Chapter 3 The first legend - 1

There are no reports of whether the Ark was removed, destroyed, or hidden. (in the "Bible") doesn't even make any comments, such as saying that the Ark of the Covenant disappeared later, and we don't know what happened to it, or that no one knows its whereabouts so far.One thing that the Bible considered the most important thing in the world suddenly disappeared in this story. —Richard Elliot Friedman It was almost dark when the monk appeared, and it was very cold on the Ethiopian plateau.He hunched over, leaning on his prayer staff, and staggered toward me from the foyer of the church chapel.I was introduced to him, and he listened.He speaks the local Tigray language and wants to understand my origin and purpose of coming through my translator: what country am I from, what occupation do I do, am I a Christian, and what do I do with him?

I answered all his questions in detail, squinting at him through the dusk as I walked, trying to see the details of his face.His small, sunken eyes were cataracted, and his dark skin was lined with deep wrinkles.Though he had a long beard, I thought he might have lost all his teeth--for his voice, though pleasant, was peculiarly muffled. The only thing I was sure of, though, was that he was an octogenarian, probably nearly a century old; besides, he was still sane, and his questioning of my origins was by no means out of idle curiosity.Satisfied with all my answers, he respectfully shook my hand.His palms were dry and delicate, like Egyptian papyrus.From the thick robe he was wearing, there was a faint fragrance of frankincense, although it was faint, but it could not be mistaken.

After the routine greetings, I cut straight to the point and went straight to the point.I pointed to the twilight building behind us and said, "I've heard an Ethiopian legend that the Ark of the Covenant is kept here... in this chapel. I've also heard that you are the Ark of the Covenant guards. Are these real?" "It's all true." "But in other countries, no one believes these stories. After all, your legend is only known to a few people, but these people all say it is false." "Whatever people believe, let them be. People can say what they like. Nevertheless, we do have this sacred Talbot here, the Ark of the Covenant, and I am indeed the one who guards the Ark... ..."

I interrupted him and said, "Please be more clear. You're talking about the original ark of the covenant, made of wood and gold, which contained the Ten Commandments, which the prophet Moses put in it. That's it. ?" "That's right. God himself wrote the ten commandments on two commandment tablets. Later, Moses put the two commandment tablets into the ark of the covenant. After that, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and settled in the land promised by God , the ark was always with them. Wherever they went, the ark brought them victory and made them a great nation. Finally, when the ark had fulfilled its mission, King Solomon put it in his In the cella of the temple built in Jerusalem. It was removed from there shortly after and brought to Ethiopia..."

"Please tell me the details," I asked. "As far as I know, your legends only say that the queen of Sheba is said to be the monarch of Ethiopia. The legends I have read say that the queen of Sheba came to the When Jerusalem made that famous trip (see "Old Testament · Kings" Chapter 10 - Translator's Note), she was pregnant with King Solomon's child, and later bore him a son, a prince— — Later, he stole the Ark of the Covenant..." The old monk sighed and said, "The prince you are talking about is called Menelik. In our language, it means the son of a wise man. Although the Queen of Sheba conceived him in Jerusalem, he was born in Ethiopia." .After the queen found out that she was pregnant with King Solomon's child, she returned to Ethiopia. At the age of 20, Menelik returned to Israel from Ethiopia and came to his father's palace. He was recognized by Solomon as soon as he arrived at the palace, and He received the corresponding noble title. However, after a year, the older princes began to grow jealous of him. They complained that Solomon had favored him too much, and insisted that Menelik should return to Ethiopia. The king agreed to this Request, on condition that Menelik be accompanied by the first born of the elder princes. Among them is Azareth, son of Zadok, high priest of Israel. Steal the ark from the nave of the temple Yes, it was this Azaris, not Menelik. In fact, the princes did not let Menelik know of their theft until they were far from Jerusalem. When Menelik knew the truth, he understood One point: This daring venture of theirs would never have been successful were it not for the will of God. Therefore, He agreed to keep the Ark with them. And so the Ark was brought to Ethiopia, to this Holy City... and from there Since then, it has been kept here..."

"You mean, the legend is true?" "It's not legend. It's history." "Why are you so sure of that?" "Because I am the guard of the Ark. I know what I am guarding." We sat in silence for a while, and I tried my best to calm and rationalize my mind to accept these bizarre and incredible things the old monk told me.Next, I asked him to tell me why and how he was ordained to his present priesthood. He answered that it was a great honor that he had been chosen to guard the Ark.On his deathbed, his predecessor nominated him for the priesthood; at his own death, he nominated his successor.

