MORE ON SEAN KINGSLEY'S THEORY that the Temple treasures were hidden in the Monastery of Theodosius in the early seventh century: YnetNews has an interview with him. Excerpt:

'Best left locked away'
Despite the prospect that the Temple artifacts could be so close to home, Kingsley warns of the dangers of attempting to retrieve them. " So many dangerous dreams for messianic redemption hinge on this Jewish birthright that I believe it would remain far safer for humanity locked away in the cleansing soils of the Holy Land, dreamt over but not recovered," Kingsley says.

He adds: "The Temple Mount is the centre of world religion but also a seething volcano of human hatred in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It takes very little provocation for all hell to break loose in Jerusalem. The Temple treasure should today be a global treasure that unites people, not a political tool validating the construction of a Third Temple on the Haram al-Sharif. If the menorah's Diaspora over the centuries tells us anything then it is a wise lesson about the irrationality of religious fanaticism: every power that sought to imprison this icon eventually crumbled into dust."

Where is the Menora?
Kingsley says that the fate of the Temple Menora, the official symbol of the State of Israel, is likely tied to the other artifacts pillaged by Rome: "Most of the splendours of the Temple were eagerly liquidated into cash by the emperor Vespasian who needed 4,000 million sesterces (£2.25 billion) to get the (Roman) empire back on an even keel after civil war, anarchy and the great fire of Rome of AD 64 left the Eternal City looking worn out. The menora, silver trumpets and Table of the Divine Presence were acknowledged as key symbols of power. Control these and you controlled heaven, the seas and all between. Rome knew that the menora was a hotline to God and was keen to 'imprison' this divine power for its own benefit. The same held true for subsequent possessors – Vandals and Byzantines."

He also weighs in on the Waqf's treatment of the Temple Mount. Read it all.

This is an interesting theory, but I hope it doesn't lead to a bunch of treasure-hunting loonies ransacking the grounds of the monastery.