Lost Ark?!

It defies belief what they will get away with on telly! Last night someone claimed they had found the Ark of the Covenant, yet it eventually turned out to be an African drum that was only a few centuries old, so then they tried to make out that it was a copy of the original. Nothing fitted right, but they made it, but even the 'experts' were struggling - I think they just didn't want to shatter the poor man's dreams or write off his years of research and travelling. If only there was a Simon Cowell of the archeaology world to say what everyone else was thinking!
Firstly, the researcher claimed that the Israelites would never hae been able to find that much gold - yet Exodus 12:36 says they plundered the Egyptians when they left. They had plenty - even if each of them only had a couple of ear-rings or a necklace they could easily have pooled a lot of gold becuase there were so many of them. Secondly he claimed that they could not have been able to make things like that - yet he contradicted himself by pointing out that the Egyptians of the same period produced amazing works of art. He likewise contradicted himself when he claimed that the African influence within Egypt explained the African drum form of his 'Ark', yet Egyptian art at the time was as we see it in the tombs - very 'unAfrican'. Thirdly, how could he claim that the author of the biblical descriptions had never seen the Ark (so did not know what he was writing, so made it up) when the Ark was on public display at many times (eg battles)? The Bible is, even from an archaelogical point of view, the best source of information as a clearly written eye-witness account, so it amazes me that he could write that off, yet place such value on what were best, wives' tales from dubious sources.
Credit where credit is due, the man worked hard and I was fascinated to find out about the Jewish Africans in Southern Africa, but it would help if he had not based his ideas about the Ark on Indiana Jones: the Ark was not a weapon that zapped people or scared them. It was the presence of the Almighty that was powerful. Hence when the Israelites took it with them into battle without the approval of the LORD, they were defeated and it fell into enemy hands. The Philistines did not suffer because of the Ark (though they assumed that), but because they showed disrespect for God. Uzzah died for the same reason.
I think Christians and Jews should stand for what is right and challenge those who challenge the Bible. The Muslims don't stand for insults against their faith - though I have to say intimidation is not the answer. The public think that they can write off the Scriptures because those who believe it allow them to - if we do not seem to believe it, what reason do they have to think they should?
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