Knights Templar searching
Middle East for secret knowledge

By OVE VON SPAETH
.
Copyright © 2013 - www.moses-egypt.net

Throughout several hundred years, evidently the Knights Templar
sought open-mindedly for extraordinary parts of ancient knowledge
in the Orient. In many very important ways this knowledge
contributed to a new development of Europe.

Searching for too kinds of treasures

When the Knights Templar order was established in Jerusalem in 1118, and got fully Papal acknowlege in 1129, they seem already in the first decades to have been searching for ancient objects of a special kind. Judging from their later results in Europe it is not unrealistic to assume that the knights had some success by having managed to find something of great value.

The popular belief is that the Knights Templar were “hunting” not least such impressive objects as the Ark of Covenant and the Holy Grail. But in reality it seems that it should not be understood literally. But it becomes clear that, certainly, this did not prevented them from excavating and explore the underground tunnels - possibly finding something of value there.

The Rabbinical Writings mention that the biblical figure, Korah, participated in the Israelite exodus from Egypt and was originally was one of Pharaoh’s fiscal managers, - and that later a famous branch of his descendants, the Kohatit clan, were supervisors and gatekeepers of the Jerusalem Temple treasures and equipment. Korah - who also assisted with the practical part in the casting of the Golden Calf - knew much about handling gold and gold mining.

All this is in full agreement with the conditions during in particular Egypt’s 18th and 19th dynasty (ca. 1560-1200 BC), where the pharaohs’ fiscal managers also carried out gold coating and gold casting.

The Bible recounts later in detail about how many values and precious goods the Babylonians took from Jerusalem’s temple already 500 years prior to the Romans’ similar actions. And even before all that, the Egyptian Pharaoh Sheshonq (Shishaq), 925 BC, stole all the precious values from Jerusalem’s first temple, the very temple of King Solomon.

After the Romans in 70 AD ransacked Jerusalem and its great temple, the market suddenly became so overloaded that the gold prices dropped to about 50 percent of the previous value among the Romans and in the Mediterranean countries in general.

It gives some idea about the wealth and riches of Jerusalem and its religious centre, the famous temple. So, how much more has been stored and hidden already during the anticipation of the Roman attack?

Relief of the Titus Arch in Rome, showing the spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem just before
it was destructedt at September 1st, 70 AD, which became a Jewish traditional Memorial Day.

The reason for the military action was that a Jewish rebellion was stopped by the Roman general Titus. The situation was exploited by his father, Emperor Vespasian - who needed huge sums to his costly construction of the Colosseum – now to proceed the fight with extra effort and then absolutely outrageous, also looting the temple.

The Bible carefully describes also the original Solomon temple, but many historians of modern times call this description a myth and claim that “no temple like that have existed”.

However, many of them changed their views because in 1980 there was a major archaeological discovery in Ain Dara in south of Syria - a temple not only from the same time and of the same size but also with at least 33 exactly the same details as in Solomon’s temple - almost as its mirror image. The biblical description was no illusion.

Moreover, there was even found very ancient reliefs, depicting camels (dromedaries), a fact incompatible with many academic allegations that camels - which, for example, are early mentioned in the Bible - only had existed as domesticated animals much later in history.

Much later, in the year 1118, the first group of the Knights Templar settled in Jerusalem at a certain place beneath the temple square, in the remnants of the so-called Solomon’s stables.

These ancient constructions seem to have had no connection with King Solomon’s temple, because just to reach the archaeological layers of the 975 years younger Herodian temple of the time of Jesus, the Knights Templar would have to dig down, at least 46 metres.

Supposed traces of the original Solomon construction will then exist further deep down. But as it becomes clear certainly these facts did not prevented the Knights Templar to excavate and explore the underground tunnels.

The big mystery of the Knights Templar’s hidden treasures

The Knights Templar got several of their first major value-acquisitions from the Middle East, often probably from some ancient well-hidden treasures in the Jerusalem aerea. On this new basis the Knights Templar were with their network in a situation that nicely contributed to that they were able to invent and create something so fantastic as the first international banking system, which increased their treasures immensely.

