by Brad Ricca
Molok, from Athanasii Kircheri, Oedipus aegyptiacus, 1652
Hezekiah’s Tunnel, where the workmen met, c.1911, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress
Gehenna and Aceldama, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress
Temple area, Mosque of Omar [i.e., Dome of the Rock], c.1910, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress
Temple area, Mosque of Omar [i.e., Dome of the Rock], from above, c.1910, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, Library of Congress
The Well of Souls, from Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt, 1883
Margaret Holford, Countess of Morley (1855-1908) with her son The Hon. John Holford Parker (1886-1955) by Ellis William Roberts, 1891, © National Trust / Michael Ford
Aristippus and his Companions after being Shipwrecked seeing Mathematical Diagrams and realising the Land was inhabited by Antonio Zucchi, RA, 1768, © National Trust Images
NOTES
The historical record of the Parker expedition is a collection of often incomplete sources of varying provenance spread out across time, space, and languages. It includes letters, reports, books, a complicated mathematical code, Scripture, hand-drawn maps, notes, legends, memoirs, conspiracy theories, scientific reports, government records, and thinly disguised fiction. For a story about a supernatural object like the Ark, this range of information seems wholly appropriate and reflects the uncertainty of the adventure itself.
I have tried to piece these fragments together into a larger, more coherent characterization of the facts. Where cracks remained, I have filled them in with incidental content—dialogue or even scenes—as adhesive to help convey the facts. Everything appears because they experienced it, wrote about it, or read about it. Rather than a history, this is a history of the story. Chapters are grouped into parts that are based on the point of view of the person or source used. Here in the notes, I have tried to be as transparent as possible about my use of these sources. That being said, I do not presume to tell you who—or what—to believe.
The Parker archive is perhaps the most significant source of primary information about the expedition. It was amassed by Parker and kept by him during the dig and includes original documents, translations, and the cipher itself, amid a variety of letters, reports, and other things. I believe that the materials were kept with the Parker family lawyer, Martineau, and his offices, though they seem to have been trotted out a few times over the years. I used their digital form for this book. As such, and for simplicity’s sake, I cite everything only as Parker Archive. The archive has been meticulously indexed by Graham Addison so that anyone interested in more specific aspects of the archive can find them.
References to biblical verse cite the 1769 Cambridge edition of the King James Bible available at King James Bible Online, 2021, kingjamesbibleonline.org.
CHAPTER ONE
The tunnel: Charles Warren and Charles Wilson, The Recovery of Jerusalem: A Narrative of Exploration and Discovery in the City and the Holy Land (New York: D. Appleton, 1871), 489–502, 237–57. I have followed Warren’s own description, even though it does not always align with other versions. The map I used is from Aryeh Shimron, “Response: Warren’s Shaft,” Biblical Archaeology Review 30, no. 4 (2004): 14–15. For topography, see Stuart Thornton, “Water Works,” National Geographic, September 19, 2013, nationalgeographic.org/article/water-works. The debate over the origin and use of the tunnel is ongoing.
Palestine: During the time frame of this story, “Palestine” refers to the entire region.
Jacob Eliahu: Our Jerusalem, 95–98; Stig Norin, “The Age of the Siloam Inscription and Hezekiah’s Tunnel,” Vetus Testamentum 48, no. 1 (1998): 37–48.
Mr. Schick: C. Schick, “Phoenician Inscription in the Pool of Siloam,” Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1880, 238–39; E. W. G. Masterman, “The Important Work of Dr. Conrad Schick, Biblical World 20, no. 2 (August 1902), 146–48. Dr. Conrad Schick was the noted German architect and archaeologist who designed buildings in Jerusalem and created small-scale models of the Temple Mount.
Behold: A. H. Sayce, “The Ancient Hebrew Inscription Discovered at the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 13, no. 3, 149.
