How to find the Holy Grail

If you visit Valencia Cathedral, you will find, in the old chapter house converted into a chapel, the Holy Grail, made up of a humble agate stone and kept safely behind glass. But if it is really the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper (and the Vatican recognises the possibility that it is), why are so many people still searching for it?

There are too many theories about its true location to keep track of. Could it be in the Basilica of San Isidoro, León, given as a present to the King of Spain by an Andalusian emir? Was it taken to Glastonbury by Joseph of Arimathea and buried, causing a spring to flow that offers eternal youth? Is it hidden in a secret room in the Vatican? Or was it discovered by the Nazis in Spain, and is now kept somewhere by their descendants?

The author and Grail-hunter Christopher Dawes believes he might have it at home on his mantelpiece in Brentford. ‘I actually brought something back that might be it, but how do you prove it? The cup is supposed to give you eternal life if you drink from it. So if I’m still here 100 years from now, then I found it. A fella from Hounslow said he’d found it there. I’d have been really annoyed if he had. We went all the way to France, and it might have been just a short bus ride away from Brentford all the time.’

There are holy relics all over the place (more than 30 nails from Christ’s Cross in Europe alone). But the Grail is different. It is associated with the search for spiritual purity and eternal life. The world of Grail-hunters is one of conspiracy theories, myths, dreamers and dealers in ancient artefacts.