Declassified CIA files suggest Ark of the Covenant may have been found

The long-going mystery of the location of the Ark of the Covenant may have been solved.

According to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was built by the Israelites shortly after they fled Egypt around the 13th century BC and is said to hold the Ten Commandments.

Some historians believe the Ark of the Covenant was originally kept inside the Holy of Holies, the most sacred room of the Temple of Jerusalem, before it disappeared in 586 BC. Others believe the Ark ended up in Ethiopia, where local tradition claims it's hidden in a church.

No physical evidence has ever been confirmed. But now, a declassified CIA document in 2000 says the agency may have found it back in 1988.

Some believe the Ark ended up in Ethiopia where it remains hidden in a church (jgroup / Getty)

In the 1970s and 1980s, the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) employed individuals 'alleged to have paranormal capabilities' as means of acquiring intelligence about 'distant events.'

Project Sun Streak was one of these remote viewing programmes and used these psychics to gather intelligence on places or objects using only coordinates.

In a session held on 5 December 1988, a remote viewer identified only as 'No. 032' was given a mystery target to identify.

And what they 'saw' was remarkable.

"The target is a container. This container has another container inside of it," the document stated. "The target is fashioned of wood, gold and silver [...] and it is decorated with [a six-winged angel]."

The remote viewer also said the object was shaped like a coffin and 'located somewhere in the Middle East' where Arabic was being spoken.

The Ark is said to hold the Ten Commandments / manusapon kasosod / Getty

Although the psychic wasn’t told they were searching for the Ark of the Covenant, their descriptions closely matched historical depictions of the artefact. Biblical history notes that this sacred, gold-covered wooden chest was constructed sometime around 1445 BC.

The document added: "The target is hidden - underground, dark and wet were all aspects of the location of the target.

"The purpose of the target is to bring people together. It has something to do with ceremony, memory, homage, the resurrection. There is an aspect of spirituality, information, lessons and historical knowledge far beyond what we now know."

The viewer reported that the Ark is 'protected by entities and can only be opened (now) by those who are authorized to do so.'

This document is part of a larger archive of material from the CIA’s psychic programs. They are used in situations that involve finding hostages or tracking down missing criminals.