The Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant

Written by Graham Hancock

Narrated by Steven Crossley

The fate of the Lost Ark of the Covenant is one of the great historical mysteries of all time. To believers, the Ark is the legendary vessel holding the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Bible contains hundreds of references to the Ark's power to level mountains, destroy armies, and lay waste to cities. The Ark itself, however, mysteriously disappears from recorded history sometime after the building of the Temple of Solomon.



After ten years of searching through the dusty archives of Europe and the Middle East, as well as braving the real-life dangers of a bloody civil war in Ethiopia, Graham Hancock has succeeded where scores of others have failed. This intrepid journalist has tracked down the true story behind the myths and legends—revealing where the Ark is today, how it got there, and why it remains hidden.



Part fascinating scholarship and part entertaining adventure yarn, tying together some of the most intriguing tales of all time—from the Knights Templar and Prester John to Parsival and the Holy Grail—this book will appeal to anyone fascinated by the revelation of hidden truths and the discovery of secret mysteries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Dec 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781541447578

Graham Hancock

Graham Hancock fue corresponsal de The Economist en África Oriental y del Sunday Times de Londres. Su libro Símbolo y señal, bestseller internacional, documentó su búsqueda del Arca de la Alianza perdida. Ha aparecido en televisión con Michael Palin en su serie Pole to Pole, así como en la BBC y la CNN. También ha intervenido en la serie Explorer de National Geographic y en Los apocalipsis del pasado (Ancient Apocalypse), docuserie original de Netflix.

Reviews for The Sign and the Seal

[Chahin Derna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Graham Hancock is such a good writer! Can't wait for his other books on ancient civilisations to finally become available on Scribd!

[theoclarke · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well-written hokum in which much speculation is baked into a false fabric of largely unsupported 'facts'.

[z4bunch · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to know how to review this book, based on the quality of the writing or based on the quality of the argument. With the exception of a few places where it bogs down, the book was a very enjoyable read with a compelling narrative of his research into the Ark of the Covenant to drive the nonfiction exposition. It was truly interesting, full of information I'd never encountered before about regions and eras that I haven't learned much about. That said, it veers into credulousness, conspiracy theories, and pseudoscience in sections, particularly the too-long chapter speculating about how the ark might have been an advanced weapon created through secret ancient knowledge from a lost Atlantis-like civilization. That part somewhat undermines the credibility of the rest of it, making me wonder how critically the author is thinking and how honestly he's presenting his evidence. Since the rest of the book is based on verifiable facts from which I'm not drawing solid conclusions but instead just learning more about an area and era about which I'm fairly ignorant but curious, it was still a worthwhile read from which I learned a lot, and my skepticism is largely about his conclusions and not his facts. However, I don't intend to read any of the author's subsequent books about ancient civilizations and technology. Based on the one loony chapter, I think this book probably marked his last step on the road from reliable nonfiction before he crossed into conspiracy theories and anti-factual speculation.

[ma_washigeri · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well I enjoyed the tracking of the Ark (possibly) via Elephantine island Atbara and Takazze rivers to lake Tana and on to Axum. So by the end I had forgotten the load of stuff about ancient Atlantis and weaponised mysterious science, and I can take or leave the Templar conspiracies (not really sure I care). And the journey from self-serving semi-villain to Grail (or Gral) penitent did not quite ring true. The author throws a lot of detail at the reader - and comes across as a bit unreliable - so I'm not really sure, for example if Newton was a freemason or not. Never mind the good bits about cultural detective work were good (if true).

[paperloverevolution · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What's that? The Ark is a radioactive chunk of rock that makes your face melt off?? YES, PLEASE. Hancock actually makes perfect sense - right up until he drags the Masons into it.

[silverstitcher2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

interesting but very slow, it took determination to finish

[trinibaby9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is an interesting theory on the ark. It takes a few leaps of faith at some points and stretches the believeability at others. A goodl look into the culture of a people, but I did think it was going to end up having something a little more definitive.

[bryanfergus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a remarkabe book. While not completely scientific in its approach to archaeology, it has an almost "investigative journalism" feel to it that is very engaging. Although he is not completely flawless in his logic or documentation, Hancock does make one think. His conclusions seem within the realm of possibility. This book started something for me. It served as my point of passage into the very interesting world of alternative archaeology.

[tuckerresearch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best historical adventure books ever written. Hancock, before he went off the deep end, pulls together various evidence to bolster the contention that the Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia. He makes a good case too. The only thing keeping it from being proved? You can't get into St. Mary's at Axum.

Originally read in 1994.

[mrlady_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have this book out on perma-loan from my friend Chris. I don't think he's getting it back. Imagine if PBS did a version of Raiders. Minus hot Indi, plus a few more facts. It's intoxicating. This book freaking OWNS me.