Q: Wouldn’t historians say that civilisation began in Ancient Greece?
A: Nonsense. Human beings spent thousands of years worshipping sooty stains in dark caves. Stains they called gods. Time went by and the stains changed in size, shape and colour, but they continued to be stains. We didn’t know about the existence of a single deity until it was revealed to Abraham only four thousand years ago. What do you know about Abraham, young lady?
Q: He’s the father of the Israelites.
A: Correct. And of the Arabs. Two apples that fell from the same tree, right next to one another. And straight away, the two little apples learned to hate each other.
Q: What has this to do with the Ark?
A: Five hundred years after God revealed himself to Abraham, the Almighty became sick and tired of the fact that people kept turning their backs on Him. When Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, God once again revealed Himself to His people. Only one hundred and forty-five miles from this spot. And it was there that they signed a contract. On the one hand, humanity agrees to comply with ten simple clauses.
Q: The Ten Commandments.
A: On the other, God agrees to give man eternal life. It is the single most important moment in history – the moment at which life acquired its significance. Three thousand five hundred years later, every human being carries that contract somewhere in his consciousness. Some call it natural law, others dispute its existence or meaning and they’ll kill and die to defend their interpretation. But the moment Moses received the Tablets of the Law from the hands of God: that is when our civilisation began.
Q: And then Moses puts the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant.
A: Together with other objects. The Ark is the safe that holds the contract with God.
Q: Some say that the Ark has supernatural powers.
A: Nonsense. I’ll explain that to everyone tomorrow when we begin work.
Q: So you don’t believe in the supernatural nature of the Ark?
A: With all my heart. My mother read to me from the Bible even before I was born. My life has been dedicated to the Word of God, but that does not mean I’m not prepared to disprove any myths or superstitions.
Q: Speaking of superstition, for many years your research has caused controversy in academic circles that are critical of using ancient texts to discover treasure. There have been insults hurled on both sides.
A: Academics… they couldn’t find their own ass with two hands and a flashlight. Would Schliemann have found the treasures of Troy without Homer’s
Q: Your illness?
A: You can’t spend this many years in damp tunnels, breathing dirt, without paying the price. I have chronic pneumoconiosis. I’m never too far from an oxygen tank. Go on, please.
Q: Where were we? Oh, yes. Have you always been convinced of the historical existence of the Ark of the Covenant, or does your belief date back to the time when you began translating the Copper Scroll?
A: I was raised a Christian, but converted to Judaism when I was relatively young. By the 1960s, I could read ancient Hebrew as well as English. When I began to study the Copper Scroll of Qumran I didn’t discover that the Ark was real – I already knew that. With over two hundred references to it in the Bible, it is the most frequently described object in the scriptures. What I realised when I held the Second Scroll in my hands was that I would be the one who would finally rediscover the Ark.
Q: I see. How exactly did the second scroll help you to decipher the Qumran Copper Scroll?
A: Well, there’s been a lot of confusion over the consonants like
Q: In layman’s terms, Professor.
A: Some of the consonants weren’t too clear, which made deciphering the text difficult. And the strangest thing was that a series of Greek letters had been inserted throughout the scroll. Once we had the key to understanding the text, we realised that these letters were the titles of sections, which changed the order and therefore the context. That was the most exciting period of my professional career.
Q: It must have been frustrating to dedicate forty-three years of your life to the translation of the Copper Scroll, and then have the whole matter resolved in the space of three months after the Second Scroll turned up.
A: Absolutely not. The Dead Sea Scrolls, including the Copper Scroll, were brought to light by accident when a shepherd threw a rock inside a cave in Palestine and heard something break. That’s how the first of the manuscripts was found. That’s not archaeology: that’s luck. But without all these decades of in-depth study, we would never have come to Mr Kayn…
Q: Mr Kayn? What are you talking about? Don’t tell me that the Copper Scroll mentions a billionaire!
A: I can’t talk any more about that. I’ve already said too
