Ancient Espionage
By Rebekah K. Murray
Clues from a first-century spy lead to deadly modern consequences in the novel The Last Ember.
He was just in Rome to inspect a fragment of a first-century stone map. Yet when a young antiquities lawyer Jonathan Marcus, the hero of Daniel Levin’s (’97) new novel The Last Ember, finds a cryptic message, a hunt begins. From the labyrinths beneath the Colosseum to the Biblical tunnels of Jerusalem, Marcus searches for a 2000-year-old artifact, the Tabernacle Menorah. But someone else is also looking for the relic—a deadly fanatic bent on erasing all Jewish and Christian artifacts from beneath the Temple Mount.
The LSA Wire asked Levin to tell us more about his literary thriller, one that reviewers are saying will be sure to satisfy Da Vinci Code fans. We also asked Levin to help us sort through the fact and fiction behind his novel, a work that explores real-life issues such as illegal excavations, historical revisionism, and age-old political struggles.
Q: When you were an LSA classics student, were you searching for obscure maps and watching for hidden clues in ancient texts?
A: It was hard not to. The ancient world was so full of intrigue—espionage lurking behind every corner. Although I wrote the novel years after graduating, its central plot came out of a question I first asked myself while reading classics at U-M: What if there was an ancient spy whose secret had deadly modern consequences?
Q: How did that initial idea lead to this novel?
A: After U-M and then law school at Harvard, I clerked on the Supreme Court of Israel. There were many cases about illegal archeological excavations and a lot of the destruction was motivated by politics. It was then that I thought about what if someone was motivated to control not just the future, but the past? I knew that there was a novel there. That was 2001. I went on to pay my bills by working at a law firm and writing at night.
Q: There’s a note at the beginning of your book that says “All references to ancient texts and contemporary international law are real.” Tell me about the factual basis for this novel.
A: There are two factually based narratives. One is an ancient story of an intelligence operation; the other, a modern conspiracy. The ancient narrative surrounds a Jew, Flavius Josephus, who became a historian in the Roman court. He’s known as the greatest defector after helping Titus breach Jerusalem’s city walls. But my book entertains a different possibility. We know that people who were friendly with this historian—Titus’ mistress, Josephus’ publisher, and a stage actor—were all simultaneously either executed or expelled. The question presents itself: Was this ancient character a defector, or was he running Emperor Titus as a double agent in order to save Jerusalem’s most cherished artifact, the Tabernacle Menorah? We will never know, but for me, that was very rich in possibility. As for the artifact, the Menorah remains one of the great real-world mysteries of the ancient world.
Q: And the modern conspiracy?
A: That surrounds the excavations at the Temple Mount. An Islamic land trust, known as the Waqf Authority, has been in control of the Temple Mount since 1187 A.D., when they ousted Richard the Lionheart. They have kept the historical site in a complete shroud of secrecy. Yet recently, the Israeli Antiquities Authority discovered 20,000 tons of archeologically rich soil from the Temple Mount grounded into rubble. The U.S. Congress has just brought a bill (H.R. 727) that tries to stop the Waqf Authority’s illegal excavations beneath the Temple Mount and the disregard for Judeo-Christian heritage. While these are the facts, I wrote a novel with historical suspense to entertain and inform, and to let people reach their own conclusions about what might politically motivate a person to destroy these ruins.
Q: In your novel, the main characters venture through a water tunnel to see the excavations beneath the Temple Mount. Were you able to get close to the site?
A: Let’s just say I got myself into some tight spots. When I was inside the tunnels, I was far from where tourists are permitted. I didn’t exactly have a tour guide to show me around.
Q: Really? Tell me more.
A: In the 8th century B.C., there was a water tunnel dug from the Temple Mount to a spring in the town of Silwan, an Arab town inside Jerusalem. That tunnel was dug by King Hezekiah, during the Biblical era. I was able to walk through that tunnel, past where the tourists are allowed, and I continued onward in some of the corridors beneath the mount.
I did not go deep enough to see Solomon’s Stables, where the excavations are taking place. It was pretty dark down there. It’s amazing the amount of moss that’s there even though the water has been stagnant for 2,000 years. It looks like you can walk on the moss, but I’m here to tell you that you cannot. I hope the scenes come alive for readers the same way they did for me in real life.
Q: Tell me about the comparison between your novel and The Da Vinci Code.
A: A lot of people compare the book to The Da Vinci Code, and if that’s any indication of how many people will read The Last Ember, then it’s a great comparison! Seriously though, it’s true both books have a fast-pace, and I hope The Last Ember offers up a theme that’s as thought-provoking as the scenes are gripping. The novel’s moral about history’s fragility is timelier than ever. As a young thriller writer, my goal is to keep readers hooked and keep them thinking at the same time.
Q: What messages do you hope will resonate with readers?
A: The book connects historical revisionism of the ancient world with a lot of the archeological destruction happening today. Historical revisionism isn’t new, and we see people destroying ruins to fit the past into their own politics and beliefs. The problem of Islamic-sponsored archaeological destruction beneath the Temple Mount to erase Judeo-Christian ruins is a real-world problem. Drawing attention to that and how we can help protect the past at other various world heritage sites is a theme of the novel that I’m proud of. I hope people will realize it’s not just up to the protagonist and heroine to protect the past, but up to the reader after the last page is turned.
Read an excerpt of The Last Ember or listen to an audio book excerpt. You can also visit Daniel Levin's website at daniellevin.com.