CHAPTER TWO
The man in the white captain’s hat: Of all the people in this story, Monty Parker is the most like a cipher himself in the historical record. To reflect this, I have characterized him somewhat as a medium between the reader and the cipher, as he was the one reading them. I have imagined his interior life quite a bit but have tried to do so only around general questions shared by him and the reader. In some ways, I have characterized Monty as a response to the theory that Indiana Jones doesn’t affect the outcome of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but functions as a bystander. I don’t agree with this, but I tried it as an experimental model for Monty, given the scarcity of first-person accounts from him. I eventually settled on Roger Ebert’s point that in the film, Indy’s “the fulcrum, not the lever,” which seems a fair fit to Monty’s own role. At first, I desperately sought to avoid any links to Raiders, but I came to the conclusion that the movie will unavoidably color a vast majority of any reading experience about the Ark, more so than possibly even religion. The nods throughout are homage, but also an acceptance of the way fictional interpretations can not only color but help to understand quasi-historical events. All such moments occur only when I found actual similarities in the story. See Roger Ebert, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” April 30, 2000, rogerebert.com.
Princelet Street: Autumn, 111–12; Valter, ch. 5. Martineau had official barrister offices in the Raymond Buildings at Gray’s Inn, but that didn’t seem to be a believable place for them to discuss their “proposition.” They had a later listing for an office on Princelet Street in the East End, so I set their meeting there. The timing of what happened and who did what when is reflective of the historical record.
him with a thud: “Records of Princes (later Princelet) Street Synagogue, Spitalfields, 1883–1973,” W/PRI National Archives, UK.
known as the Beehive: “Has the Times Done This?” Daily Telegraph, October 3, 1888, 3.
mohel: Philip Walker, Jewish East End of London Photo Gallery & Commentary, jewisheastend.com/princelet. His name was Reverend A. Tertis.
“You need a soldier” UK, British Army Records and Lists, 1882–1962, Provo, UT, ancestry.com, 2015.
The cipher: Parker Archive. The cipher exists in the Parker Archive in several forms: the original Swedish by Juvelius, a version translated by Millen into English, a version professionally translated into English by Venn & Sons, and the newer ciphers done by Juvelius and Millen.
CHAPTER THREE
Royal Ascot: “Royal Ascot,” Morning Post, June 17, 1908, 9; Ascot Gold Cup, Singleton Argus, June 20, 1908, 4; “Royal Ascot,” Sportsman, June 18, 1908, 5; “The Ascot Cup,” Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, June 19, 1909.
Monty and Ava: “London Day by Day,” Sheffield Daily Telegraph, March 21, 1925, 8.
were indefatigable: Chas. P. Norcross, “Mrs. Astor May Lose Royal Favor,” San Francisco Examiner, Nov. 14, 1909, 1.
Ava Lowle Willing Astor: Lucy Kavaler, The Astors: A Family Chronicle of Pomp and Power (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1966).
was nearly thirty: “Born Montague Parker on October 13, 1878 in Westonbrit House, Tetbury, in Gloucestire England to the Right Honorable Albert Edmund Parker, Lord Borington the Third Earl of Morley and Margaret Holford Parker, the Countess Morley”; his middle name “Brownlow” seems to first appear when he is baptized on November 13, 1878; Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1913, Provo, UT, ancestry.com. Thanks to Olivia Parker for the birth certificate information.
Nothing remotely “perhaps”: ibid.
His mother drew horses: Margaret Holford, Drawings. Album of drawings and watercolour sketches by Margaret Parker (née Holford), 3rd Countess Morley. Includes: landsc
apes made at home and during holidays on the continent; scenes of domestic life; sketches worked as exercises, etc., NT 3041433, Saltram, Devon, 1871.
Lord Curzon: “Lord Curzon or the Dashing Capt. Montague Parker?” Knoxville Sentinel, January 8, 1910, 17.
CHAPTER FOUR
chops, St. Hilaire: supper menu, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, October 11, 1905. New York Public Library Menu Collection, menus.nypl.org/menus/21406.
“we’re full up”: Autumn, 112; Parker Archive. On the official list of donors, many subscribers were family and close friends. Thanks to Graham Addison.
help as well: Valter, ch. 5. Juvelius showed only portions of the cipher in their first meeting, so I am guessing that he showed them the example first.