"What qualities do you want in this person?" "Love of God, pure in heart, pure in body and mind." I asked, "Who else is allowed to see the Ark but you?" "No one else but me can see it." "Does this mean that the Ark of the Covenant was never moved outside the temple and the house of worship?" The guard pondered for a long time before answering.He finally told me that, in the very remote past, this holy relic had been used on all the greatest religious festivals.But in more recent times, the use of the Ark in religious ceremonies has been greatly reduced, only once a year.That ceremony is called "Epiphany" and takes place every January.

"So, if I come next January, I will have a chance to see the Ark of the Covenant, is that right?" The old monk looked at me with a strange look of perturbation, and then said: "You must know that this country is currently in a period of turmoil and civil war... Our government is a criminal government, and the people are against it. War We are approaching here day by day. In such an environment, it is no longer possible to use the real Ark of the Covenant in the ceremony. We cannot take the risk of damaging such a precious thing... Besides, even in peacetime, you cannot See it. It is my duty to wrap it completely in a thick cloth before it is moved to the ceremony..."

"Why wrap it up?" "To keep outsiders safe from it." I remember that I asked the translator to clarify the last sentence of the old monk for me: did he mean "to protect it from harm to outsiders" or "to protect it from harm to others"? It took me a while before I got an answer - "It is to protect outsiders from its harm. The Ark of the Covenant is very powerful." The Greatest Mystery in the Bible In the early days of the Old Testament, the Israelites worshiped the Ark not only as a tool of God’s supernatural will, but also as God himself, the symbol and seal of God’s presence on earth, and the fortress of God’s power.The purpose of the Ark of the Covenant is to hold the stone commandment board with the "Ten Commandments".It was a wooden cabinet, 3 feet 3 inches long by 2 feet 3 inches wide and high.The Ark of the Covenant was inlaid with pure gold thread inside and out, and on the heavy gold ark lid, there were two statues of winged angels facing each other.

The Bible and other ancient texts say that the Ark of the Covenant was blazing with fire and light, capable of inflicting cancerous lumps, causing severe burns, leveling mountains, stopping rivers, and destroying armies Horses can turn cities into ruins.These documents also firmly believe that for a long period of time, the Ark of the Covenant was the cornerstone of the development of Jewish faith.King Solomon's sole motive in building the first temple in Jerusalem was "to build a place for the Ark of the Lord". However, at some unclear time between the 10th and 6th centuries BC, the all-important and powerful Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the nave of that holy temple, and the Bible says nothing about it. There is neither praise nor lament, almost as if it never existed.

There is evidence that the Ark of the Covenant was no longer in the city when the army of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II burned the city of Jerusalem in 587 BC.The Ark of the Covenant was certainly not in the Second Temple, which was erected on the ruins of the First Temple after the Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon in 538 BC.The Babylonians do not seem to have looted the Ark of the Covenant either. In 1987, Richard Elliot Friedman, a professor of Hebrew and Comparative Religion at the University of California, wrote a passage expressing the common views of many scholars.He described the sacred relic as "one of the great mysteries of the Bible": There are no reports as to whether the Ark of the Covenant was removed, destroyed, or Hidden.There is not even any commentary in Qiejing, such as saying "Later The Ark of the Covenant disappeared, and we do not know what happened to it", or "No People know its whereabouts". Considered by the Bible as the most important thing in the world West, suddenly disappeared in this story. indeed so.If we study the "Old Testament" carefully, we will find that there are more than 200 references