It was the first time an international organization made it possible that a person who on his journey would carry with him a fortune from, for example, England to “the holy land” (Israel/Palestine) - now, instead of hiring guards for its protection during the journey - he could pay the amount in a templar office in England. Then by showing a receipt which was codified (an early forerunner of the modern credit card system) he could receive an equal sum at his arrival in the Holy Land.

It was the Knights Templar who invented the checks and credit systems, and the Church gave them permission to receive interest payments (although it may be interpreted as being against Moses’ rules in the Bible) - they could receive up to 10 percent as interest. And they were allowed be free of paying tax - neither to the kings nor the Church.

Moreover, since the Knights Templar individually were not allowed to own anything, their fortunes and estates increased so drastically that they could lend large sums to kings and emperors, who always had confidence in the Knights Templar. It was much based on the independence of the Knights Templar and their great ability to protect entrusted property. For example, the Knights Templar in France had from 1261-1264 stored and protected the crown jewels of the English king Henry III.

The loans were often more in the form of credit or guarantees and security deposits rather than cash. This seems to be one of the main reasons that when the French king Philip IV (Philip le Belle, 1285-1314) - supported by the Pope - wanted to dissolve his enormous debts and by a coup destructed the Order of Knights Templar to seize their values, it was a great disappointment to him that the legendary treasures had totally disappeared.

Their big land estates existed - but the values as concrete money and gold could hardly be found at all.

The Knights Templar had beforehand succeeded in hiding another part of their treasures very well, and in some cases secretly sent them away onboard ships, for instance, to Scotland where the king was quarreling the Pope and kept the country out of the Pope’s ban of the Knights Templar. In Scotland, the wealthy family St. Clair of Roslin suddenly became super wealthy.

The historian Marilyn Hopkins points to that from a location like the habourcity La Rochelle 18 ships of the Templar fleet left France close to the time of the destruction of the Knights Templar Order, (Hopkins: “The Knights Templar. Their History and Mystical Connections”, 2006).

Also from Mallorca, the big island in the Mediterranean so strategically well-located island of which the Templars owned the majority, the Knights Templar rescued their treasures and brought them, via Spain, to Portugal.

But ca. 200 years earlier, on the basis of the Knights Templar’s huge property managements these knights already were very active behind establishing of the, in fact, astounding amount of cathedrals all over western Europe.

By the support the knights could provide with money, technical consult, and solid inspiration; sometimes not of the offers were preferred, for instance in the case of the construction of the Chartre Cathedral which was paid for by the citizens and the local nobility.

In addition, these huge activities included an entirely new kind of building construction, and a large amount of advanced knowledge had been necessary to provide for this purpose. Again, the Knights Templar could have come upon the trail of ancient valuable knowledge through the intensive searching operations which they were carrying out in the Near East and especially Jerusalem?

Left: Latest discoveries of tunnels, after Colonel Warren expedition in the 1860's, occurred by the

International Parker Expedition 1909-1911. The later included Dominican priest and archaeologist H. Vincent reported the expedition results in text and photographs in his book: "Jerusalem sous terre" (London, 1911).
Right: In August, 1909, Captain Parker arrived in Jerusalem, and Turkish Governor Azme Bey would collaborate.

The Cobber Scroll - a treasure map?

Even in the Shara Mountains in what is today’s Kingdom of Jordan, the Knights Templar also arrived and settled in Petra, the hidden, mysterious rock city. Also, at another place, more northern in these mountains the local Bedouins are still talking about a “biblical treasure” which has exited in these regions.

In addition, their information is based on the Bedouins’ handed down traditions concerning an English Knight Templar who, ca. 1120 according to western European calendar, was searching for the Ark of Covenant or its remnants. However, near Mount Nebo, where the Ark of Covenant might have been hidden in the area of Moses' tomb with its otherwise unknown exact location, he found instead, what was not so bad, - a golden coffin. Later, he and his group brought it to England. The following will establish that some treasures of this kind actually existed here.

Most of the temples of antiquity, especially in Egypt and Israel, were of many functions in one: a most sacred place for worship and place for animal sacrifices, a high court, an university, an office for calendar and astronomy, a central library, a tax- and financial centre (cf. Jesus driving out the changers of money), and treasure keeping.