Hesekiel’s chiffer: A full comprehension of the cipher would require a knowledge of ancient Hebrew, Swedish, and arguably Valter Juvelius himself. I considered hiring an expert to satisfy the first two, but the cipher’s dual status in the story as both a doubtful and hopeful thing fits more accurately with the aims and perspective of this book. Stewart makes the terrific point that the cipher as experienced by Juvelius was incredibly unwieldy, as Hebrew added thousands of words to the equation. For a brilliant example of how to read the cipher, see Valter, ch. 4.
“delight return!”: Parker Archive.
Melander: Valter. Henning Melander, as Stewart relates in detail, is a fascinating figure, but was not directly associated with the expedition. Melander was convinced that Juvelius stole the cipher idea from him and even published some of the Juvelius ciphers as revenge. Melander wrote a book accusing the Parker expedition of being Masonic agents. See Henning Melander, Frimurarnas hemlighet och Israels förbundsark (Stockholm: Sv. kristl. Arkforskningförb, 1916).
“J.M.P.V.F.”: Parker Archive. The official documents were drawn up and approved on October 28, 1908.
In Jerusalem: It is unclear who hired whom and when, but this is the timeline I have worked out that satisfies the most sources. Monty, as leader, most likely made these decisions, although invitations to join seem to have been extended through a friendly network of ex-soldiers, friends, and people known to each other by reputation.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jerusalem: C. R. Conder, The City of Jerusalem, London: John Murray, 1909, 15.
“least two Gethsemanes”: Parker Archive.
“base of knowledge”: ibid.
the faithful to prayer: Conder, 21.
“Lake of Fire”: John Milton, Complete Poems and Major Prose, New York: Macmillan, 1957, 218, (280).
Praise the Lord: Parker Archive.
Ye are digged: Isaiah 51:1.
Nebuchadnezzar: 2 Kings 24–25:22; Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography (New York: Knopf, 2011), 37–43.
unmentioned in the lists: 2 Chronicles 36:7, 18; 2 Kings 24:13.
CHAPTER SIX
June, 1909: Autumn, 111.
“why he did it”: ibid., 35–37. For those readers unfamiliar with the sport, I recommend “The Basics of Cricket, Explained,” Chicago Tribune, February 15, 2015; Neil Nitin, How’s That? Let’s Play Cricket, self-published, 2020.
and the West Indies: Autumn, 22–44; “Cyril Foley,” ESPNCricInfo.com. Cyril was part of the very first reverse sweep in first-class cricket. See “The Very First Reverse Sweep or That There Tim Takes a Bit of Beating,” Down at Third Man, downatthirdman.wordpress.com.
“fantastic proposition for you”: Autumn, 111.
“call the police”: Cyril Foley, “In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant,” Sunday Express, October 9, 1926, 16.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“authority must disappear”: Millen, Johan. På rätta vägar: Davids forntida stad upptäckt: Israels tio stammar aäterfunna (äro icke judarna) (Stockholm: A.-B. Hasse W. Tullberg, 1917), 70.
Description of the Ark: 1 Chronicles 28:18, 1 Kings 8:7, and Exodus 25:22. A replica of the Ark was displayed a year earlier in a London exhibit on Palestine; see Valter, ch. 3. The most accurate (and prolific) visual image of the Ark is the version by James Tissot in two paintings, The Ark Passes Over the Jordan (1908) and Ark of the Covenant: Moses and Joshua Bowing Before the Ark (1900). Tissot emphasizes the sweeping, aggressive wings of the cherubim that appear almost Egyptian. His skills with color also gave the Ark a gleam that lasted all the way to the version seen in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
“in some form or another”: Exodus 25:10.
A man named Uzzah: Millen, 70; 2 Samuel 6:3–8.
“front of the procession”: 2 Samuel 6:14.
Urim and Thummim: Millen, 70–72. Urim and Thummim is mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, and Deuteronomy 33:8.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Thursday, July 22, 1909: Autumn, 113.
some of their expenses: Valter, ch. 6. I have chosen not to focus on the business side of the expedition. For more, see Valter and Parker Archive for most of the original business records.
Otto von Bourg: “When the War Will End,” Ashbourne News Telegraph, March 4, 1904, 8; “Missing Body Traced Through Clairvoyance,” Light, February 16, 1901, 79–81.
