[.ca] Templar Gold: Discovering the Ark of the Covenant (ISBN 1577330994)

A unique theory that can be verified by anyone:
I have read a great many books on similar topics: Templars, the Ark of the Covenant, Freemasonry, Crusades, maps and meridians, etc. This one is by far the best for two reasons: a)it alternates first rate chapters on history with extremely good and informative speculative chapters, and b)the really great difference between this and other books is that its main assertion can be easily verified with a good map of Paris, which I had, and the famous Quinlan map of the French Geographic Survey (IGN), which I purchased. With those two, plus the author's photographs and explanations on a region he has extensively traveled and studied, no doubt is left as to the location of what I call "The Site". Whether you agree or not with what is or was kept there is a matter for further personal study. Anyway, what really counts is what the Templars and Freemasons believe to have been there, why, when and how. All is explained in great detail and clarity, yet it makes an easy and pleasurable read.

speculation:
The chapters on Templar history were the best I have ever found. Very good stuff. Beyond that ... well, let's say the author may be the very paragon of speculative Masonry.

RLC: another approach. A bit heavy but worth a deep reading:
I bought this book soon after I saw it on-line. There was something which attracted my attention; I had just got Hancock's "The Sign and the Seal" Italian translation and was thinking about reading it when I found this book. The combination between the Knights Templar and the Ark of the Covenant sounded interesting to me. The book, actually, is quite interesting and confirms a statement: there is something around that area. Many are the evidence Byrne brings in order to confirm his findings, and sometimes this bunch of prooves is a little boring. Nevertheless, it demonstrates the author's good faith and enthusiasm. The interesting combination involving numbers, Masonic degrees and hidden treasures reaches a very high intellectual level, demonstrating how these Knights mastered the art of using numbers, locating places and code messages. The history of the Knights Templar has definetely a hidden face, and this book, as John J. Robinson did in his marvellous "Born in Blood", on one side confirms the connection between them and Freemasonry. The only risk the reader may run is not to finish the book, considering the many facts Byrne provides. Those who know a lot about Rennes le Château may also think Byrne insists a little too much on his conclusions and really descharges Andrews and Schellenberger's final conclusions - as well as others - a little too easily, but in the very end the great interest about Rennes le Château is that all theories lead more or less to the same place with different conclusions. Byrne is no exception. Pointing to the same site Andrews and Schellenberger reached, it is only the "treasure" which is different. Last but not least, Byrne is an active Freemasonry; thus, from that point of view, he knows more than others.