it was confiscated by the Roman Empire. Next he ordered that the tomb itself be sealed forever.’
‘What did he do with the evidence?’ Garcia asked.
Papineau had never heard of the sacred well, but he knew the history of Emperor Severus. ‘Some say he delivered it to the tomb before it was sealed. Some say he destroyed all the evidence in a giant fire. No one really knows for sure.’
Jasmine rose from her seat. ‘That’s just it. In the history of the world, how many things have been completely erased?’
Garcia scoffed at the question. ‘How can we possibly know that? If it was completely erased, there’d be no evidence of its existence. And, obviously, if there was no evidence of its existence, then we would not be able to determine that it had been erased.’
Papineau chuckled at the analytical thought process of their computer whiz. ‘Spoken like a true genius.’
Jasmine ignored Garcia’s logic. ‘Don’t over-think it, Hector. What I mean is this: just because Severus tried to collect every scrap of evidence that pertained to the tomb doesn’t make it possible. Do you really think anyone could accomplish something like that? Do you honestly believe he could find every trace of Alexander’s tomb in the world? Someone, somewhere had to hang on to something. A book. A drawing. A memory. Plus, if you know your history, there was one group in particular that secretly defied the emperor any chance they could – and they did it in plain sight.’
Papineau nodded. ‘The priests.’
Garcia groaned in confusion. ‘That doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Roman priests defy the Roman emperor?’
Jasmine explained. ‘In the time of Severus, Christianity had yet to be embraced by the Roman Empire. His religion had multiple gods. It would be another century before the people of the republic could openly worship the holy trinity. Until then, Christians were persecuted for their devotion to Jesus Christ. This would have put the Roman priests at great odds with the Roman emperor even as they continued to serve him. Severus believed that the very foundation of their belief system was a lie. And they, in turn, did not recognize the emperor as a member of the divine pantheon, as was the tradition of the day. Therefore, it actually makes perfect sense that the priests would defy the emperor.’
Garcia shrugged. ‘If you say so.’
She continued. ‘Severus allowed his son, Caracalla, to visit the tomb in 215 AD. That’s the last official Roman sighting on record. But according to several Christian sources, the priests followed Caracalla to the tomb and documented its location. Furthermore, if the legend about Donum Neptunus is correct, it was also the priests who maintained the well for several centuries after the acceptance of Christianity. It’s not inconceivable to think that we’re talking about the same group of people.’
‘And if we are?’ Papineau asked.
She smiled. ‘If you’re trying to hide evidence of Alexander’s tomb – evidence that could prove to be useful in your rebellion against the Empire – and you wanted to thumb your nose at the emperor at the exact same time, what better place to hide it than a heavily guarded, fortified building whose only visitors were fellow priests?’
Papineau laughed at the irony. ‘If that’s the case, the emperor’s garrison would have been unknowingly helping the priests by protecting information about the tomb. How delicious!’
‘Delicious, yes. But accurate? That remains to be seen. I won’t know anything for sure until I examine the site.’
14
Friday, October
31
Alexandria, Egypt
Cobb could have set up their command center in any section of the city, but after spending several days in Alexandria, he decided the coastal neighborhood of San Stefano was the perfect choice. Not only is San Stefano in the center of Alexandria’s width, making it ideal for exploring the city, but it also caters to foreign travelers.
Thanks to
‘What did he do with the evidence?’ Garcia asked.
Papineau had never heard of the sacred well, but he knew the history of Emperor Severus. ‘Some say he delivered it to the tomb before it was sealed. Some say he destroyed all the evidence in a giant fire. No one really knows for sure.’
Jasmine rose from her seat. ‘That’s just it. In the history of the world, how many things have been completely erased?’
Garcia scoffed at the question. ‘How can we possibly know that? If it was completely erased, there’d be no evidence of its existence. And, obviously, if there was no evidence of its existence, then we would not be able to determine that it had been erased.’
Papineau chuckled at the analytical thought process of their computer whiz. ‘Spoken like a true genius.’
Jasmine ignored Garcia’s logic. ‘Don’t over-think it, Hector. What I mean is this: just because Severus tried to collect every scrap of evidence that pertained to the tomb doesn’t make it possible. Do you really think anyone could accomplish something like that? Do you honestly believe he could find every trace of Alexander’s tomb in the world? Someone, somewhere had to hang on to something. A book. A drawing. A memory. Plus, if you know your history, there was one group in particular that secretly defied the emperor any chance they could – and they did it in plain sight.’
Papineau nodded. ‘The priests.’
Garcia groaned in confusion. ‘That doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Roman priests defy the Roman emperor?’
Jasmine explained. ‘In the time of Severus, Christianity had yet to be embraced by the Roman Empire. His religion had multiple gods. It would be another century before the people of the republic could openly worship the holy trinity. Until then, Christians were persecuted for their devotion to Jesus Christ. This would have put the Roman priests at great odds with the Roman emperor even as they continued to serve him. Severus believed that the very foundation of their belief system was a lie. And they, in turn, did not recognize the emperor as a member of the divine pantheon, as was the tradition of the day. Therefore, it actually makes perfect sense that the priests would defy the emperor.’
Garcia shrugged. ‘If you say so.’
She continued. ‘Severus allowed his son, Caracalla, to visit the tomb in 215 AD. That’s the last official Roman sighting on record. But according to several Christian sources, the priests followed Caracalla to the tomb and documented its location. Furthermore, if the legend about Donum Neptunus is correct, it was also the priests who maintained the well for several centuries after the acceptance of Christianity. It’s not inconceivable to think that we’re talking about the same group of people.’
‘And if we are?’ Papineau asked.
She smiled. ‘If you’re trying to hide evidence of Alexander’s tomb – evidence that could prove to be useful in your rebellion against the Empire – and you wanted to thumb your nose at the emperor at the exact same time, what better place to hide it than a heavily guarded, fortified building whose only visitors were fellow priests?’
Papineau laughed at the irony. ‘If that’s the case, the emperor’s garrison would have been unknowingly helping the priests by protecting information about the tomb. How delicious!’
‘Delicious, yes. But accurate? That remains to be seen. I won’t know anything for sure until I examine the site.’
14
Friday, October
31
Alexandria, Egypt
Cobb could have set up their command center in any section of the city, but after spending several days in Alexandria, he decided the coastal neighborhood of San Stefano was the perfect choice. Not only is San Stefano in the center of Alexandria’s width, making it ideal for exploring the city, but it also caters to foreign travelers.
Thanks to
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