to the Ark in the accounts before the time of Solomon (970 BC-930 BC); After the period ended, the Ark was never mentioned again in the Old Testament. This is of course the central question, a true historical mystery—whatever human nature may be, it is not that a chest of gold of incomparable value should be lost, but that (besides its supreme religious significance) ) It was lost in a deafening, unfathomable silence.Like the black hole of the universe, or like a photographic negative, in the books after the Old Testament one can only define it by saying that it is not what it is—in short, the reason why the Ark attracts special attention is solely because it The mysterious disappearance. From this it seems reasonable to suppose that there was some kind of cover-up, planned by the priests and scribes to ensure that the sacred relic, wherever it might be, would always remain a secret.If so, it's a mystery many have tried to unravel. The secret has sparked several treasure-hunting expeditions (all unsuccessful) and a Hollywood fantasy flick.The film is called "Raiders of The hat Ark" (Raiders of The hat Ark). In 1981, it first premiered in the United States, and later screened in Europe, with the famous movie star Harrison Ford as the leading role of Indiana Jones. I was living in Kenya at the time, so I didn't get a chance to see it until 1983, when it was released in Nairobi.I appreciate this film, it combines action, adventure and archeology.I remember thinking at the time, what a sensation it would be if someone actually found the Ark of the Covenant 2 Then, just a few months later, I did an extensive tour of Ethiopia, going to the war-ravaged North West Tigray province is in dire straits.It was there, in the city of Axum (the so-called "holy city of the Ethiopians"), that I met the guardian monk mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. 1983: A country at war On May 28, 1991, after several years of brutal fighting, the Ethiopian government was finally overthrown by a powerful anti-government coalition, the main force of which was the "Tigray People's Liberation Front" (TPLF for short).However, when I went to Axum in 1983, the TPLF was still a small guerrilla force, and the holy city, although besieged, was still in the hands of the government. After 1974, no foreigner has been to Axum except me. There, in 1974, a group of British archaeologists were expelled from the revolution that toppled Emperor Haile Selassie and installed one of Africa's most bloodthirsty dictators as head of state. Colonel Haile Mariam. Sadly, I was allowed free access to Axum, not because of any particular ambition or initiative in myself, but because I was working for Mengistu at the time.Thanks to a business contract that I later regretted, I threw myself into the writing of a large deluxe edition in 1983.It was a book on Ethiopia that I was commissioned by the Mengistu government to demonstrate that there was an underlying unity behind the country’s diverse cultures, emphasizing the historical unity of the country’s political landscape, The anti-government forces are trying to redraw the political map. Before I set to work, we had agreed that the book would not contain any publicity for government purposes.It is also written in my contract: not to praise or slander any individual (including Mengistu).Still, I couldn't imagine at the time what the higher ups of the regime thought of the program - if they didn't think my work was helping them, they wouldn't have paid for the program, wouldn't have given me access to visit history that wasn't open to anyone else monuments. Even if I had free access to Axum, it would never be easy for me to get there.Intense insurgency along major highways and around the holy city meant I couldn't drive there at all.So, the only way is to fly.To do this, I first traveled to Asmara (the provincial capital of Eritrea) with my wife, researcher Carol, and my photographer, Duncan Velez.I hope we can rent a fighter there, there are many fighters stationed in Asmara at that time. Nestled on a desolate plateau overlooking the formidable desert of Eritrea's coastal strip, Asmara is a most striking place, with a remarkably Latin character, and it's no wonder that from 1889, when it was