In the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times, many ancient Hebrew texts with biblical and sectarian contents were found in eleven caves, in 1947 and onwards. The location is within a few kilometres of ancient ruins on a plateau overlooking the mouth of Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea.

One of the texts is written in a curious scroll, the Copper Scroll (now designated “3Q15”), found in 1952 in Cave 3 at Khirbet Qumran. The Copper Scroll lists many of the hiding places of many real treasures presumably from the Jerusalem temple.

Regarding the scroll’s mentioned hiding places of the temple objects, one of the places is described as existing in the Judean desert, namely a cave or tunnel. In modern times it was found by philologist John M. Allegro, one of the great Qumran text experts.

The site was re-examined more than 40 years later by archaeologist, dr. Oren Gutfeld, of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (O. Gutfeld: “Hyrcania’s Mysterious Tunnels: Searching for the Treasures of the Copper Scroll”, Biblical Archeology Review, 2006, Vol, 32:5, p. 46).

Although the mentioned site had been found, it also appears here - as at the other sites also based on the Copper Scroll’s mentioning of about 60 locations in today’s Israel, out of 64 mentioned sites - namely, that some treasures hunters, very likely with a copy of the text, had made a prior visit. Perhaps early, each of these places has been emptied, either by stealing the objects or by a strategic removal.

The text is a listing of sixty-four locations in all, also stating city and street names. Sixty-three of the locations described in the Copper Scroll holding treasures of vast quantities of gold and silver, as well as many coins and vessels.

Assessing the value of the described objects would not be precise, since not we are being sure what the weights given in the scroll are actually equivalent to. However, it would have to be estimated in the tons. The total value of this would comprise more than one million US dollars in accordance with the high dollar value in 1960. So the weight designation should possibly be changed in the translation.

Map of Jerusalem's walls and the location of the temple.

Also a treasure of cultic information?

The Cobber Scroll was made of alloyed copper, obviously for better preservation. The entire text has been reversed like a mirror image. Also, it is engraved like “writing” on copper with a stylus and here making it as an elevated writing. Both results appear as if the text on the scroll was used for copying by a kind of printing process (as by block printing, reversed image, at that time certainly known from Asia).

The final listing are pointing to a duplicate document with additional details. Some scholars believe that this document could be the so-called Silver Scroll - a scroll which archaeologists are still searching for in the Israeli desert.

The Copper Scroll from the caves of Qumran contains a codified list of precious
objects from the Temple of Jerusalem - regarding where they were stored in safety.

Reading the Cobber Scroll offers a true challenge. Deciphering the unusual orthography reveals that the Hebrew text is mixed with ca. 30 strange (deliberate?) errors or mistakes which are of a kind normally not to be made, but they could have been created by purpose like a code.

This is also including the anomaly that seven of the names of locations are followed by a group of often two or three Greek letters. In all, there are 14 Greek letters - scattered, but from if they from the start follow one after another the first group spells the name, Akhenaten.

The scribes belonging to the sect, which seem to have contributed to the existence of the Qumran texts, have thus included an Egyptian name. This was the name of the Pharaoh Akhen-aten (Tuthmosis IV) whom in thoses days is assumed to have been forgotten for more than 1000 years after he had prioritized a sectarian-philosophical version of the Egyptian religion in the connection with a special the sun god, Aten. The præsentation of Akhenaten’s name is not written according to Egyptian pronunciation but is tinted by Greek and Aramaic.

Using terms from special steps of the older Egyptian religious teaching was not unusual during the Gnostic influenced era.

By here, we must pay attention to the almost unknown fact behind the narrative in the Greek-language New Testament mentioning that Jesus rode into Jerusalem through its eastern gate, the Ram gate (the sun’s site of raising) sitting on the back of the “female donkey’s colt”: in Hebrew this special term is: aten - a version of the Egyptian god of the sun!

Also, the New Testament describes a 3-day episode of a clearly cultic inaugural ritual with a death-like sleep and reviving, where the candidate’s name is Lazarus. This is a Greek-Semitic version, el Asar-os, of the Egyptian god of resurrection, As (later, better known in Greek as Osiris).
On the lists, many precious objects for the temple service are mentioned with specified information, and even this could be a codification by a today also rather unknown code method used in the Bible.

