by Brad Ricca
Kipling, Rudyard
Klein, F. A.
Knights Templar
ladders, used underground
Landau, David
Lee, James
Le Queux, William
Treasures of Israel
locusts
London Mission to the Jews
Lowther, Juliet
Lucas, George
Luke, Harry Charles
Macasdar, Agop
mapping the tunnels
Siloam tunnel system
Marduk
markings of triangles
Marlborough, Duke of
Martineau, Mr.
Martineau & Reid
Mary, Queen
“Master Architect”
Maurice, Natalie
Melander, Henning
Melek, M’lek, Molok (king)
Mesha, king of Moab
Micha (in Frankfurt)
Millen, Johan
false narrative about the expedition
Moabite Stone
Molech (a god)
Molok (idol god)
MOLOK (word)
Monastery of St. Onuphrius
Montefiore, Simon Sebag, Jerusalem: A Biography
Morley, Earls of
Moses
burial place of
bust of
tomb of
Moses, Mr.
Moslem cemetery outside Haram
Mother of Steps
Mount Nebo
Mount of Olives
Mount Olive
Mount Ophel
Nabi Musa festival
name of God
National Trust
Nebuchadnezzar
Nehemiah
Obolensky, Serge
Odin
Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF)
Palestine Museum
Parker, Edmund
Parker, Jack
Parker, John
Parker, John St. Aubyn
Parker, Margaret (mother of Monty)
Parker, Mark (7th Earl of Morley)
Parker, Mary
Parker, Montague (Monty)
arrives in Jerusalem
arrives in the Near East
bag of notes and papers
“confession” of
dealing with Hoppenrath
dealing with Juvelius
digging under the Dome
fundraising for the Syndicate
handling workers strike
invited to join the Syndicate
later years
letter to Constantinople (“confession”) re the Dome incursion
letter to The Times
in London
meets Juvelius
meets the Vesters
on Mount Ophel
in newspaper accounts
overseeing the work
papers of, safeguarding
sends Juvelius to meet a rabbi
at Silwan
studies Juvelius’s theories and cipher
two rules of
visits Gehenna
works with Vincent
Parker expedition
antiquities found by
later years of members of
Millen’s false narrative about
photograph of
sources on
Parker family
Parker Family Archive
Parker Mission House
Parker-Moore, Agnes
Passover
Petermann, Julius Henry
Philistines
Phoenicians
language
Phythian-Adams, W. J.
Poole, Miss
Pool of Siloam
Puharich, Andrija
rabbi that Monty recommended that Juvelius visit
and break-ins
radium
Raiders of the Lost Ark (film)
rainy season, and digging
Reich, Ronny
Rhodes, Cecil
Ribblesdale, Lord
Riza Bey, Ali
Riza nur Bey
Rothschild, Baron Edmond de
Rothschild, Baron Leopold de
Roundtable Foundation
Royal Academy of Sciences, Stockholm
Saltram House
Sami Bey
Sampson (friend of Jacob Eliahu)
Satan
Savignac, Raphaël
Sayce, Henry
Schick, Mr.
Schlottman, Konstantine
Scythia
Second Temple
Sennacherib, king of Assyria
Shalev-Khalifa, Nirit
Shapira, Moses
Shukron, Eli
Siloam inscription
Siloam Tunnel
Silwan
mayor of
Solomon
Throne of
Tomb of
Treasures of
Solomon’s Temple. See First Temple
South Kensington Museum
Spafford, Horatio and Anna
Spafford, Jacob
Spafford, Noel (adopted)
Spafford Children’s Center
Spielberg, Steven
Spion Kop
stairs to underground
strike of workers
Stump, Harry
Syndicate
clippings and notices from
concerned about leaks
formation of
members of
not welcome in Palestine
recruiting adventurers
reports to
tablet, unengraved, found underground
Talmud
Tara, Ireland
Tarsha, Mr.
Temple. See Dome of the Rock; First Temple; Second Temple
Temple archive
Temple Mount
Titanic sinking
tombs, to be avoided in digging
Topheth
tunnel from Siloam Pool to Gihon Spring
tunnels. See Hezekiah’s Tunnel; Siloam Tunnel
Turkish parliament
Turks
Tutankhamen
Um ed-Derej
Uotila, Pertti
Urim and Thummim
Uzzeh
Valley of Moses
Valley of the Dead Sea
Vanderbilt, Consuelo
Vaughn, Frederick
vaulted ceiling
Vester, Bertha
Vester, Frederick
Vester, Horatio
Vester, Jacob
Victoria, Queen
Vincent, Louis-Hugues
Virgin’s Fountain
Von Bourg, Otto
Wadi Ayun Mûsâ
Wadi-en-Nar
Wailing Wall
Walsh, Mr. (engineer)
Ward, Cyril
Warren, Charles
archeological diggings of
in Boer War
discovery of Hezekiah’s Tunnel
exploring underground
mapping of tunnels
and the Moebite Stone
police inspector on the Jack the Ripper case
Warren’s Shaft
Weill, Raymond
Well of Souls
Wenton, parliamentarian
Wilson, Clarence
workers (diggers)
strike by
World War I
Young Turks
Zanaf, Shaykh Khalil al-
Zechariah
Zionism
Zucchi, Antonio, Aristippus and His Companions
ALSO BY BRAD RICCA
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes
Super Boys
Olive the Lionheart
About the Author
BRAD RICCA is the author of the Edgar Award–nominated Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, Olive the Lionheart, and Super Boys, winner of the Ohioana Book Award for Nonfiction. He won the St. Lawrence Book Award for American Mastodon. Ricca lives in Cleveland. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraphs
Persons in Their Order of Appearance
The Key
Part One: The Cipher
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part Two: Underground
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Part Three: The King in Copper
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Part Four: Raiders
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Part Five: A Black Star
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Epilogue
Photographs
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
Also by Brad Ricca
About the Author
Copyright
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
TRUE RAIDERS. Copyright © 2021 by Brad Ricca. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Olya Kirilyuk
Cover art: stone window © Alexander Sviridov/Shutterstock.com; desert © Aleson/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ricca, Brad, author.
Title: True raiders: the untold story of the 1909 expedition to find the legendary Ark of the Covenant / Brad Ricca.
Description: First edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021016199 | ISBN 9781250273604 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250273611 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Parker Expedition (1909–1911)—History. | Morley, Montagu Parker, Earl of, 1878–1962. | Ir Daṿid (Jerusalem)—Antiquities. | Excavations (Archaeology)—Jerusalem. | Jerusalem—Antiquities. | Ark of the Covenant.
Classification: LCC DS109.8.C54 R53 2021 | DDC 933/.442—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021016199
eISBN 9781250273611
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2021