Katric ark A katric ark was a polycrystalline vessel used by ancient Vulcan s to preserve a " katra " , a Vulcan ' s living spirit , after death . History . Hundreds of years prior to the 22nd century , a set of katric arks was discovered at the P ' Jem monastery . The arks were scanned and analyzed , and one of the scientists even attempted to initiate a mind meld with them , all to no effect . In 2137 , Syrran , leader of a Vulcan dissident movement , discovered the ark containing Surak ' s " katra " on . Syrran was successful in transferring Surak ' s " katra " to his own mind , successfully carrying it until his death in 2154 , at which time he transferred the " katra " to Jonathan Archer , a Starfleet captain . ( ) Alternate reality . In the alternate reality created by Nero ' s temporal incursion of 2233 , the katric ark was also the name of a large facility on used for the preservation of Vulcan heritage and culture . The ark was impenetrable to both communications and transporter signals . In 2258 , as Vulcan was on the verge of destruction due to an attack by Nero , the Vulcan High Council , including and his wife , retreated into the ark in an effort to save the knowledge contained within . As this was occurring , Sarek and Amanda ' s son , , arrived to evacuate the High Council . Spock and the Council emerged from the ark on a cliff and awaited transport by the , although Amanda was killed when the cliff gave way beneath her due to heavy seismic activity . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Roberto Orci , a co - writer and producer of the film , confirmed a fan ' s suspicions that what the Vulcan elders in the katric ark in that film were doing was retrieving the " katra " of Surak and possibly the " katra " s of other Vulcans – so that became the carrier of Surak ' s " katra " – and that the writers at least considered having one of the other elders carry the " Kir ' Shara " from the katric ark . As demonstrated in a concept painting , the interior of the film ' s katric arc was originally planned to have a series of triangular stairways and a pillar of spiraling particles ( either water or energy ) floating in midair . According to Industrial Light & Magic art director Alex Jaeger , the idea of the fantastical pillar was discarded by producer / director J . J . Abrams as he deemed it to be " too sci - fi magical . " A concept painting of the corridor leading to and from the katric ark was illustrated to look more spacious than how it appears in the film , with walls that seem more man - made than the ones in the movie . More successful was concept art showing the katric ark ' s cliff - side portal , which looks more - or - less identical to the one shown on - screen . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , pp . 110 & 111 ) ILM was involved in creating an establishing shot of the enormous statues inside the katric ark . ( audio commentary , / Three - disc Blu - ray ) Roger Guyett , the film ' s visual effects supervisor and second unit director , explained , " " The temple was pretty much just a floor on a big greenscreen stage . ILM added all the walls and statues as digital set extensions . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , p . 59 ) The exterior of the katric ark in " Star Trek " was partly filmed on location at Vasquez Rocks in , California . ( ) Apocrypha . In several " Star Trek " novels , such as " The Lost Years " , the katric ark facility is a chamber within Mount Seleya known as the " Hall of Ancient Thought " . In the Hall are thousands of receptacles ( " vre ' katra " ) containing the katras of the greatest and most powerful Vulcan master s throughout history . Vulcan scholars , philosophers , and mystics could petition to be permitted to meld with these katras for research or enlightenment .