For example, in the Hebrew Bible certain words are repeated a certain number of times: the “Book of Exodus” in chapters 7 and 11 on Egypt’s ten plagues, the term “Egypt(‘s country)” is mentioned 24 times, (Pharaoh’s) “magicians” and “servants” also 24 times, and “Pharaoh’s people” 12 times, “the houses” 12 times, etc. Similar rhythms of numbers are seen in the instructions for the interior of the temple (tent) and in other the Bible texts on festivals, law, and genealogy records.

It was not a procedure out of normal in Antiquity. Later, also the texts which are traditionally ascribed to Homer turn out to accommodate this magic extra dimension by such kind of method. It may provide the solution of the alleged change of style in the Iliad’s long and somewhat tedious listing of ships and their crews, especially in Book 2. (cf. Florence & Kenneth Woods: “Homer’s Secret Iliad, the Epic of the Night Skies decoded”, 1999).

Regarding the Dead Sea scrolls, several did not came from the Temple library in Jerusalem originally. The Israeli general, Yigael Yadin, was also the legendary archeologist who in 1963 - in Massada’s synagogue (ruin) built by the Zealots - excavated copies of certain Hebrew texts which, similary, were found in Cave 4 (“Cave of Letters”) of Qumran.

The aforementioned English semitolog, John M. Allegro, reproduces in his book, “The Dead Sea Scrolls” (rev.ed., Hamondsworth 1958) - and further detailed in one of his scientific papers, “Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford 1968) - information on the biggest discovery, namely, the 550 texts in Qumran Cave 4 - including texts on the sect practicing astronomy and using astrology. - Some of this information has been reproduced with special code characters. Still, the content was not much different than what one could expect to find also in documents from the Jerusalem temple.

It is documented in general and concretely that such texts really existed and, likewise, it is a solid fact that the Knights Templar were also searching for exactly such writings.

Therefore, all the above realities presented will dismantle any allegation of that it is just romanticized ideas that the Knights Templar could find cultic, spiritual, and advanced technical knowledge.

The ‘Gold’ of the ancient Temple libraries

In Antiquity, collections of scrolls (documents, acts, books) were precious treasures - a library containing considerable knowledge was worth a fortune. From the ancient Egyptian temples and their ruins we know that such treasures of documents of often invaluable knowledge were kept in safety in the temples’ most protected part - in stone walled library rooms side by side with the inner sanctum.

Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, 2,000 years ago, had invaluable sources about the history of the Jews, - also because of Titus Caesar (Vespasian), the conqueror of Jerusalem, gave Josephus scrolls confiscated from the Jerusalem Temple on its destruction in 70 AD.

King Ptolemy II - about 2,300 years ago - had ordered all ancient books and documents from the libraries of the temples all over Egypt to be collected in his new great library of Alexandria. No wonder, when this metropole became antiquity’s main center of learning, through more than 800 years. The texts from the gathering, at approx. 300 BC, were of the Egyptian knowledge traditions being far more ancient than any early Greek influence.

Besides their many holy scriptures the ancient temple libraries contained texts of all kind, from history to account keeping but especially also astronomical texts for time keeping and information on cyclic phenomena. In addition there were cultic texts with secret rituals but also with advanced scientific as well as spiritual learning.

Egyptian-Jewish historian Artapanos, around 100 BC, and other ancient writers - including Egyptian historian Apion, about 50 AD - and several Church fathers, including Eusebius (9:27) - all are stating about Moses at Pharaoh’s court in Egypt such information: he was with his special talents the inventor of several machines and equipment such as crane machinery to move large rocks, water lifting devices for irrigation, and different equipment for arms production and shipbuilding. Because of his high position at court Moses was able to get such ideas introduced. - Irrespective of Moses’ possible role here, at any rate it shows that in Antiquity people had concrete ideas of such machines.

With such information, which also was to be found in Egypt’s ancient temple archives, which material was collected in Alexandria, Artapanos also mentions Moses’ Egyptian secretary from Memphis, Nacheres (Egyptian name Na-ka-re). Nacheres took notes and handed over Moses’ ideas regarding better use of livestock, including extension of drawing power from two oxen coupled with a yoke - at that time new in Egypt.

