receptacles. I have no idea what ‘ look for what was offered on the first day ’ means. It’s too vague.”
“Interesting that the message specifies three stone jars ,” Tolen said. “The number three is often used in reference to Jesus: he preached three years, on the third day he arose from the dead, Peter denied him three times, three men were executed on the cross—Jesus and the two thieves—he was thirty-three at the time of his crucifixion, three entities in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
Jade stared at Tolen curiously. “Is biblical ideology a hobby? You seem to have more than just a passing knowledge on the subject.”
Tolen responded with a mere smile. “The next three lines reference the location of Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. ‘ The first jar is at my tomb. Travel from the south. My tomb is through the three-sided rock doorway at the sea .’ ”
“It’s vague,” Diaz said.
“ ‘ Travel from the south ,’ suggests south is the point of origin and implies the tomb is to the north. Keep in mind the stone sphere was originally in or near Palmar Sur, Costa Rica, so it’s somewhere north of there.”
“Well, now, that narrows it down,” Diaz said, arching his eyebrows to emphasize his sarcasm.
“Not really,” Tolen conceded, “but the final line does: ‘ My tomb is through the three-sided rock doorway at the sea .’ Coincidentally, it’s another reference to the number three.”
“You know what is meant by a three-sided rock doorway ?” Jade asked, leaning forward. There was a sparkle in her eye that had been there since they first found the tiny roll of parchment.
“No, but at the sea implies the shoreline.” He brought up an Internet search engine and conducted a search using the terms, “three-sided,” “rock,” “doorway,” “Costa Rica.” While it returned thousands of hits, nothing appeared to be a landmark at the coastline. He tried again using ‘three-sided,’ ‘opening,’ ‘Caribbean Sea,’ ‘Costa Rica.’ He tried a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time using a combination of the terms. Still nothing promising returned.
Tolen sat back and shrugged. “Nothing from word searches. I’ll go to satellite imagery and use Palmar Sur as a starting point and move north up the coastline of Costa Rica to search for something which fits the description.”
“CIA technology?” Diaz asked.
“Google Earth.”
Tolen accessed the Internet using a Comsat connection. He launched Google Earth and zoomed in on Palmar Sur. Then he shifted on a horizontal plane to the east where Costa Rica met the Caribbean Sea. He would begin his search there. His hope was that this three-sided rock doorway was the entrance to a cave and was notable enough to have been photographed. He looked across the aisle at the weary faces. “Why don’t you two get some sleep? I’ll wake you if I find anything.”
Each nodded, grabbed a pillow, and closed their eyes. Tolen flipped an overhead switch, and the cabin went dark. Within minutes, Diaz was snoring. Jade continued to shift in her seat with her eyes closed as if unable to get comfortable. Tolen suspected the excitement of the archaeological hunt was making it difficult for her to relax.
Tolen spent the next 25 minutes examining amateur pictures that people had posted online of scenes along the eastern seaboard of Costa Rica. He continued his search up the shoreline until he came to Nicaragua. His vision began to blur as he reached Honduras, and he took a moment to look away from the laptop to give his eyes a rest.
He looked across at Jade. Her smooth skin and delicate facial features were accentuated in the radiant moonlight streaming in through the windows. She finally appeared to be resting peacefully. Still clad in her white tank top and khaki hiking shorts, she had curled her firm legs up on the seat and was in a tuck position with her head on the pillow, propped on her knees. Even in the shadows, there was no
“Interesting that the message specifies three stone jars ,” Tolen said. “The number three is often used in reference to Jesus: he preached three years, on the third day he arose from the dead, Peter denied him three times, three men were executed on the cross—Jesus and the two thieves—he was thirty-three at the time of his crucifixion, three entities in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
Jade stared at Tolen curiously. “Is biblical ideology a hobby? You seem to have more than just a passing knowledge on the subject.”
Tolen responded with a mere smile. “The next three lines reference the location of Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. ‘ The first jar is at my tomb. Travel from the south. My tomb is through the three-sided rock doorway at the sea .’ ”
“It’s vague,” Diaz said.
“ ‘ Travel from the south ,’ suggests south is the point of origin and implies the tomb is to the north. Keep in mind the stone sphere was originally in or near Palmar Sur, Costa Rica, so it’s somewhere north of there.”
“Well, now, that narrows it down,” Diaz said, arching his eyebrows to emphasize his sarcasm.
“Not really,” Tolen conceded, “but the final line does: ‘ My tomb is through the three-sided rock doorway at the sea .’ Coincidentally, it’s another reference to the number three.”
“You know what is meant by a three-sided rock doorway ?” Jade asked, leaning forward. There was a sparkle in her eye that had been there since they first found the tiny roll of parchment.
“No, but at the sea implies the shoreline.” He brought up an Internet search engine and conducted a search using the terms, “three-sided,” “rock,” “doorway,” “Costa Rica.” While it returned thousands of hits, nothing appeared to be a landmark at the coastline. He tried again using ‘three-sided,’ ‘opening,’ ‘Caribbean Sea,’ ‘Costa Rica.’ He tried a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time using a combination of the terms. Still nothing promising returned.
Tolen sat back and shrugged. “Nothing from word searches. I’ll go to satellite imagery and use Palmar Sur as a starting point and move north up the coastline of Costa Rica to search for something which fits the description.”
“CIA technology?” Diaz asked.
“Google Earth.”
Tolen accessed the Internet using a Comsat connection. He launched Google Earth and zoomed in on Palmar Sur. Then he shifted on a horizontal plane to the east where Costa Rica met the Caribbean Sea. He would begin his search there. His hope was that this three-sided rock doorway was the entrance to a cave and was notable enough to have been photographed. He looked across the aisle at the weary faces. “Why don’t you two get some sleep? I’ll wake you if I find anything.”
Each nodded, grabbed a pillow, and closed their eyes. Tolen flipped an overhead switch, and the cabin went dark. Within minutes, Diaz was snoring. Jade continued to shift in her seat with her eyes closed as if unable to get comfortable. Tolen suspected the excitement of the archaeological hunt was making it difficult for her to relax.
Tolen spent the next 25 minutes examining amateur pictures that people had posted online of scenes along the eastern seaboard of Costa Rica. He continued his search up the shoreline until he came to Nicaragua. His vision began to blur as he reached Honduras, and he took a moment to look away from the laptop to give his eyes a rest.
He looked across at Jade. Her smooth skin and delicate facial features were accentuated in the radiant moonlight streaming in through the windows. She finally appeared to be resting peacefully. Still clad in her white tank top and khaki hiking shorts, she had curled her firm legs up on the seat and was in a tuck position with her head on the pillow, propped on her knees. Even in the shadows, there was no
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