St. Mary's of Zion Church in Axum, Ethiopia, is widely regarded as the most sacred site in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church — a tightly knit complex of chapels, churches, and a closely guarded inner chapel that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims houses the original Ark of the Covenant. The compound sits in the ancient city of Axum, once the capital of a powerful Ethiopian kingdom, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Visitors can walk the outer grounds and observe the church complex, but a restricted inner sanctuary is off-limits to virtually everyone — access is controlled by a single appointed guardian monk who, according to church tradition, lives within the compound for the remainder of his life and never leaves. Gates traveled to Axum during Season 3 of Expedition Unknown specifically to investigate the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's extraordinary claim that the biblical Ark resides here — and to attempt what few outsiders ever have: a face-to-face encounter with the guardian himself.
Christianity becomes the religion of the Aksumite Empire; Axum emerges as a major center of early Christian faith in Africa, believed by tradition to be connected to the Ark's arrival in Ethiopia
The present St. Mary's of Zion Church is believed to have been constructed, replacing an earlier church on the site that tradition holds dates back to the earliest centuries of Ethiopian Christianity
Gates investigates the site for Expedition Unknown Season 3, Episode 12, "The Ark of the Covenant," attempting to meet the guardian of the Ark
On camera, historian Bob Cornuke — who has made multiple visits to Axum — walked Gates through the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's core claim: that the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original Ten Commandments, is housed in the restricted inner chapel at St. Mary's of Zion. Cornuke told Gates that he arrived as a skeptic nearly two decades earlier but came to believe the tradition has genuine merit after examining the documentary and testimonial evidence accumulated over centuries of Ethiopian Christian scholarship.
Mainstream historians and biblical scholars acknowledge that the Ethiopian tradition connecting Axum to the Ark is ancient, detailed, and internally consistent — rooted primarily in the Kebra Nagast, a 14th-century Ethiopian religious text that recounts how Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, brought the Ark from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. However, most mainstream archaeologists note that no independent verification of the Ark's presence has ever been possible, since the guardian system — by design — prevents outside examination. The tradition is treated seriously as a living religious belief, but it remains unverified by the standards of historical or archaeological inquiry.
What makes the St. Mary's of Zion case genuinely intriguing, even to skeptical scholars, is the longevity and consistency of the Ethiopian claim. Unlike many relic traditions that developed centuries after the fact, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's association with the Ark predates the medieval period and is woven into the country's national and religious identity in a way that is difficult to dismiss as simple myth-making. Whether that makes it history or sacred tradition — or both — is a question scholars continue to debate.
Gates' episode does not resolve the mystery, and Gates makes no claim that it does. His encounter at the gate of St. Mary's underscores the fundamental obstacle any investigator faces: the very architecture of the guardian system makes independent verification structurally impossible. As Gates put it, 'How can we determine if the legend is true without getting a look inside?' The episode contributes a vivid on-the-ground account of just how impenetrable that barrier is — even for a determined television journalist with a camera crew.
According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the guardian of the Ark is appointed for life and is considered the only person holy enough to be in the presence of the Ark — he never leaves the compound.
The Ethiopian tradition holds that the Ark was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I, believed to be the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a story recorded in the Kebra Nagast.
Axum was once the capital of the Aksumite Empire, one of the great powers of the ancient world, and is home to towering ancient obelisks known as stelae that still stand in the city today.
Historian Bob Cornuke told Gates on camera that he originally visited Axum to disprove the Ark story — and that the more he investigated, the more he believed the Ethiopian tradition 'has merit.'
The outer grounds and some chapels of the St. Mary's of Zion complex in Axum are generally accessible to visitors, though access to the inner sanctuary and the Ark's reputed chapel is strictly restricted. Visitors should be respectful of dress codes and religious protocols observed at the site, and are advised to check current local travel advisories for the Tigray region of Ethiopia before planning a trip.
Axum (Aksum) is the city in which the church is located; the regional hub of Mekelle is approximately 230 kilometers to the southeast.
The dry season, roughly October through March, is generally considered the most comfortable time to visit northern Ethiopia, with cooler temperatures and more reliable travel conditions. Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany in January, draws large crowds to Axum and offers a remarkable cultural context for visiting the church.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the city from which Ethiopian tradition holds the Ark of the Covenant was taken, making it the origin point of the same biblical mystery Gates investigates at St. Mary's of Zion.
Holy Land
The Holy Land is the broader region at the center of Gates' biblical archaeology investigations, connecting Ark-related research to other sites of scriptural significance explored on Expedition Unknown.
Kingdom of Kush Pyramid Tombs
The Kingdom of Kush Pyramid Tombs represent another chapter of ancient African civilization that intersects with the history of the Nile corridor through which, some researchers argue, the Ark may have traveled on its way to Ethiopia.