first captured by Italian troops, it has been Italian fortress until Eritrea was freed from colonial rule and incorporated into Ethiopia in the 1950s. There were gardens everywhere, the colors of kudzu, flame, and jacaranda; the air around us was warm, sunny, and full of Mediterranean scents.There is also a landscape here that is hard to ignore, and that is the large number of Soviet and Cuban military "advisors".Wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying Kalashnikovs, they swaggered through the soft shadows of the fragrant boulevards. However, in our opinion, the advice given to the Ethiopian government army by the army against Eritrean separatists has not been very effective.The hospitals in Asmara were overcrowded with war casualties, and the government officers we saw all looked pessimistic and nervous. A few days later, in the bar of the luxurious "Ambasora" hotel in Asmara, we met two Zambian pilots who were temporarily helping Eritrean civil aviation.At this point, our relationship deepened.They initially thought they would stay here for half a year to gain practical experience flying commercially.What they actually did, however, was transport wounded soldiers from the front lines in Tigray and Eritrea to hospitals in Asmara.They had tried to persuade the airlines to release them from this dangerous obligation, but only after poring over their little contract papers did they discover that they had to do the job. The two pilots, who had been working almost non-stop for weeks on some old DC3s, loaded with casualties, were exhausted, rickety, and miserable.They told us that they all learned to drink away their sorrows. "I can't sleep at night if I don't get very drunk," confessed one of them. "What I'm seeing is always in my head." He went on to describe how a teenage boy was dragged onto a plane one morning and had his left foot blown off by a mine; another young soldier had half his skull blown off by an armor-piercing bomb that exploded near him. . "The wounds from the bombs were horrific...and the people with backs, stomachs and faces...it was just horrific...sometimes there was blood and guts all over the cabin...we were transporting 40 people each time wounded, which is beyond the carrying limit of a DC3, but we have to take risks, we can't just watch these people die." Another pilot added that they had to fly three or four times a day.He has been to Axum twice in the past week, and each time his plane has been hit by machine gunfire. "The airport there was difficult to use. It was a gravel runway surrounded by hills. When we landed and took off, the TPLF guys just sat there and gesticulated. Our Ethiopian civil aviation uniforms couldn't fool us They. They know we're on a military mission..." The two Zambians were overjoyed to see us non-Soviet and Cuban foreigners sympathetic and sharing their pain, and never asked us what we were doing in Ethiopia.Now that they've asked the question, we've said it's a big deluxe book for the government, and they seem very interested.So we explained that we needed to go to Axum ourselves. They couldn't say anything else but asked, "Why are you going?" "Oh, because Axum is one of the oldest and most important archaeological sites, and because it's the birthplace of Christianity in Ethiopia. It's an ancient capital for hundreds of years. It would be too much for our book not to mention it." shit." At this point, one of the pilots said, "We might take you there." "What, you mean the next time the wounded are transported?" "No. You will never be allowed to board those planes. However, there is a high-level military delegation going to Axum the day after tomorrow to inspect the garrison. By then, you may be able to board their planes. It depends on how you treat Asia Addis Ababa said it. Why don't you try it?" Entering Axum City We spent most of the next day on the phone to Addis Ababa, speaking directly with the minister in charge of our project.The conversation was brief, but the minister's influence eventually got us the seats on the flight our Zambian friend mentioned.However, they were not the pilots of that flight.On that short flight to Axum, the crew of the DC3 airliner was all Ethiopians. We are flying from Asmara Airport early in the