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183 Holies, 600 talents; for the nails, fifty shekels”) were enor- mous—so much so that Solomon arranged for special ships to bring gold from Ophir (believed to be in southeast Af- rica). The Bible offers no explanation, neither for the prohibi- tion against using anything made of iron on the site nor for the inlaying of everything inside the temple with gold. One can only speculate that iron was shunned because of its magnetic properties, and gold because it is the best elec- trical conductor. It is significant that the only two other known instances of shrines so inlaid with gold are on the other side of the world. One is the great temple in Cuzco, the Inca capital in Peru, where the great god of South America, Viracocha, was wor- shipped. It was called the Coricancha (“Golden Enclosure”), for its Holy of Holies was completely inlaid with gold. The other is in Puma-Punku on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, near the famed ruins of Tiwanaku. The ruins there consist of the remains of four chamberlike stone buildings whose walls, floors, and ceilings were each cut out of a sin- gle colossal stone block. The four enclosures were completely inlaid inside with golden plates that were held in place with golden nails. Describing the sites (and how they were looted by the Spaniards) in The Lost Realms, | have suggested that Puma-Punku was erected for the stay of Anu and Antu when they visited Earth circa 4000 B.c.E. According to the Bible, tens of thousands of workmen were needed for seven years for the immense undertaking. What, then, was the purpose of this House of the Lord? When all was ready, with much pomp and circumstance, the Ark of the Cov- enant was carried by priests and placed in the Holy of Holies. As soon as the Ark was put down and the curtains separating the Holy of Holies from the great hall were drawn, “the House of the Lord was filled with a cloud and the priests could not remain standing.” Then Solomon offered a thanksgiving prayer, saying: Lord who has chosen to dwell in the cloud: Ihave built for Thee a stately House, The Day of the Lord