"I have held up a light in the obscurity of Philosophy, which will be seen centuries after I am dead. It will be seen amidst the erection of Tombs, Theatres, Foundations, Temples, Orders and Fraternities for nobility and obedience — the establishment of good laws as an example to the World. For I am not raising a Capitol or Pyramid to the Pride of men, but laying a foundation in the human understanding for a holy Temple after he model of the World. For my memory I leave it to Men's charitable speeches, to foreign Nations and the next Ages, and to my own Country after some Time has elapsed." -- Francis Bacon, Advancement of Learning (1605), Bk II.

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Join me to explore the hidden tenets of arranged alignments of architecture and art. Structures as diverse as the Great Pyramid, Baalbek, The Tower of the Winds, Hagia Sopia, Basilica San Vitale, The Dome of the Rock, St. Peter's Square, Gisors, The Newport Tower, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, and the Georgia Guidestones all may have a common origin.

Three reproductions of the Tower of the Winds in England help to display how this age old value is viewed through time. Along the way many legends and myths associated with the Holy Grail and other relics are examined.

Treasure myths such as the Oak Island Legend and The Beale Treasure Legend may have a common origin and hidden meaning. The tale of The Bruton Parish Church Vault (a.k.a. "Bacon's Vault) may also be a copy of an already existent mystery at Stirling Castle.

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The geomancy of the Lost Ark of the Covenant: Lalibela to Chartres

St. Peter's Square's use as a sighing device or compass rose.

Through out history men have quested for the Holy Grail.  The quest for the grail may hold its roots in the ancient mystery schools.  In the days of ancient Sumeria and Egypt adherents or students may have been given a set of clues and specific skills in order to solve specific questions.  The later Greeks and Romans were seduced by the Mysteries as well.

Much of the information taught at the mystery schools may have involved learning secret or hidden knowledge that was to be used with care and discretion. Later orders such as the Knights Templar may have learned these mysteries and quested for the hidden knowledge themselves.  In fact the name “Knights Templar” may refer to the map templates they learned of by studying geometry and mathematics. Some of the hidden knowledge may have involved the use of square, hexagonal, or octagonal templates in order to create map projections that would reduce the amount of distortion in the rendering of maps thus making them more accurate and reliable. Possessing accurate maps would be a huge advantage over those who were unaware of these facts. This skill would logically relate to stone masonry-another craft the Templar’s were famed for. Think about the Templar’s using templates to build temples and command the temporal fabric of the world.

By using the geometry and navigation secrets learned from the ancients the Templar’s were capable of de-coding any geomantic mysteries that may have been left as lessons of the mystery schools and indeed may have created a few themselves. Later mysteries such as Rennes Le Chateau, Chartres Cathedral, The Oak Island Money Pit, The Kensington Rune Stone, Verendrye Rune stone (Jacob’s Pillow), The Grail Legend of Accokeek, Maryland, and Bacon’s Vault in Williamsburg, Virginia may have been inspired by ancient grail quests and left for others to decipher and discover for themselves(see article on home page).

An exploration of what may have been a very early grail quest by the Knights Templar in the 12th century may reveal some very surprising results.  There is evidence that the Templar’s used the octagonal shape of the Dome of the Rock itself as a sighting device in their search for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. They may have used this directional clue to follow its southern orientation to a place in Ethiopia that is as lost in time and clouded in the mysteries as any site in Egypt itself.

This location also represents an intersection or vector between the southerly line from the DOTR and the SE orientation of St. Peter’s square at the Vatican. Later the Templar’s memorialized their grail quest by aligning Chartres Cathedral with the NW windrose marker at the Vatican.  Chartres includes stone carvings that depict the Queen of Sheba taking the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia.

We have previously established how the obelisk at the center of St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican and its surrounding windrose markers may be used as a sighting device. Each windrose marker has a primary compass direction inscribed on it.  Each of these directions leads to a place on the globe that is significant to the Roman Catholic faith.

