Indie and the Ark
Behind the scenes
"Never touch it."
―Indiana Jones to Sallah of the Ark[src]
The Ark of the Covenant appeared as the titular MacGuffin of Raiders of the Lost Ark.[2] While George Lucas conceived of the Indiana Jones character as a seeker of supernatural artifacts, it was Philip Kaufman's idea to use the Ark as a MacGuffin, influenced by an old dentist of his who was obsessed with the relic's powers.[8] The design of the prop Ark used in the film was based on artwork by the nineteenth century painter James Tissot. As of 2014, the actual prop resides in the art room of the Lucasfilm Ltd. archives at Skywalker Ranch.[9]
In the film, it goes unexplained how Indiana Jones knew not to touch the Ark or look upon its contents.[2] Campbell Black's novelization, however, provided an scene where Imam warns Indy and Sallah about the danger the Ark poses. As such, Indy later reminds Sallah to not touch the artifact upon uncovering it and instead instructs that it be carried out with a set of poles.[10]
During production of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, George Lucas had the idea for an episode entitled "Jerusalem, June 1909" which saw a nine-year-old Indiana Jones meeting Abner Ravenwood, who would have been searching the Ark of the Covenant on Temple Mount, Jerusalem, as a means to foreshadow the events of Raiders. The series was cancelled before the episode could be produced.[11]
For the development of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, director Steven Spielberg became determined to have the Ark of the Covenant make a cameo in the film as a callback to the franchise's earlier installments. Although a props team would normally have been expected to rebuild the Ark, it wasn't necessary for Crystal Skull as Lucas' archives had kept original prop from Raiders intact. As it was such a sought-after piece of memorabilia, guards were actually brought in to protect it.[8]
Depiction
While the Ark is described in the Bible, some elements of the Ark were altered in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. For example, Brody's statement that "the Bible speaks of the Ark leveling mountains and laying waste to entire regions" is only partially accurate (when it was captured by the Philistines it "laid waste" to their "region" via bubonic plague), though the Bible does state the Ark had supernatural powers. The Ark is reputed to have the second set of the Ten Commandments written in it, which are whole, not the first broken pair. Although a Rabbinic tradition states that Moses also put the broken fragments of the first tablets of the Law into the Ark.
The picture in which Jones and Brody show Musgrove and Eaton the Ark's destructive power might be another version of the Battle of Jericho. It is written in the Book of Joshua, a biblical story of how Israel had conquered Canaan, that for six days the Israelites had marched around the walls of Jericho once every day with their priests carrying the Ark, after which on the seventh day they marched around seven times.
The punishment of death upon Belloq and the Nazis for disturbing the Ark is inspired by a Bible reference in 1 Samuel 6:19 when seventy people of Beth-Shemesh were struck down because they looked into the Ark.
Also, the Bible relates a command by King Josiah of Judah in 2 Chronicles 35:3 for the Levites to "Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon built". Since King Josiah reigned from 640 - 609 BC, and the Bible mentions the Ark as being present in Jerusalem during his reign over three hundred years after Shishak's invasion, the Tanis theory is untenable.
The fate of the actual Ark, if the artifact does exist, continues to elude archaeologists. The city of Tanis is one of many locations where it is theorized the Ark may lie, although the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia claims to have the true Ark safely kept in the Chapel of the Tablet. The Ark's guardian, and only he, is allowed to see it. Catholics also believe that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is the new Ark of the Covenant due to similarities between her and the actual Ark.