Rating: 
Summary: RESEARCH WITH IMAGINATION
Review: Graham Hancock's passion to find out the truth or at least some clear evidence about the existence and origins of the Ark of the Covenant is inspiring. It is a great intellectual excercise for people who enjoy questioning and I think his research work is very good. The basic notion is that the lost Ark, whose existence is mentioned in the Bible and different religions and traditions, was built with a presumably more advanced and lost knowledge and technology. Still, neither its existence nor its potientialities have been proved and its influence (at least for the people who believe in it) remains dogmatic.Although I enjoyed the book very much, I thought he was too quick in building conclusions from a fairy small body of information (and in jumping from one conclusion to another). I also felt he lacked some deepening at critical parts of the research. Yet, I found his reasoning persuasive and the combination of his open mind to new possibilities and his own creative thinking makes the reading really interesting. The narrative is great!
Rating: 
Summary: Man's Destiny and the Ark of the Covenant!
Review: As an intellectual adventure story this book is top rate. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I virtually read it in one sitting. That alone merits the book five stars; however, it is not without faults. I don't want to appear overly down on the book, but I do feel that I must point these things out. For one thing, the Holy Grail is not the Ark. They are two completely separate artifacts, and despite the fact that Hancock uses a lot of fudgery to convince himself of this, he is wrong. Next, the Knights Templar may have found the Ark, but again this is unlikely. Also, the book is a bit of a let-down because Hancock never actually finds the Ark. He rather assumes he has found it and then let's the reader's imagination run amok. While the Ark may be in Ethiopia (this is the most likely place for it's location), Hancock does not definitively show this. Many have faulted Hancock for what they term his "Egyptian bias". I myself do not. Anyone who has seen the Great Pyramids or even pictures of them knows that there is more to ancient Egypt than meets the modern eye. Egypt was pretty much the center of the ancient world, and it should be treated as such. Unfortunately, Hancock fails to reveal or appreciate the importance of the religious element in any rediscovery of the Ark. As a vessel which basically served as the meetingplace between man and God for the ancient Hebrew, a rediscovery of the Ark would be of immense religious significance for the Destiny of the Human Race in it's relationship with the Divine. This book is for dreamers and seekers, for those of us who view human history as guided by Providence and who continue to look for the primitive artifacts of our ancient ancestors in a better attempt to understand the place of man in this world. A word of warning. I liked this book a lot, so I attempted to find some other books of Hancock's to read. About this: Don't even bother. He ends up "selling out" to the "aliens crowd", who regard all the ancient myths as nothing more than a battle between mankind and the aliens (whatever that might mean). Wherever an unknown creature or something mysterious occurs, they attribute it to aliens. This is a religious type of movement and a product of postmodern decadence. It's not that I'm hostile to the notion of aliens (however, I myself admire the kind of radical super-humanism behind such modern notions as the Anthropic Cosmological Principle), but the idea that aliens at one time inhabitted the earth is pretty much unfounded. This totally fails to appreciate the ancient myths for what they are, encoded science, encoded history, and the psychological attempt by man to give meaning to his existence. As such, it robs man of his proper place in the universe and his relation to nature. In his other books, Hancock just throws speculation upon speculation in an attempt to support these unsubstantiated hypotheses. However, don't let this detract from the quality of this book, or the meaning behind man's search for the lost Ark.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly absorbing
Review: Whether you come out of this book believing the ark resides in Ethiopia or not, it remains to be said that Graham Hancock has produced a thoroughly interesting read, filled with indepth research and well based logical deduction. There is nothing better than reading a book on a subject like this where the author has done their homework. My advice is simply this: buy this book right now!
Rating:
Summary: Historical Detective Work at its Finest
Review: This is an exceedingly interesting book, albeit controversial, for anyone interested in "history's mysteries." For those of us who have pored through the works of Zecharia Sitchin and dared to ponder questions that the scientists and religious authorities regard as sacrilegious (after all, science itself is a religion), this is especially interesting material. You don't have to believe in Hancock's theories (although he offers a weighty, serious argument for them) in order to love this book. Even if you regard the idea of the Ark of the Covenant resting in Ethiopia (or the notion that the Ark even exists) as preposterous, you can still enjoy this book in the same way you can delight in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories; this book is about solving a mystery. Just as Holmes' series of adventures often resulted in no real, firm, graspable truth, so is the case here. This detracts little from the story, however. The final judgment is left up to you, the reader, which is the trademark of any substantive mystery--only in this way can the great and unattainable "truth," in its most esoteric sense, be glimpsed. Granted, Hancock is not a scientist or theologian, but this may in fact serve as his greatest qualification for tackling the types of lofty problems he embraces. After all, the vast majority of scientists and theologians dismiss without consideration the sorts of "wild" ideas discussed in this book; if not for the open minds of men like Mr. Hancock, many truths that have now been established would remain jokes told by the arrogant "experts" over tea--take, as an example, the discovery of Troy. As for the content of this book, it truly is a mix of history, religion, and archaeology. This is not Indiana Jones' quest for the Ark of the Covenant, so anyone looking for that sort of action will be disappointed. Anyone expecting to see pictures and Hancock's personal descriptions of the Ark will also be disappointed. Whatever rests in the Church of Saint Mary of Zion in Ethiopia will not and probably should not be revealed to the eyes of anyone other than its appointed guardian. What you will find in this book is a lesson on the history of the ancient Israelites and of the Biblical Ark, a history of Ethiopia (which I for one had never really heard the first thing about), a history of the mysterious Knights Templar (truly fascinating and mysterious men), and an enlightening story of Gothic architecture and mediaeval literature. Parzival is not an easy book to read, and thus it is rather unknown, even though it is just as important (and, if Hancock is correct, much more important) than Malory's better-known treatment of King Arthur and his search for the Holy Grail. The idea Hancock presents, namely that the Holy Grail was in fact the Ark of the Covenant, manages to bring together the story of the two most important Biblical artifacts in history. If you have an open mind and a zest for "understanding," then this book should definitely be included on your reading list. Believe Hancock's opinions or not, the tale he tells is fascinating, dramatic, and intellectually enlightening.