morning.Takeoff was delayed by an hour.For an hour, during a 35-minute turbulent flight, I read the background material to reassure myself that the visit was indeed worthwhile. Early historical references paint a picture of this important cosmopolitan center.For example, in 64 A.D. an unknown author in Greece sold a pamphlet in the city called Landscapes of the Coast of Eritrea.The book refers to the ruler of Axum as "an outstanding prince who knows Greek".Hundreds of years later, Julian, the ambassador of Roman Emperor Justinian, also described Axum in gorgeous terms, saying that it was "the greatest city in all Ethiopia".He also said that the king was almost completely naked except for a linen apron embroidered with gold, and a set of strings of pearls on his chest and back.He wore gold bracelets on his arms, a gold collar around his neck, and a linen turban, also embroidered with gold thread, on his head with four tassels hanging from each side.It seems that when the monarch accepted the letter of appointment from the ambassador, he stood on a four-wheeled royal chariot pulled by four elephants. The body was very high and wrapped in gold leaf. In the sixth century AD, a well-traveled Christian monk named Cosmus Indic Preustis added new color to Julian's description.After visiting Axum, he reported that "the four minarets of the palace of the king of Ethiopia" were also "adorned with four brass unicorns" and a rhinoceros hide stuffed with chaff.He also saw several giraffes, which were captured as babies "by order of the king and trained for his entertainment". The splendor of these barbarian states suited that capital city, which at that time was the most important state between the Roman Empire and Persia—it sent its merchant fleets to Egypt, India, Ceylon, and China, and, as early as Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century AD. The history of the Ethiopian conversion is preserved in the works of the Byzantine theologian Rufinius in the 4th century AD.Modern historians hold Rufinius highly authoritative.It appears that there was a Christian merchant named Miropius who was described by Rufinius as "the philosopher of Tyre".He once sailed to India.He told Rufinius that he had once taught "the humanities" to two Syrian boys.Of the two boys, the older was named Flamentius, the younger Idesus. When they returned by boat through the Red Sea, their boat was detained on the coast of Ethiopia according to an Ethiopian decree.That decree was in retaliation to the Eastern Roman Empire for breaking a treaty with the natives. Miropius was killed in battle.However, the two children survived and were brought before King Ella Amida of Axum.The king immediately made Idesus his chalice-bearer, and Flamentius (who was older and wiser) his treasurer and secretary.The two children were well respected and won the king's favor.However, the king died shortly afterwards, leaving behind his wife, and the young prince Azana became the successor king.On her deathbed, King Ella Amida gave two Syrian boys their freedom, but now the widowed queen is tearfully begging them to stay until the princes grow up.She especially needs the help of Flamentius, for Idesus, though loyal and open-hearted, is too simple. In the following years, Frumentius' influence in the Kingdom of Axum increased day by day.He found some foreign businessmen, all of whom were Christians, and urged them to "establish dissenting secret churches in various places, so that they could go there and pray."He also provided them with "everything necessary for the use of the secret churches, and endeavored to promote the growth of the seed of Christianity in this country". Idesus went back to Tire around the time Prince Ezana came to the throne.As for Flamentius, he went to Alexandria, Egypt, which was at that time an important center of Christianity.In Alexandria he reported to the sovereign Athanasius his work for Christianity in Ethiopia.The young man implored the Christian leader to "find someone trustworthy to be the bishop of those Christians who have united". After Athanasius carefully considered Flamentius's suggestion, he said loudly to Flamentius at a clergy meeting: "In addition to you, we can find no one who has God in his heart like you, and to