Case file · High strangeness
Ron Wyatt's Ark of the Covenant claim
American nurse anaesthetist Ron Wyatt said he found the Ark of the Covenant in a cave below the 'Garden Tomb' area in 1982, with Christ's blood on the mercy seat.
1982 CE · 31.78, 35.23 · status: hoax
The account
He also claimed Noah's ark at Durupınar, chariot wheels in the Gulf of Aqaba and the real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. His foundation still promotes the claims.
The sceptical view
Israel's Antiquities Authority said he never had a permit and that the claim is baseless; he produced no photographs or samples that could be checked.