Muslims praying at Dome of the Rock, JerusalemTHE Well of Souls, thought to be located on the Jerusalem site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, may contain the fabled and elusive Ark of the Covenant. This is the sacred vessel that, according to biblical account, contained the original Ten Commandments tablets that God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai as the ancient Israelites wandered the desert.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the intrepid Indiana Jones finds the Ark of the Covenant in a room called the Well of Souls, though in the Hollywood version the site was relocated from Jerusalem to the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis.
The Well of Souls is purportedly located below a natural cave under the rock upon which Jewish tradition says Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Islamic tradition indicates Muhammad ascended to heaven from this same stone.
No one knows with absolute certainty whether the Well of Soulsor the Ark of the Covenantactually exists. Though knocking on the floor of the cave under the Muslim Dome of the Rock shrine elicits a resounding hollow echo, no one has ever seen this alleged chamber.
The Temple Mount itself is rife with a network of some 45 cisterns, chambers, tunnels, and caves.
Source: National Geographic
