True Raiders, by Brad Ricca

A history in the vein of Laura Hillenbrand—told in a clear, living narrative with the texture of solidity that is present with solid research. I loved how the account shifted from character to character, creating connections with each person in the group and clear knowledge of their contribution to the team. And what a group! It just seems like everything was so much simpler a hundred years ago. A bunch of Englishmen (nobleman, soldier, scholar, etc.) want to go to Palestine to see if they can follow some clues to the Ark of the Covenant; they get the resources; they go. Minimal red tape, make good contacts once they get there, and they really have carte blanche on their excavation. The good old days . . .

Guided by Juvelius’ cipher of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Parker expedition follows obscure clues around the Dome of the Rock, digging in the tunnels of Hezekiah to pursue the possible location of the Ark.

Guided by Juvelius’ cipher of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Parker expedition follows obscure clues around the Dome of the Rock, digging in the tunnels of Hezekiah to pursue the possible location of the Ark. While they don’t (on record) find the Ark, they do find sets of connecting tunnels, a water source, inscriptions, and extremely old and rare pottery that has Caananite or Egyptian roots. Their efforts revive a freshwater spring to an ancient well for the local community. So cool!

To end the expedition the group secretly dug under the Dome, which caused a delicious scandal (and still would). But the fact that they pulled this off, then managed to sidestep the whole story for decades—true raiders, indeed.

Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction (because it reads that smoothly), Middle East history, interest in the Ark, or Edwardian era history. I felt like including Ava Astor and Bertha Vester were loose connections to the heart of the story, but Bertha’s contribution to the Jerusalem area is a beautiful story of its own. Just distracted from the main story a bit.