Ron Wyatt and the Ark of the Covenant
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| This is the spot where Ron Wyatt dug in hopes of finding the Ark of the Covenant. |
The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is a tomb of the 6th century BC, set in a a lovely garden. Within the garden there are various areas set aside where pilgrim groups can be private while they celebrate the Eucharist or Communion Service. I have myself celebrated Holy Communion with some of my groups and on those occasions, I ask for - if possible - one of these private gardens on the left half-way between the tomb and the place where you look over Golgotha.
It is - or was - a nice, quiet area with a gravel floor and stone walls on which people site. You can imagine my surprise when, a couple of years ago, I headed for my favourite spot, only to find that it had been completely changed and was now not nearly so attractive.
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| The new chairs and decking are part of the infill that was necessary to clear up from the mess left behind by Ron Wyatt. |
Curious as to why the Garden Tomb Association had spent money ruining the place, I made enquiries and ended up chatting with one of the regular volunteers who had been present during the whole of the previous year.
Apparently Ron Wyatt turned up and asked for permission to dig in the grounds of the Garden Tomb. As the Association tries to facilitate any reasonable request, they granted permission, little dreaming of the size of the hole Wyatt would dig nor the lies he would tell about it aferward!
The gentleman to whom I was speaking lived in a house directly opposite the pit, so he not only saw the hole as he passed with groups he was guiding, but every morning before the Garden Tomb opened to the public, he would chat to Wyatt and enquire how the work was progressing. He is categoric that no cave, no tunnel and certainly no Ark of the Covenant was ever discovered.
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| The hole left by Ron Wyatt when he abandoned his excavations, having found nothing. |
Then, one morning, he looked for Ron Wyatt in vain. The man had simply disappeared and the Garden Tomb Association was left with the job and the expense of filling in the hole and making good the area. However it did give this gentleman opportunity to climb down into the hole and explore it thoroughly. This is the basis of his certainty that nothing was discovered by Ron Wyatt in his excavations at the Garden Tomb.
The small "caves" you can see in the photograph are, in fact, just holes in the limestone and do not lead anywhere. (It is entirely normal for limestone to develop holes; in a wetter climate they might grow and become sink holes!)
So many people have enquired about these "excavations" that the Garden Tomb Association issued a formal statement and now, when you ask about him, the guide simply trots off and comes back with a piece of paper and gives it to you. They have become resigned to the fact that you cannot reason with those who desperately want to believe Ron's lies, so they just make a simple statement of fact and if you don't like it, you'll just have to lump it!
| The Council of the Garden Tomb Association (London) totally refute the claim of Mr Wyatt to have discovered the original Ark of the Covenant or any other Biblical artifacts within the boundaries of the area known as the Garden Tomb Jerusalem. Though Mr Wyatt was allowed to dig within this privately owned garden on a number of occasions (the last occasion being the summer of 1991) staff members of the Association observed his progress and entered his excavated shaft. As far as we are aware nothing was ever discovered to support his claims nor have we seen any evidence of Biblical artifacts or temple treasures. |