accomplish these tasks?" Therefore, Athanasius "commissioned him a bishop, and bade him return by grace to the country from which he had come". Flamentius returned to Ethiopia as the country's first Christian bishop, continuing his mission.His work paid off in AD 331, as the king himself converted to Christianity.Coins left over from the Azana dynasty document this transition - early coins with images of crescents and full moons, and later coins with a clearly printed cross, thus becoming the earliest of any country to use the Christian religion. One of the coins that symbolizes symbols. Axum is the hotbed of Christianity in Ethiopia.It was the capital of the Ethiopian Empire from the 1st century AD until about the 10th century AD.However, in our plan, the meaning of Axum is much wider than these. I read from relevant sources that here we will see many magnificent ruins from the pre-Christian era, all of great archaeological value (including the remains of some magnificent palaces) and still intact Some of the most famous monuments - the obelisks there are all about 2,000 years old and are the historical testimony of an advanced art and construction technology, which predates all other civilizations in sub-Saharan Africa. These tangible artifacts are not the only testimony to the unique importance of Axum.To my amazement, the reference books I carried all reported one thing: According to Ethiopian legend, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in a small chapel adjoining another exceptionally sacred church.These legends are related to an Ethiopian saying that the Queen of Sheba in the Bible once ruled Ethiopia.However, this claim is generally dismissed by historians as an absurd fiction. I had just seen the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, so naturally I couldn't help but think of a possibility (however far-fetched, it's still a possibility), which is: The most precious and mysterious relic of the Old Testament era, the one that has been lost for almost 3,000 years, is likely to be in the city I am about to visit.I therefore resolved not to leave here until I learned more about this strange legend. When the captain told us that Axum was just below us, I looked down curiously. The DC3 passenger plane landed on the narrow runway in an extremely unconventional way, which is really frightening.The pilot of the plane did not make a low-altitude long-distance slow landing as usual, but let the plane suddenly descend from a high altitude, so we flew directly above the town with fear.A soldier on the plane explained to us that this was to minimize the landing time so that the plane would not become a target for snipers on the surrounding hills. I remembered what the two Zambians had told us: every time they landed in Axum, they were machine-gunned.I silently pray that this doesn't happen to us.Strapped in a shaky metal cabin, hundreds of feet above the ground, in constant fear of bullets penetrating the cabin floor and walls, it was an unpleasant feeling. Thankfully no such bad things happened that morning and we landed safely on the ground.I remember seeing the red rubble on the runway, seeing the dust kicked up by the wheels of the planes as they hit the ground, and seeing a large number of Ethiopian soldiers - all of them armed and in camouflage uniforms, where we rented cars and rested. They all watched us closely.I noticed something else: trenches had been dug on either side of the airstrip, covered with camouflage netting, and iron barrels of heavy weapons peeked out from under the nets.As I recall, there were some armored personnel carriers lined up near the fortress, along with five or six Soviet tanks.On the edge of the airport on one side of the runway, there are also two Mi-24 gunships parked. Under their stubby balance wings, you can also see the rocket launch path. Throughout our visit to Axum there was not a single second in which the air of trepidation and extreme vigilance prevailed over a besieged city.Although we were only allowed to stay one night, the time we spent there felt stretched, almost infinitely extended. Palaces, Catacombs and Obelisks We started working as soon as we arrived in Axum. An elderly Ethiopian gentleman was there to greet us as we stepped