Why do the Ark of the Covenant, Mary's reliquary box and Jesus' Coffer all have the same imagery? Was the Ark the container of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments or the Chalice? Does the image of the Shroud of Turin contain a bioelectric field? These questions and others are explored in "The Ark, The Shroud and Mary". Author, Philip Gardiner, recently won the acclaim of both scholars and the reading public with "The Serpent Grail", which united three of the most mysterious objects known to man the Grail, Elixir and Philosophers Stone. Now, in this unique and thought-provoking work Gardiner proves that the Ark of the Covenant, the Shroud of Turin and Mary are united in ways never before imagined. Travelling across the world, from Rome to India, Portugal to Egypt, Gardiner uncovers the trail of the Ark and finds that it does not lead to Ethiopia, as many believe, but instead in a direction that nobody could have imagined. The trail of the Ark takes Gardiner on a hunt into the very heart of an ancient secret society with clandestine meetings in far-off lands. Uniting the myth, tradition, and language of the Ark with the Shroud of Turin, Gardiner then goes on to re-date it, reveal how it was made and identify whose image it actually recreates. Through his new-found contacts in the world of secret societies, Gardiner then shows how this incredible secret was protected by a dual brotherhood throughout time and was the secret source of the enlightenment spoken of by numerous orders from the Sufis to the Knights Templar.