Intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones has been gracing the silver and small screen for the last fifty years, with five films and a TV show showing him hunting treasures across the world.
While it’d be hard to name anyone who hasn’t seen a movie featuring swashbuckling, whip-carrying archaeologist at least once, few may realise that his adventures have been inspired by treasure that has been hunted for for centuries, thought to be worth millions.
With the fifth Indiana Jones movie set to come out at the end of June, and it reportedly being Harrison Ford’s last run with the character, the Daily Star has delved into the real world mysteries that inspired the films.
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The first ever Indiana Jones Film, “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”, saw the titular hero race across the world against Nazis to find objects of supposedly great power, eventually finding the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark is supposedly where biblical figure Moses stored the original copy of the Ten Commandments, which in Christian lore, was the first set of rules given to early Christians.
The biblical box was said to have been made from wood and covered in gold.
The Hebrew bible claimed that the Ark had a set of magical powers. In one story, it managed to stop the Jordan river, located in the Middle East, from flowing while a group of priests carrying the box crossed.
The Ark was frequently moved across the world, according to the bible, but eventually it called Ancient Israel its home.
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Now lost to history, one single bible verse gives some detail as to where it might now lie.
According to the Book of Maccabees (which the famous band is named after), the Ark now lies in a "place shall remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy."
In another nod to Christianity, the third film in the franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, sees the archaeologist travel across the world in search of the Holy Grail, a cup that is thought to be the one that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper.
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The venerated vessel is said to have legendary powers of healing, deliver eternal youth and grant everlasting happiness.
Amazingly, in 2014 two Spanish scientists claimed that they had found the actual Holy Grail at a church in northern Spain.
They claimed that three years of research into the path the magnificent mug took to get to Spain, proved that it was the real deal.
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