off the plane.He was wearing a slightly worn three-piece suit, but his long beard was very beautiful, and he had the style of a chief.His English, though odd-sounding, was excellent. He introduced himself as Bohana Miskel Zelelev and said he had received instructions from Addis Ababa on the radio to be our guide and interpreter.He said he was employed by the Ministry of Culture "to look after the monuments of Axum".In this capacity he once assisted archaeologists at the British Institute in East Africa, whose excavations at the Axum hotspot were interrupted by the 1974 revolution.After we introduced ourselves, he exclaimed: "It's great to see someone English again after such a long time." We boarded an old armored car, painted lime green and with two bullet holes clearly visible in the windshield.We asked Zeliele what happened, and he told us, "Fortunately no one was killed." We drove from the airport, everyone grinning wryly.I introduced the purpose of our visit, listed the list of historical sites we planned to visit, and told him that I was particularly interested in a statement, that is: Axum is said to be the last place where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. "Do you believe the Ark is here?" I asked. "Trust. Of course it's here." "Where the hell is it?" "It was placed in a house of worship near the city center." "Is this chapel very old?" "No. It was built by order of our late Emperor... I think it was in 1965. Before that, this holy relic was preserved for hundreds of years in the nave of St. Mary's Church on Mount Zion..." Zerelev Pauses for a moment, then says, "By the way, Haile Selassie has a special connection to this...he is the 225th generation descendant of Menelik, the son of Queen Sheba and King Solomon. It was Menelik who brought the Ark to our country..." I wanted to visit the chapel right away, but Zelelev advised me not to be in such a hurry: "You will not be allowed to go anywhere near the Ark of the Covenant. It is on holy ground. The monks of Axum And the inhabitants guard it, and they will not hesitate to kill anyone who tries to trespass on the holy place. Only one person is allowed in, and that is the guard of the ark. Today, we will see if we can see him, but, Let us first visit the palace of the Queen of Sheba." We accepted the charming offer and drove onto a bumpy and potholed back road.Had we managed to finish it, it would have taken us through the great peaks and gorges of the Himeon Mountains to the ancient city of Gondar near Lake Tana, a few hundred miles to the southwest.However, in the open country just a mile from the center of Axum, we stopped because we came across a very fortified military stronghold. Zelelev explained that this marks the border of the government-controlled area.Pointing to the surrounding hills, he said, "There's nothing here except people from the People's Liberation Front, so we can't go to the Queen's Palace of Sheba. It's such a pity. There's a lot of interesting things to see over there... just in Over there, just off the road, there's a granite quarry from which all the slabs were hewn. One hasn't been hewn out of the rock yet. And there's a beautiful statue of a lioness there ...it's ancient. It was placed there before Christianity came. Sadly, we can't go there anymore." "How far is it from here?" I asked eagerly. "It's very close, less than 3,000 meters. However, the military will not allow us to pass through this checkpoint. Even if we pass, we will definitely be caught by the guerrillas. Even here, we cannot stay for long. The snipers of the Liberation Front will Recognize you as foreigners. They will take you for Russians and shoot you..." He smiled, "You don't want to do that, do you? Come, please come with me." He led us into a clearing on the left side of the road, and before long we saw some ruins of what must have been a magnificent building. "This used to be the palace of the Queen of Sheba," Zelelenan said proudly. "According to our legend, her name is Sister Mark, and Axum is her capital. I know that foreigners don't believe her at all." Ethiopian. Still, she's the most likely." I asked if any archaeological research had been done on the site to test the veracity of the legend. "Yes, in the 1960s, the Ethiopian Institute of Archeology did some excavations here... I was also involved in the work at that time." "Did you find anything?" Zelelev said helplessly, "The conclusion at the time was that the palace was not old enough to be the Queen of Sheba's palace." What archaeologists unearthed then, and what we spend our time exploring now, was actually a grand, well-built mansion with well-built walls.