The easterly orientation or E windrose marker points an azimuth that transects the Balkans and leads directly to the Dome of Hagia St. Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.  Hajia St. Sophia is directly adjacent to the Hippodrome of Theodosius which also contains an Egyptian obelisk similar to the one at St. Peters.

The Back Azimuth or opposite direction to the W as marked by the West windrose marker leads to Fatima, Portugal.  The town of Fatima was named for the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed (Muslims dispute this) while Spain was occupied by the moors.  This spatial association may be one of the factors that contributed to the miricles happening in this position relative to the Vatican.

Most amazingly the ESE windrose marker leads directly to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.  Not only does this azimuth lead directly to the building of the Dome of the Rock the line matches the angle of the NE facet of that octagonal structure. The octagon of the Dome of the Rock may be in turn used as a sighting device similar to the one at St. Peter’s.


The SE and NW windrose markers at the Vatican create an amazing association with the Ark of the Covenant. The 133.61 degree bearing of the SE windrose marker creates a line on the globe that transects its way across the Mediterranean Sea then Africa including Ethiopia then meets the Indian Ocean near, Mogidishu, Somalia. On its path across Ethiopia the line transects the environs of Lailibella, Ethiopia over the Church of St. George.

Lalibela is home to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that is wholly independent of the Roman Catholic Church. Lalibela is famous as the site of a complex of 13 churches that were hewn out of solid rock in the 12th and 13th (1100-1200’s) century A.D. The ruler of that age Gabre Mesquel Lalibela designed an arrangement of churches that were said to emulate the layout of the temple mount in Jerusalem!

At this point Jerusalem was occupied by Muslim concerns making travel there by Christians dangerous. The river, more aptly described as an arroyo, that runs through Lalibela is even named the River Jordan.  The churches are all connected via a complex of subterranean tunnels.  A massive cistern is also part of the plan.

Each of these churches is an amazing feat of masonry and engineering.  They are hewn out of solid rock with no fitted pieces or forms.  Each church resembles a cross shaped building that is set in a pit of solid rock.

This Church in Lalibela is hewn from solid rock.
 The City of Lalibella does have a long history that may be of great interest to the Roman Catholic Church.  Through history there have been persistent rumors that the Ark of the Covenant was once brought to Ethiopia. This curiosity may have led the Knights Templar to travel to Lalibela and Axsum at a time when the templars were still part of the Catholic Church. The fact that there is a legend of the Ark being here lends credence to the theory that the Templar’s came in search of it.

Finally to tie this all together there is a real link in this tale to Chartres Cathedral in France.  If one creates an azimuth using the NW windrose marker at the Vatican in St. Peter’s it leads right to Chartres Cathedral in France. This NW azimuth is the opposite of the SE azimuth that leads to Ethiopia and the said location of the Ark of the Covenant. Chartres fits into the Ark of the Covenant mystery in that some of the carvings on the church’s exterior depict the biblical scene of the Queen of Sheba taking the Ark to Ethiopia!  Here is a spatially related clue to this mystery! 

The later builders of Chartres may have been associated with the Templar's were fully aware of the Ark’s location in Ethiopia to the point that the Cathedral was built opposite the location in Ethiopia using St. Peters and the obelisk and windrose markers as a kind of spiritual datum from which to measure these points. One line from Chartres to Lalibela transects St. Peter’s square through the NW windrose, through the Obelisk at the center of the square, through the SE windrose marker and on to Lalibela. This is amazing.

The array at St. Peter's "points to" Chartres Cathedral.
 The Legend of the Ark holds that the Queen of Sheba married King Solomon in Jerusalem and they had a son, Menalik I. Prior to the destruction of King Solomon’s Temple Menalik was eventually entrusted with the Ark of the Covenant and fled with it first to Petra Jordan then Marib, Yemen and finally to Axsum, Ethiopia. At this point in history Yemen and Ethiopia which are separated by the Red Sea were part of the same empire controlled by Menalik. The fact that the Ark may have once been located in Marib, Yemen is of interest from a geomantic perspective due to its orientation with the SE pointing line created by the Great Pyramid of Giza’s SE facet.  Mecca is also located along this azimuth. Marib was also the primary city of the Queen of Sheba. Today the Ark is said to rest in the Church of our Lady Mary of Zion in Axsum.

