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Cold War files rarely read like adventure scripts, yet recently resurfaced CIA documents have drawn attention for a very different reason, since they describe an intelligence effort that relied on a psychic to locate the Ark of the Covenant, and that unusual claim now raises fresh questions about what the agency once pursued behind closed doors.
During the Cold War, the CIA funded Project Sun Streak as part of a classified effort to test remote viewing, and within that program, intelligence officers tasked individuals with describing distant targets, which led in 1988 to a session that referenced an object resembling the Ark of the Covenant.
On December 5, 1988, Remote Viewer 32 entered a controlled session under CIA supervision, and as handlers guided the process without revealing the target, the viewer recorded impressions of a concealed container in the Middle East that matched longstanding descriptions of the Ark.
In the session notes, the viewer described a container fashioned from wood layered with gold and silver, and as the account continued, it compared the object to a coffin adorned with winged figures, aligning closely with traditional depictions of the Ark of the Covenant.
Alongside written impressions, the file includes sketches that depict winged seraphim positioned at the corners of a chest, and as the drawings extend outward, they reference nearby structures resembling mosque domes, which place the described setting within a Middle Eastern architectural context.
As the session narrative continued, the viewer stated that unseen entities guarded the container and warned that anyone attempting to pry it open would face destruction, which framed the object as spiritually restricted and accessible only to individuals deemed authorized.
As the written impressions narrowed to physical surroundings, the viewer indicated that the object rested below ground level, and that detail carried the account into a description of dark and damp conditions, suggesting a concealed chamber rather than a visible or publicly accessible site.
Joe McMoneagle, a former US Army chief warrant officer who participated in early CIA remote viewing efforts, later dismissed the 1988 session as bogus, and as he addressed the claim publicly, he argued that any assertion about locating the Ark requires physical evidence rather than written impressions.
As the documents circulated online, social media users responded with humor and skepticism, and as comments spread, many referenced longstanding claims that the Ark rests in Ethiopia or beneath Jerusalem, framing the CIA account within a broader history of speculation about its possible location.
Declassified files place psychic remote viewing inside a formal intelligence program, so the claim enters public discussion through official paperwork rather than rumor, and because of that, the story continues to circulate, which means debate now centers on evidence instead of speculation.
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