Such sparse information may today be added to what archeology in the Middle East has been able to detect from the discoveries of Antiquiy’s different kinds of devices. But even in the Bible (Exodus 35:30 ff) the name is mentioned of Moses’ head craftsman, Bazal(el), who also has been linked with the construction of the Tabernacle.. It can resemble King Solomon's temple builder architect, Hiram Abiff, who with his knowledge of sacred geometry later got great symbolic importance for the Masons.

Many inventions in connection with Moses disappeared again. Similar circumstances were seen later when many of the wealthiest Romans on their huge estates in the south of France acquired a kind of harvesting machinery, which eventually was forgotten in one and a half millennium - and was then in principle re-invented shortly before 1900 in Europe and USA.

Moses’ construction of the Israelites’ new calendar, known from the ancient Rabbinical Writings and the Bible, also demonstrates a fine knowledge of astronomy. The Rabbinical Writings state that Moses led major works in Lower Egypt, and Apion reports that Moses let develop some of his specially constructed “obelisk pillars” simultaneously designed to be used as huge sundials. Such an idea was after 1,500 years seen again in Rome where the Romans used one of the Egyptian obelisks which they had seized.

Moses’ insight and practice of alchemy and medicine is stated in the Rabbinical Writings and for example in connection with the biblical episode of his transforming of the Golden Calf into gold dust to put in water to drink. .
This kind of knowledge and those documents which Moses was interested in and also seized in the ancient temple libraries, when the Israelite exodus from Egypt started, have also included mystery cultic “magic” knowledge, in which many people later on in history would have wanted extremely to gain insight.

Bernard of Clairvaux had the central post behind the Knights Templars organisatio.
The painting showing him receiving envoys.

Special knowledge behind constructing the new cathedrals?

About 1000 years ago much advanced and secret knowledge from Antiquity had been eradicated by the Church, although not all of it. Notably, Roman architect Vitruvius’ work on the ‘sacred’ geometry of ancient architecture was re-published several times through history. Even among Church leaders advanced knowledge from the past was highly valued.

At the time when the Order of the Knights Templar was founded their chief ideologist and protector, the French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, clearly was very well-informed on the special teachings from the ancient initiation cults. For example, he “defined God as: height, length and depth” - and the handed down knowledge obviously inspired his visions of the new cathedrals’ construction style and the design’s expression of spiritual, “celestial aspirations”. Bernard of Clairvaux certainly was well aware of what he could commission the Knights Templar to trace.

But Bernard of Clairvaux, could he also have obtained special knowledge from Jewish sources, for example about what might be hidden inside and outside Jerusalem regarding treasures and important information?

In Roman times, in most of the first centuries AD it is well-known from history that many Jewish emigrants arrived from the Near East to southern France. It is from that time we hear about the legend of Mary Magdalene's arrival on the Mediterranean coast of France.

Charlemagne, 742-814, who had France as the basis for his re-established West Roman empire, claimed that he was in his line back in time connecting to Jewish kings in Israel, back to David. It may sound somewhat extreme, but not necessarily totally wrong in case he pointed to ancestors.

It was common, even necessary that distinguished families knew in detail the family tree far back in time. Also, it was known that the Romans had sent a Jewish king, Herod Antipas, in exile in southern France where he received a big estate and spent the rest of his life.

It has meant something special that a great Christian monarch and also the Pope's equal, on Christmas day 800 when he was crowned emperor, claimed such connection - also if the succession from the biblical kings was more in a symbolic sense.

The Frankish Emperor Charlemagne and the nobility encouraged Jewish emigration into the empire as a state policy, as a key to international trade. Could the strong Jewish reputable features in the less homogeneous French society at that time also have contained certain traditions of a continuously and protected maintaining of ancient knowledge?

Also, it was under the reign of Charlemagne that the knighthood arose to its more mature form. This at that time relatively new concept, with rules for some special combatants serving a Christian leader, also made it possible to establish the Order of the Knights Templar in a later century.

For about 200 years later, in the years 1100-1300, in fact hundreds of Gothic cathedrals were constructed across Europe, inspired from the East by certain parts of Hermetic knowledge now reintroduced by this mystical order of monk-knights, the Knights Templar.