Rating:
Summary: Fun To Read
Review: The story begins with Graham Hancock in Ethiopia in 1983 when he is hired by the Mengistu regime to write a coffee-table book about Ethiopia (a business deal that he would later regret). While on this assignment, he goes to Axum because not only is it the birth place of Ethiopian Christianity, 331 CE, and the capital of the Ethiopian Empire from the first through approximately the tenth century, but also the site of many ancient ruins including palaces and obelisks more than two thousand years old. Here Hancock learns of an Ethiopian tradition, which holds that the Ark of the Covenant has been kept in Axum since its disappearance from Solomon's Temple between 970 and 931 BCE. After returning home, Hancock begins research on literature pertaining to the Ark of the Covenant. Naturally, he begins with the Old Testament, but ends up chasing leads connected to the militant religious order of the Knights Templar. He hypothesizes that Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parsival of Grail legend is an encrypted treasure map of sorts that leads to the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia. Following a trail of clues left by explorers and chroniclers, he is convinced that there is something to Ethiopia's claim to being the last resting place of the Ark. He draws many parallels between Parsival and the Kebra Nagast, the book that contains the Ethiopian legend of Menelik, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who abducted the Ark of the Covenant from his father's temple and brought it to Ethiopia. Hancock dismisses the Kebra Nagast account of how the Ark came to Ethiopia as only partially true legend and gives credit to faithful Jews who rescued it from King Manasseh. The Ark was taken to the island of Elephantine (Aswan in Egypt) where there was a group of Jews who had built a temple. It remained there for two hundred years before war made it unsafe for the Jews. They moved into the Ethiopian highlands around the end of the fifth century. Hancock believes this also explains the origin of the Falashas, Ethiopia's indigenous Jews. This book is quite a lot of fun to read. It appears to move quickly; from page to page Hancock discovers something new that sheds light on the mystery. Each clue seems to lead to something that in turn leads to something even more fascinating. It is helpful to remember that this book represents almost ten years of research, and what appears to move along in rapid succession has actually taken a long time to gather. Also, the material discussed and the works cited span thousands of years. It is easy to feel like you are really getting somewhere fast when you read it. Hancock is the first to recognize his shortcomings and limitations as historian, archeologist, and linguist. He never hesitates to call on experts to help him, and he gives very detailed accounts of his interviews. The book is heavily annotated with references to many scholarly works as well as relevant primary sources. Even so, Hancock is not at all pushy in his presentation. In fact, it reads like a personal memoir, his only goal is to satisfy his own curiosity. Any student of ancient civilization or medieval history should be pleased to read The Sign and the Seal for it contains a huge amount of information in these areas. Anyone who likes a good mystery will enjoy it, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads like a thriller.
Review: Hancock's work is very readable and easy to follow. This one, although not quite as good as "Fingerprints of the Gods," is also sometimes hard to put down and often reads like a mystery/thriller. I think I just wasn't as interested in the ark of the covenant as I was in the material in the other book. But there's a lot of interesting information here that I've never seen anyplace else. Lovers of ancient history will probably enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: A good detective story
Review: I found this book to be quite fascinating and enjoyable to read. He offers different opinions about where the Ark could be, then he settles on Ethiopia. I commend him for the amount of research involved in writing a book of this nature, but there are doubts to whether the Ark is actually in Ethiopia. I also believed, as a previous reviewer stated, that he spent too much time talking about the Knights Templar. However, I believe anyone who has any interest in this topic, or simply enjoys a good detective story, will enjoy reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Detective Story.