深深的基座和一个令人吃惊的排水系统。 我们看见了一片完好无损的石板地面，泽列列甫说它当初是一间放置宝座的屋子。我们还看见了几个天井，不止一个上部出口的地方都有这样的大井。这里还有几个十分考究的私人洗浴区，以及一间保存完好的厨房，其中有两个砖石砌的炉灶。 路的另一侧，正对着这座宫殿的空地上，我们又看见了几块经过粗凿的石板，其中一些矗立着，高约15英尺，另一些则倒在地上摔碎了。大多数石板上都没有装饰，只有那块最大的石板上刻着四条水平方框，每个方框上部都有一排浮雕圆环，好像是搭在一座木石建筑上的过梁。 泽列列甫告诉我们，当地人认为，这座初步凿成的方尖碑是示巴女王墓的标志。不过，人们还没有对它地下进行过挖掘，那片空地现在完全由当地农民耕作，为阿克苏姆驻军提供口粮。就在我们说话的时候，恰好有两个农民的孩子赶着牛，朝我们这边走过来，牛还拉着一架木犁。他们根本不在乎四周土地的历史价值，也不在乎我们的出现，开始在这块地上播种。 我们拍了照片、做了记录以后，便驱车返回了阿克苏姆内城，然后又向东北方向另一片宫殿建筑群开去。这座宫殿建在一个小山的山顶上，从那里可以俯瞰整个地区。这座建筑设计成正方形，边长大约200英尺。宫墙早就坍塌了，但可以表明当初四角上曾各有一个塔楼，这大概就是被6世纪的那位僧侣考斯马斯描述为"装饰着四只黄铜独角兽"的尖塔。 在这座城堡底下，泽列列南带着我们走下很陡的石阶，来到几个地下走廊和厅室里。它们的顶部和墙上都有巨大的花岗石块，全部精确地接成一体，其间没有任何泥灰。 泽列列甫说，根据当地的传说，这个凉爽幽暗的地下室曾经是卡列布皇帝（公元514年-542年）和他的儿子加布莱一马斯卡尔使用过的宝库。我们借助手电筒的光，看见里面有几个空石箱，它们被认为曾装过大量的金银珠宝。一些地下室还没有被挖掘，从那里伸向小山的方向，被那些厚厚的花岗岩石墙挡住了。 我们离开这座山顶城堡，准备沿着一条碎石路回阿克苏姆城中心去。在小山脚下，我们停下来为左边一个深深的露天大水池拍照。它是在小山下的红色花岗岩上凿出来的，带有粗凿的梯道。它被叫做"麦·沙姆"，显得非常古老——泽列列市说它当初是示巴女王的浴池，从而印证了我们的这个印象："至少我们的人这么认为。从基督教时代初期开始，它就一直被用来进行庆祝主显节的洗礼仪式，我们把这个仪式叫做提姆卡特。当然，农民们每天也到这里打水。" 似乎是要证实他最后那句话，他指着一群妇女，她们正头顶着葫芦，小心翼翼地走下这些被时光磨砺的石阶。 到此刻为止，我们谁都没有注意到已经过了很长的时间，而现在已经将近傍晚了。泽列列甫催我们快一点，并提醒我们，按照原先日程，我们次日就要坐第一班飞机回阿斯马拉，因为还有更多的地方要参观。 我们的下一个目的地很近，就是所谓"石碑苑"。它其实是阿克苏姆考古考察的兴趣焦点。我们在这里考察和拍摄了许多令人惊异的巨型方尖碑，都是用坚固的花岗岩石板做成的。其中最宏伟的一座已经倒塌断裂了，据说在一千多年前就倒了。不过，在它的全盛时期，它高耸到110英尺，想必是整个地区最高的建筑。我想起曾在飞机上读到过，这座方尖碑的重量估计大约有500多吨。它被认为是古代世界成功开采并竖立的、最大的整块岩石。 这块倒塌的石碑的雕工实在是苦心孤诣，它的样子就像一幢又细又高的13层大楼，每层都雕着模仿窗口和其他细节的图案，并且都通过一排象征性的过梁与下一层区分出来。在石碑底部，可以分辨出一扇象征的门，门上还雕着门环和门锁，做工都十分精美。 泽列列甫告诉我们，还有一座倒塌的方尖碑比这座小得多，但没有破碎。1935-1941年意大利人占领期间，这座石碑被墨索里尼偷走，并被费尽气力地运到了罗马，竖在了君士坦丁拱门附近。那座石碑的雕刻也很精美，具有巨大的艺术价值，因此，埃塞俄比亚政府正在努力把它要回本国。 幸运的是，与此同时这个石碑苑里还有第三座方尖碑原封未动，也是用整块岩石做成的。 我们这位向导兴奋地指着这座高耸的细长石碑，它高达七十多英尺，其顶石的形状就像半个月亮。我们走过去仔细观看，发现它就像旁边那座巨大的石碑一样，外观也很像一座传统建筑——如同一座九层塔楼。同样，它正面的主要雕刻也很像一些木质窗口和过梁，都象征性地嵌在墙壁上。每层之间的空隙由象征性的圆木柱尾区分出来，一扇象征的门则使石碑更像座楼屋。 这座精工纪念碑周围还有几座大小不一的石碑，显然都是一种先进的、有组织的繁荣文化的产物。在非洲西撒哈拉地区，没有一个地方存在着哪怕与这些石碑稍微相似的石碑，因此，阿克苏姆便显得十分神秘，没人知道它的起源，也没人记得它的灵感来自何处。 圣堂礼拜堂 这条路的另一侧，正对着石碑苑，有一处带围墙的宽敞建筑群，包括两个教堂，其中一个很古老，而另一个的年代显然要晚近得多。 泽列列甫告诉我们，这两个教堂都是为锡安山的圣玛利教堂建造的。那个新一些的教堂有个穹顶，还有个高高的方尖碑形钟楼，由海尔·塞拉西建于20世纪60年代。另一个教堂建于17世纪中叶，是法悉里达斯皇帝建造的。也像其前后的埃塞俄比亚君主一样，这位皇帝也是在阿克苏姆加冕，他虽然把国都建在了别处，但依然十分崇拜这座圣城。 我们发现，海尔·塞拉西自诩的这个现代"大教堂"既索然无味，又令人很不舒服。不过，法悉里达斯建的教堂却吸引了我们，它有碉堡般的角楼，围堵墙垛上还有射击用的枪眼。在我们看来，它"半是教堂，半是城堡"，因此体现了一种真正的埃塞俄比亚传统，即军事和宗教往往区分不清。 在昏暗的教堂内部，我们仔细观看了几幅出色的壁画，一幅描绘玛利亚生活故事的画，另一幅画的是耶稣被钉上十字架和复活的故事，还有一幅画了圣·雅莱德的传说，据说，他创造了埃塞俄比亚奇特的教堂音乐。最后这幅画已经因为年代久远而褪了色，在画面上，雅莱德正在国王加布莱一马斯卡尔面前表演。国王手里掉下来的一只矛头，刺穿了这位圣徒的脚，但这二人完全被"塞斯特拉"琴和鼓演奏出来的音乐陶醉，以致于都没有发觉这一点。 离这个古代教堂不远，有一片大厦的废墟，当年它想必很广阔，而现在已经缩小了，仅仅比它深深的地基壕沟稍大一点。泽列列甫解释说，这些就是第一座锡安山圣玛利教堂的遗迹，它建于公元4世纪，当时，阿克苏姆王国正在改信基督教。过了大约1200年，即在1535年，它被一个凶残的穆斯林侵略者夷为平地，那人名叫阿赫迈德·格拉金（绰号"左撇子"），其军队从东方的哈拉尔一直横扫到非洲之角（泛指东非临印度洋及亚丁湾的地区，包括埃塞俄比亚、索马里和吉布提——译者注），并曾一度几乎完全消灭了埃塞俄比亚的基督教众僧。 这"第一座圣玛利教堂"（泽列列甫这么称呼它）被毁之前不久，有位葡萄牙行脚僧参观过它，他名叫弗朗西斯科·阿尔瓦雷兹。我后来读到了他对这座教堂的描述——那是惟一被保存下来的描述： 它非常大，有五个宽敞的中殿，还有个很长的穹顶，所有圆顶都涂着漆，天花板和各个侧面也涂着漆；它还有个像我们这样的唱诗班……这座美丽的教堂前面有个很大的广场，铺着石板，如同墓石；它还有一圈高大的栅栏，外面还有一圈高大的围墙，如同大城镇的城墙一样。 泽列列甫正确地指出了开始建造第一座圣玛利教堂的日期是公元372年，这意味着它很可能是非洲西撒哈拉地区最早的基督教堂。它是一座具有五个侧廊的长方形大教堂，被视为全埃塞俄比亚最神圣的地方。这是因为，它正是为了约柜而建造的——如果传说里多少有些真实的东西，那么，约柜必定在耶稣诞生以前很久就被带到了这个国家，而阿克苏姆王国正式改信基督教之后的某个时候，它也必定被基督教僧侣们所共同接受。 16世纪20年代，阿尔瓦雷兹参观圣玛利教堂时，约柜还保存在这座古代教堂的内殿里。记录埃塞俄比亚人有关示巴女王及其独生子门涅利克的传说，阿尔瓦雷兹是第一位这样做的欧洲人。不过，约柜并没在那里保存太久。16世纪30年代，阿赫迈德·格拉金的大军日益逼近，这件圣物便被转移到了"另外某个地方，以保安全"（泽列列甫不知道那个地方）。约柜就是这样逃过了1535年穆斯林对阿克苏姆城的毁灭和劫掠。 100年后，整个帝国恢复了和平，约柜又被放回了第二座圣玛利教堂，它是法悉里达斯皇帝在被夷平的第一座圣玛利教堂的废墟旁建造的。据说，约柜一直被保存在那里，直到1965年海尔·塞拉西皇帝下令把它移到一座更安全的新礼拜堂里。那座新礼拜堂是与塞拉西自己宏伟的大教堂一同建造起来的，但附属于那座17世纪的教堂。 就是在海尔·塞拉西建造的礼拜堂里，那位老护卫僧给我讲述了有关约柜的惊人故事，并且警告我说约柜"威力非常强大"。 "到底有多强大呢？"我问，"您指的是什么？" 老僧人的动作一下子停住了，并且似乎突然变得更警觉起来。我们有一阵没有说话。然后，他轻声地一笑，对我提出了一个问题："你看过那些石碑了么？" "是的，"我答道，"我看过了。" "你看它们是怎么被竖立起来的？" 我承认我对此一无所知。 "使用了约柜，"老僧人神秘地悄声说，"使用了约柜和天火。仅仅靠人，绝不可能完成这项工程。" 在回埃塞俄比亚首都亚的斯亚贝巴的路上，我趁便研究了那位护卫憎讲的传说的历史真实性。我想弄清示巴女王究竟是否有可能是一位埃塞俄比亚君主。如果存在这样的可能，那么，她在所罗门时代（即大约3000年以前）真的去过以色列吗？她是否有可能怀下那位犹太国王的儿子呢？她是否可能为所罗门生下一个名叫"门涅利克"的儿子？最重要的是，她的儿子年轻时是否去了耶路撒冷，在父王宫廷里生活了一年，然后带着约柜回到了阿克苏姆城呢？