For centuries the Ark was central to Jewish worship. It contained the tablets of the Law, Aaron's Rod, samples of manna. During the march from Sinai towards the Promised Land, the Ark went before the people. When the Ark was finally placed in the Holy of Holies ''the glory of the Lord ... filled the house of the Lord.'' But what happened to the Ark? In 586 BC the Babylonians burst into Jerusalem and ransacked Solomon's Temple. Did they take, or destroy, the Ark? Was it stolen by the Greeks, the Roman, the Egyptians, the Templars? Charles Foster traces the possible route of the Ark through the ancient Near East, Ethiopia, Ireland and a field near Coventry,on foot, camelback, in a Ford Fiesta and several light aircraft, exploring its possible fates and why it continues to compel interest.