Indiana enters.
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Date: 1936
The swashbuckling character of Indiana Jones was loosely based on an early 19th century Italian archaeologist named Giovanni Belzoni, who became famous for exploring and excavating treasured Egyptian sites
Sallah is knowledgeable about the Nazis' actions there, because he is "the best digger in Egypt," and has been hired to help them excavate in the desert. Sallah explains how the Nazis are like returning pharaohs using slave labor - they hire only strong backs and pay pennies for them. Indy learns that the Nazis (led by the corrupt French archaeologist Belloq, Indy's arch-opponent)
The Ark of the Covenant was the chest the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments that Moses brought from mountain Sinai. The Ark was believed to obtain mystical powers and according to legend an army that carries the Army before it is invincible. The Bible actually mentions that during the siege of Jericho the Hebrews heard the voice of God advising them to march three times around the city with the Ark at the head. With the completion of the third round they blew their horns all together and the walls of the city collapsed giving them the chance to assault.
The city of Tanis really is one of the possible resting places of the Ark of the Covenant. Though the city lies in ruins today, once it was famous for the gold of its royal tombs and was just the place where a pharaoh like Shishak - who, according to the Bible, raided Solomon's temple, where the Ark was kept - would have hoarded his prized possessions.
The "Well of Souls" was a real chamber beneath the original Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem...