According to legend, the Queen of Sheba heard of the great and wise King Solomon of Israel and journeyed to see him. They hit it off and she came back pregnant. That child was named Menelik I.
When he became a man, Menelik went to see Solomon. The king didn't believe Menelik's story until he saw the ring that he had given Queen Sheba. Solomon rejoiced, and gave Menelik a parting gift- the Ark of the Covenant (some versions of the story say a fake ark was left).
For those of you who haven't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark of the Covenant is the chest that contains the remnants of the tablets that Moses inscribed the ten commandments on under divine instruction.
After a "divine heat" from the tablets (or Tabot in Ethiopia) cracked the stones of the Old Church, a new Chapel of the Tablet (aka Tzion Maryam church) was built by Emperor Haile Selassie. Today, the tablets are only allowed to be seen by the guard of the tablets, who never leaves.