During the Knights Templar settlement and carrying out excavations at the temple ruins in Jerusalem dating back to King Solomon in the 900’s BC, the knights discovered the earlier mentioned vaults, some of which possibly contained hidden knowledge and certain artifacts.

Among other things there seems to have been scrolls concerning the alchemical knowledge and sacred geometry and architecture, science of sound, and astronomy. Ancient sacred relics are also said to have been in the Knights Templar’s cache of discoveries there.

Bernard de Clairvaux, by Alonzon Cano (1601-1667).

The construction of the huge number of the great Gothic cathedrals, some of the most famous at Chartres, Paris (the Notre Dame), St. Denis, Cluny, and Salisbury, were inspired by these transforming discoveries. The sublime edifices protrude as monuments to the rediscovery of ancient mysteries, a new elevated awareness, and were constructed using the principles of what was often designated as sacred geometry, harmonic acoustics for their transforming potential.

Religious architecture ‘embedded’ in these towering structures reflected a new alchemical-knowledge inspired way of establishing the light. The manufacturing method of stained glass in the church windows was not fully revealed and later often forgotten, but modern research shows that it contains an addition of certain metal oxides. An incredibly beautiful blue colour in the glass was a well kept secret, today we know that it is due to cobalt oxide and/or cobber dioxide.

Other of the old sources inspired to the building construction’s specific acoustical properties for the sacred music and chanting, thus contributing to the new custom of constant rounds of choirs performed by the monks.

In Cologne the world's second tallest Gothic cathedral and with the largest facade area (7,500 m²) was founded in 1248. The cellars enormously thick walls are built according to the secret old rule of having entirely the same weight as all the giant cathedral which they carry.

Therefore, if the Knights Templar in their search even found anything at all - today very few facts of relevance seems known - most possible they have been able to find documents of certain importance (often stored for that very reason). Also, in such cases they would discover valuable knowledge and exclusive information, not only from the ancient cults’ psycho-spiritual experience systems but also of a technical nature from the past.

Jerusalem surrounded with thick walls - which the city was provided with already far back in ancient times.

Some Knights Templar guidelines and certain cultic rules are known, and were given by Bernard, who was deeply religious. Usually, Knights Templar had to pray seven times a day. Some prayers would be in connection with meditation, which he was strongly in favor of. During battles these warrior monks achieved an inner strength that made them almost invincible. And never afraid to die. They were respected and feared - a rule was that they were not to escape except when the enemies were six times as many.

For each Templar elite warrior there have been post asigned up to ten other men: squires, builders, blacksmiths, clarks, cooks, bankers, etc. The Knights Templar also had a scientific elite group and its often advanced discoveries and results seem to have been in conflict with the church's official policy and dogma, therefore, these people had to work less conspicuous.

The Order’s political enemies in Europe claimed that the Templars “worshipped” Baphomet, the significance of which is debated in research. But the name does not exist in any Templar document. It is a code even known from the Dead Sea texts. According to this Jewish abash code - a method at least from ca. 500 BC and much used for the Bible - the mysterious name Baphomet = Sophia (Greek: ‘wisdom’), a deity principle even much cultivated by the Gnostics.

The last to be heard about the Baphomet name was when the French King Philip IV included it in his accusations in 1307 against the Templars to be arrested for heresy.

However, later Church policy changed eventually. Danish writer and researcher Erling Haagensen demonstrates in his book, “Accused for Silence“ (Copenhagen 2007), that the Church has also destroyed medieval archives containing scientific information of the greatest importance for humanity, and thus delayed with at least 400 years a development of humanity.

The fact that the Knights Templar in their religious, cult practice had certain secrets - which could help to strengthen their unique invincible courage, discipline and dedication - is today full of mystery with many features which in several cases obviously have been included also from initiation in the Middle East’s very ancient cultic and spiritual knowledge tradition.

The real leader of the Knights Templar, Bernard of Clairvaux, quoted genuine ancient knowledge, and mentioned God directly in connection with mystery doctrine of “holy” ratios, etc. The fact that he possessed such knowledge reflects a former tradition of many among Church scholars. Even the ancient Church’s most esteemed philosopher, St. Augustine, was well-versed in this, and among other things he expressed that

“... Mathematics and figures were provided to us by God so that we could verify the existence of truth ...”

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