
In the second book of the king, you can read
that several accidents happen.
A priest with the name of Uzzah touched the Ark,
and like an electrical shock, he just fell on the ground,
and he was dead.
GIORGIO A.TSOUKALOS: In the Bible,
we have multiple stories of people
not only dying when they came in contact with the Ark,
but some didn't die, but only died a week or two later.
How did they die?
Because they had boils on their skin, and their hair
started to fall out.
Well, that is a sign of radioactive poisoning
or radioactive fallout.
The most important thing about trying to understand how
the Ark of the Covenant functioned
is the fact that specific instructions
were given by God to Moses about how it was to be manufactured--
the exact size, how it was to be raised off the ground, how
it's to be carried.
So there were specifics here that had to be carried out,
and this tells us almost certainly that we are dealing
with technology, a technology that was given
either by God or by some kind of entity or being
of nonterrestrial origin.
NARRATOR: Is it possible, as ancient-astronaut theorists
suggest, that the baffling powers ascribed to the Ark
provide evidence that it contained highly advanced
and perhaps extraterrestrial technology?