Lee: Autumn, 113; Valter, ch. 9. Stewart names him “James Lee” but also considers the option that his name could have been misconstrued as someone else, possibly Millen.
for three years: Parker Archives, Louis Fishman, “The 1911 Haram Al-Sharif Incident: Palestinian Notables Versus the Ottoman Administration,” Journal of Palestine Studies 34, no. 3 (2005), 6–22.
“the great Juvelius”: Autumn, 114.
Water Lily: ibid.; “Cowes Week,” Times, August 1, 1910, 11; “Adventurous Cruise,” New Zealand Herald, April 11, 1932, 10. There is an anonymous erotic novel titled Cruise of the Water-Lily (1908), but it is hard to say if it refers to Wilson’s vessel.
“just before sunup”: Autumn, 114.
medical officer: United States, Office of Naval Intelligence, Port Directory of the Principal Foreign Ports, 5th ed. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1928), 584.
“No shaking hands”: Autumn, 114–15.
“I went to Cambridge!”: Autumn, 5–22.
Jaffa: “Syria,” Tablet, May 5, 1888, 729; “Jaffa,” Jewish Virtual Library, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jaffa.
the cleanest in Jerusalem: ibid., 116.
CHAPTER NINE
upside-down mutton: Bethica Das Bethica Das Sharjah, “Upside Down Mutton Biryani,” cookpad.com.
not building hospitals: Our Jerusalem, 225.
“gather the bits”: ibid., 226.
“he will not”: ibid.
“the boys rode on the donkeys”: ibid.
Frederick: ibid., 203–05.
Mrs. Bertha Vester: ibid., 226. It is not certain that it was Monty with whom she met; she says she meets “some of them.”
some other children: American Colony, Photo Department, photographer, Studio Portraits of Members of the American Colony Jerusalem, Friends, and Associates, Palestine Jerusalem, [between 1870 and 1935], loc.gov/item/2007675263/.
“He is an archaeologist”: Our Jerusalem, 226. There are two versions of how Father Vincent met with the expedition. This is Bertha Vester’s; the next chapter will be the competing version in Vincent’s own words.
CHAPTER TEN
Father Vincent: Hugues-Vincent, Underground Jerusalem: Discoveries on the Hill of Ophel (1909–11). London: H. Cox, Field office, 1911. Underground. This is the primary scientific text of the expedition.
a pulley and rope: Autumn, 116–17.
captain’s hat with a pipe: My association of these items with Parker is rooted somewhat in fact (several photographs) and somewhat in homage.
Palestine Exploration Fund: For more information on the PEF, their website (pef.org.uk) has archived the Quarterly, a vitally important resource for understanding the history of biblical archaeology and its unique personalities. Archive.org also has some of these issues.
then lost to all: I am very conscious that this is a book about a treasure hunter, and a s
omewhat romanticized one, at that. The history of the stealing of relics, of land, of culture and identity in the entire region is significant and important. See Katharina Galor, “Jerusalem: Archaeologists Versus Residents?” Review of Middle East Studies 51, no. 2, 2017, 203–13.
Katharina Galor and Gideon Avni, eds., Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011); Raphael Greenberg, “One Hundred and Fifty Years of Archaeology and Controversy in Jerusalem,” Routledge Handbook on Jerusalem (London: Routledge, 2020); John James Moscrop, Measuring Jerusalem, The Palestine Exploration Fund and the British Interests in the Holy Land (New York: Leicester University Press, 2000). Thanks to Professor of Anthropology Dana Keithly for her help in this research.
“we can go down together”: Underground, 1–3.
Father Vincent: W. F. Albright, “In Memory of Louis Hugues Vincent,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 164 (1961): 2–4.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
on who was asking: Autumn, 117.
easier to clear out: ibid., 116.
“as to be unforgettable”: ibid.
did not look pleased: ibid.
their own reputations: ibid. The only thing I have consolidated in this book is the location where they rented a house. They moved around a bit in the beginning, and I felt it would be more confusing than helpful to detail their movements, given the rotating narrators. I am presenting their base as an unnamed amalgam most like the Augusta Victoria Hospice, where they stayed for the majority of their time, from 1910 on. For specific documentation and rental agreements, see Parker Archive.