Review: This book deals with one of Archaeology's most interesting mysteries, but one that is rarely acknowledged as so, since the Ark of the Covenant is assumed to be legend by the Archaeological establishment. And Graham Hancock, who has by now made a career of challenging Academia's sacred cows, shows with "The Sign and the Seal" that to find answers it is necessary sometimes to get out and go places, like Ethiopia, which turns out to be a fascinating country of which I knew next to nothing. Hancock retraces the history of that culture, including the very probable presence of a strong Jewish influence millenia ago (otherwise it is difficult to explain how the Ark came to be kept in Ethiopia). The author's argument is convincing and reasonable. This does not mean that it is true, but it means that he has done an honest job, put his case forward, and made it available to us. We must decide. I had not given much thought to the Ark beyond going to see the movie by Spielberg. If it exists, though, it would be a fantastic discovery, and it might still have a surprise or two for us to learn. Read the book with an open mind. This one is not as challenging as his next best seller "Fingerprints of the Gods," but it shows a Graham Hancock already interested in mysteries that have been with us for a long time and for which the established scholars tend to have established -and mostly ludicrous- answers. It is good that the author knows what happens when you "assume" this or that. Starting with this point of view, he goes on to walk his own path, to show what he uncovers, and to reach his own conclusions. Just for that he is to be commended. He writes well, too, and his books are interesting. That doesn't hurt. "The Sign and the Seal" is a good mystery. Enjoy and get your own answers.
Rating:
Summary: Searching the Truth about the Arch fo the Covenant
Review: Fascinating account for a less known part of the Jewish history and the story of The Arch of the Covenant. Hancock traces the possible routes that the Arch could have been carried along, after its mysterious dissapearance from the temple of Solomon. Guaranteed to keep you awake as the author tries to unveil some of the most well kept secrets in history. Brilliantly logical in the presentation and at the same time exciting and intriguing narration. A must for all history and mystery lovers and an excellent begining for those who want to continue exploring the nearly mythical world of the Knight Templars.
Rating:
Summary: West Arabian evidence
Review: Hancock's book is an entertaining account of an enthusiast who, from his own admission, was largely ignorant of his subject when he set out to discover the truth about it. The book has three main flaws. Whether by design or cultural self-centeredness, Hancock is too interested in searching for Knights Templar involvement, although the so-called Templar crosses in Ethiopia/Eritrea date from the 5th century AD. Linking the Ark to medieval Europeans sells books [Munro-Hay's Aksum (1991) and The Ark of the Covenant (1999) are far more informative but don't sell outside academia because European historical romanticism is absent in his works]. Secondly, Hancock had little understanding of the Kebra Nagast, which is a combination of two separate works, the Sheba-Menelik Cycle dating from oral (10th century BC) and written (pre-400BC) Semitic sources (Josephus summarises it (ca.90AD); and the Caleb Cycle (ca 518 AD). When Isaac's team compiled the Kebra Nagast around 1314 AD they used an Arabic Sheba-Menelik Cycle and a Ge'ez Caleb Cycle and then put in their own comments to try and make sense of the bizarre geography of the Sheba-Menelik Cycle. This included references to Cairo and Alexandria, which didn't exist in Solomon's day, something Hancock overlooked. Hancock is hardly alone in his third and major miscalculation. It is now generally accepted in mainstream archaeology that no evidence exists in Israel/Palestine of the events and places described in the Old Testament up until the Babylonian captivity. The site of modern day Jerusalem in Solomon's day was covered by a few small villages. There was no great city and nothing has been found of Omri's even more magnificent capital in Samaria. Historical linguistics, Tamil trade words in Hebrew, the lack of Egyptian words in Hebrew, the history of the Iron-Age (The Hebrews of Joshua were iron-age invaders of Canaan but were supposed to have fled bronze age Egypt), 11th century BC political-economic conditions, the name for the Ark in Ge'ez, the pattern of ancient Jewish settlement, the Saudi Gazette of Place Names, inscriptions on the Ethiopian plateau, remnant Judaic populations in northern Somalia and Eritrea, the history of the Queen of Sheba (three are mentioned in the Tigre inscriptions) and the extraordinary geographical references all point to the true location of Solomon's kingdom being between Taima and the Yemen border, in West Arabia, not Israel/Palestine. The Ark was probably stolen from a sanctuary near Abha in Arabia. If Hancock's hypothesis of a theft from the site of present Jerusalem it is difficult to accept that the Ark, reputedly the most dangerous weapon on the planet and in the hands of a small group of hunted desperadoes, would be casually waved all the way through tightly controlled Dynastic Egypt which was ruled by Solomon's own father in law. Hancock suggests the Ark was in the hands of the Elephantine Aramaic-speaking Jewish garrison in the 5th century BC who many commentators believe introduced Judaism to Ethiopia. However the Tigre inscriptions testify to a mixed Hebrew/Sheba population ruled by kings and queens of Shebans around 700 BC, which seems to corroborate the events in the Sheba-Menelik Cycle. Personally I believe the Sheba-Menelik Cycle pre-dates the Old Testament, which was first written around 400 BC without vowels and eventually standardised with vowels between 500-950 AD. Nevertheless, Hancock's work on the Ark in Ethiopia is very informative. What he has missed is a chance to show that the history of the Ark is the key to the true location of the Old Testament. Dr Bernard Leeman Ethiopian Research Council Former Deputy Head of History, Asmara University sheba@archaeologist.com
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