[Depicted in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the prequel to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the first major motion picture to be released in the series directed by Steven Spielburg and produced by George Lucas - debuting in theatres June 12th, 1981, it was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four (Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration)].
The adventure begins with Indiana Jones deep into the Amazon jungle in search of the Golden Idol of Fertility within the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors. After being betrayed by local guides and escaping boobie traps and a giant rolling boulder, Indy’s nemesis, French archaeologist Rene Belloq, steals the idol with help from a small army of Hovitos natives. With help from pilot Jock Lindsey, Indy is able to narrowly escape and return to his teaching job in the United States.
Back at the Marshall College, Indy meets with two US Army Intelligence men along with his good friend and museum curator, Marcus Brody, who reveal that Indy’s former teacher, Professor Abner Ravenwood, may be under scrutiny from German Intelligence. Indy deduces that the cryptic message means that the Nazis are close to locating the Ark of the Covenant, which left in Hitler’s possession would render his growing army invincible.
The Germans believe that Professor Ravenwood has the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, which when affixed at the correct position, creates a beam of sunlight that reveals the Ark’s resting place.
Indy then flies to snowy Nepal to speak with Professor Ravenwood’s daughter, and a former love interest, Marion. After a contentious conversation about their romantic past, Marion reveals that her father has been killed and that she’s in possession of the headpiece. The reunited pair fend off Nazi agents en route to Cairo, Egypt, where Indy’s friend, Sallah, helps decode the markings on the headpiece that specify the height needed to use the staff correctly.
While touring the markets, Indy and Marion are attacked by hired swordsmen, and Marion is taken into the back of a truck that moments later crashes and explodes after Indy shoots the driver in pursuit.
Over in nearby Tanis, Indy and Sallah infiltrate Belloq’s dig as it’s discovered that Marion is still alive. After locating the Ark, Belloq and his men confiscate it as Indy and Marion are trapped inside the snake-infested Well of Souls, only to narrowly break through a stone wall as a Luftwaffe aircraft is preparing to fly the Ark to Berlin.
Indy then goes toe-to-toe with a muscular soldier far exceeding his own strength, yet with some timely help from Marion, they flee as burning gasoline ignites the aircraft prior to takeoff.
All the same, Belloq and his men are able to load the Ark on a truck headed to Cairo. Chasing Belloq on horseback, Indy defeats the Nazis and takes back control of the Ark, sailing with it on the Bantu Wind, a ship bound for England under Captain Simon Katanga.
Once more, Belloq raids the boat and takes back the Ark and Marion, yet Indy is able to stay hidden as a stowaway. Once docked on an island in the Aegean Sea, Indy threatens to end it all by destroying the Ark with a rocket launcher, yet Belloq is able to convince the fellow archaeologist to surrender, giving into his desire to finally see the Ark’s contents.
Tied up and forced to watch the ceremony, Indy tells Marion to close her eyes as the Ark is finally opened and the ancient spirits form bolts and flames to kill all the Nazis, ultimately leaving them spared by the wrath of God.
Back in Washington D.C., the two Army Intelligence men assure Indy that “top men” are studying the Ark, yet conversely it’s revealed that it’s simply being stored in a giant government warehouse.
Ancient history, mythology and legend that surrounds this adventure involves:
Golden Idol of Fertility - aka the Chachapoyan Idol - a fictitious artifact inspired by the actual Dumbarton Oaks birthing figure, that is presumed to depict the Aztec goddess Tlazolteotl. It is a figurine of a woman giving birth in a squatting position, and is debated to either be an authentic pre-Columbian artwork or a probable fake from the 19th century. It was first ‘re-discovered’ by Ernest-Théodore Hamy, a French anthropologist and ethnologist, in 1899 inside a Paris antique store.
Chachapoyan Warriors - aka the Warriors of the Clouds - was a culture of the Andes that lived in present-day Peru, prior to being conquered by the Inca Empire shortly before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.
Ark of the Covenant - aka the Ark of the Testament or the Ark of God - is a goldened chest that is the most sacred relic of the Israelites, constructed under the guidance of God and Moses, containing two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to build the Ark during his 40-day stay upon Mount Sinai, yet following its disappearance from the biblical narrative, the discovery and whereabouts of the Ark has been disputed for centuries.
Notable locations in this adventure are:
Nepal - a country in South Asia that’s mainly located in the Himalayas, making it the home to eight of the ten largest mountains including Mount Everest, which is the highest point on earth.
Cairo - capital and largest city of Egypt, associated with ancient Egypt as the famous Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located within its area.
Tanis - Greek name for ancient Egypt, an important archaeological site, and an ancient city located along the Nile of the same name.
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