After transecting or crossing over Petra, Jordan a south trending line that matches the E and W facets of the octagon at the Dome of the Rock also passes over Axsum, Ethiopia.  This same line or azimuth then proceeds to the S to intersect with the 133.61 degree TN line from the Vatican right in Lalibela! Lalibela represents the intersection or vector of the 133.61 degree line from the Vatican and the south trending line from the Dome of the Rock.  Both Lalibela and Axsum align with the N-S orientation of the Dome of the Rock.  This orientation may also compel one to believe that the city may have been situated here due to this spatial relationship. Here is a city built in replica of Jerusalem pointed to by the octagonal structure of the DOTR!

Another possible resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, Petra Jordan, is also included on the S trending line from the Dome of the Rock. Recap: Petra, Axsum, Lalibela.  All three places have legends involving the Ark of the Covenant being located there.  Marib,  Yemen seems to align with the Great Pyramid (GPOG). An interesting side note is that the Queen of Sheeba was said to practice a form of sun worship that resembled the mono-theistic faith created by Pharoh Ahkenaten. Many of the directions inferred by the geomantic shape of the GPOG seem to point to places that later adapted their religion and philosophy.This is one possible explaination as to why Marib is situated where it is.

So here we may have a geomantic system that reflects the odyssey of the Ark of the Covenant after the destruction of King Solomon’s Temple.  First the Ark may have traveled to Petra. It’s next possible destination would have been Marib, Yemen.  Next it may have made its way to Ethiopia which was still part of Menalik I's kingdom.  There is some definite logic to the legends of the Ark being here and the geomantic relationship between the DOTR and Axsum may be evidence. The fact that Lalibela aligns with the Vatican would also lend credence to this theory. Author Graham Hancock espouses a theory that has the Ark traveling through Elephantine Island, Egypt before being moved south to eventually end up in Axum.

One other fact of history may contribute to the truth of the Ark being in Ethiopia. During WWII the Vatican had a pact of co-operation with the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Prior to the war Italy attempted to invade Ethiopia and may have been successful if the war had not intervened. If one reads between the lines it is entirely possible that they came to recover what they felt was the real lost Ark of the Covenant or wanted to control the land in which it resided.  In addition Ethiopia is included in the Templum or sphere of influence as defined by the array of St. Peter’s square.

Ultimately Italy was defeated and failed to control or invade the country.  The defeat of the Italians by the native armies that are said to guard the ark lends truth to the theory that the Ark would grant victory to any army that carried it before them in battle. The association between the so called “axis” powers and the Axis Mundi of the Vatican may not be a coincidence. Germany, Italy, and Japan are all pointed to by the geomantic array at St. Peter’s Square.

It is possible that the Knights Templar did quest to Ethiopia in Search of the lost ark. Legends of them coming to Axsum and Lalibela are common.  There are graves in Axsum that include inscribed Templar crosses that date to the 12th and 13th century.  In fact the Maltese or Templar cross is also a common symbol used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The tale of the marriage of The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon is included in the Old Testament.  If the Templars were indeed in search of relics at the temple mount they may have heard of or found evidence of the Arks location in the lands once ruled by Menalik I, son of King Solomon.  One can also image a quest such as this leading the order to hide their own secrets in such a manner.

There are many stories of the Holy Grail in the world.  Many of them seem to be associated with geomantic arrays and monuments that may hold clues for those who quest. 

Please see the homepage for an article about the Holy Grail in America and how three colonial era octagonal structures may hold the key to the quest.  Also see index of pages top right of this page for other articles. Also see blog index lower right.