And so the ark has resided there under close guard ever since. What makes this legend difficult to believe is that although the ark is said to reside in Axum even today, only one man, the guardian monk, is allowed to view the ark. No one else, Ethiopian or otherwise, is allowed to see the ark. There are no photographs and no other witnesses. And yet, the legend lives on, and has lived on for over a thousand years.
Biblical scholars continue to contend the ark was destroyed in the Babylonian captivity.
But the odd thing about Jeremiah's words is they don't say what happened to it. Only that it was gone. Not residing in Babylon. Just gone from the presence of the Israelites. It gives one cause to wonder.