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was rather bizarre: Parker was arrested upon his arrival on the accusation of stealing King Solomon's crown and ring, the Holy Ark and Mohammed's sword. In the turmoil of Jerusalem, it seemed, the conclusion was that the expedition had managed to escape with the treasures. Despite being arrested, Parker was able to escape and flee the country by sea. What happened during that fateful night in April 1911? Were the rumours and press reports correct and did the Ark of the Covenant disappear together with Parker? Were they rushing from Jerusalem not in fear of the rioting mob but because they had to ship the Ark out of Jerusalem as quickly as possible? Did the authorities at first not realise that Parker had indeed discovered the Ark, then woke up to their mistake and had him arrested in Jaffa? Or did the authorities in Jaffa interpret the information from Jerusalem incorrectly? In 1916, under the pen name Heikki Kentté, Juvelius published a book entitled Valkoinen kameeli ("the White Camel"). The book is a collection of short stories, one of which contains Juvelius's version of the events which led to the riots in Jerusalem in 1911. Unfortunately the book is written as fiction, which makes any historical interpretation a quagmire at ZLON ADRIEALEM con ny STN BLN SON-0FHL = THE CITY OF Dam Tih os “hap rapt ee Sa | Diebeteskis, rock lorem; Cosa i best. Furthermore, we know r, =, . Ae, that Juvelius was not an 7 dereen eyewitness to the turbulent end =| ==*» 7 of "his" expedition. But back to the novel. In describing the riots, he argues Map showing Juvelius's clearir that there was no desecration of the Omar Mosque; he even maintains that the team was working half a mile south of it. The rumours resulted from one of their finds: a decorated chair from the pre-Davidic era. Juvelius also writes that "there was much talk about ancient manuscripts", but does not elaborate. He also suggests that the central quest was not the Ark but the Tomb of Moses. As for the riots, he argues that they were a myth, blaming the press, which spread unsubstantiated rumours, and the Jews, who were highly suspicious of their work and used every possible means to find out what they were doing in an effort to obstruct their work. As soon as the stories converge, they diverge again. And we need to wonder whether Juvelius was putting history right (difficult to do in a novel!) or rewriting it. As for the Tomb of Moses forming the goal of their quest, the alleged tomb is believed to be at Jebel Musa (Mount Nebo), to the northwest of Madaba, in Jordan, though other locations have also been put forward. Juvelius's novel has him visiting Mount Nebo, accompanied by a Finnish friend whom he shows a piece of paper with a Finnish translation of ancient manuscripts or Juvelius's arrested upon his arrival on the interpretation of those manuscripts. The text contains the exact mon's crown and ring, the Holy — measurements of a cave which, according to Juvelius, is the burial In the turmoil of Jerusalem, it place of Moses. Juvelius argues that, according to the Bible, the expedition had managed to —- Moses died in a normal manner and therefore no doubt was 2 being arrested, Parker was able _ properly buried in a cave hewn into the rock, where his embalmed sea. body remained undisturbed to that day. Juvelius states that he wanted to invalidate the claims that Moses had never existed. He also discusses the matter with a rabbi, whom he calls Jonathan ben Jochai, where Juvelius argues that the secrets of Moses' burial place were known to a select few of the Jewish sages and were passed on from one generation to another. When the Bible was committed to paper, the secrets were codified and incorporated into the text. The framework is identical to his alleged decoding of the Ark of the Covenant's location from the Book of Ezekiel. In my opinion, Juvelius was rewriting history, trying to defuse the outrage of 1911 and perhaps even hoping that he could mount a second expedition, this time to discover the Tomb of Moses. Either way, it is clear that it was the illegal excavations under the Temple Mount that caused the outrage in Jerusalem in 1911; Juvelius was incidental in that event. The rumours surrounding the expedition did not stop after the team's return to England. Apart from newspapers repeating what their treasure trove allegedly contained, they now Map showing Juvelius's clearing operations under Jerusalem. 2/80 made reference to “ancient texts", left unspecified by tains that the team was working —Juvelius in his fictional account. These reports referred to the ours resulted from one of their texts as "ancient texts describing the Nocturnal Journey of 2 pre-Davidic era. Juvelius also © Muhammad and documents promising the return of Jesus Christ". about ancient manuscripts", but They suggested that the texts had nothing to do with ancient ‘sts that the central quest was not Jewish accounts, but were rather Arab or Christian in nature. As for the riots, he argues that In England, Parker had trouble sounding convincing that his z the press, which spread work had been purely scientific; everyone seemed to interpret the | the Jews, who were highly expedition as a treasure hunt, which of course it was. To cover :d every possible means to find himself, he rushed a scientific report of his expeditions activities i) | ZLON on AERIAL ooeog MAT HORI S08-0FHLL = THE CITT OF bi | oe ee a Pn ie Viri-beakes rect heen (ostatiet a fer ee oe a iLL Hee a "ite eT fort to obstruct their work. into print. The book, published in 1911, was written by Vincent se, they diverge again. And we in French and translated into English by Parker himself. For ius was putting history right obvious reasons, Juvelius was left out. ‘writing it. As for the Tomb of What did all of this mean for Juvelius? Though the Ark of the rir quest, the alleged tomb is Covenant was (apparently) not recovered, his theory still held ount Nebo), to the northwest of possibilities but it was equally clear that it would not be tt locations have also been put confirmed. It was largely due to Millen that the myth and the s him visiting Mount Nebo, possibility of a future discovery were kept alive. 44 = NEXUS Map showing Juvelius's clearing operations under Jerusalem. Continued on page 82 www.nexusmagazine.com OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 2006