The claim has thus been impossible to verify, for no one but the monk is allowed into the tent.
A more plausible claim is that of archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer, who has conducted research on the Temple Mount and inside the Dome of the Rock.
He claims to have found the spot on the Mount where the Holy of Holies was located during the First Temple period.
In the precise center of that spot is a section of bedrock cut out in dimensions that may match those of the Ark as reported in Exodus.
This section of the mount, incidentally, is the one from which the creation of the world began, according to midrash.
Based on his findings, Ritmeyer has postulated that the Ark may be buried deep inside the Temple Mount.
However, it is unlikely that any excavation will ever be allowed on the Mount by the Muslim or Israeli authorities.
