Archaeologists believe they are one step closer to confirming the resting place of Noah’s Ark.
A team excavating a geological formation in Turkey has aged rock and soil samples they believe contain ruins of the vessel, which puts the site at the same time the Bible puts the Great Flood 5,000 years ago.
The project began in 2021 and is ongoing, but the initial analysis determined samples to contain clayey and marine materials and seafood.
According to the researchers, these results mean human activity was present on the boat-shaped mound between 5500 and 3000 BC.
A team excavating a geological formation in Turkey has aged rock and soil samples they believe contain ruins of the vessel, which puts the site at the same time the Bible puts the Great Flood 5,000 years ago
In the Bible, God commands Noah to build a vast ship, the ark – capable of saving himself, his family and a representation of the world’s animals
The Bible claims the ark settled on the ‘mountains of Ararat’ in Turkey following a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living thing on it that was not housed inside the wooden ship.
The geological formation located in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı has been a potential site since it was discovered in 1956.
The mountain is the highest peak in Turkey, standing 16,500 feet tall and carved out like an ark would be.
The vessel was said to measure ‘300 cubits, 50 cubits, by 30 cubits’, which translates to up to 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet high.
A team of experts led by Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), Andrew University, and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ) have been working at the site for nearly one year, collecting samples they believe hold the key to confirming the Biblical story.
The geological formation located in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı has been a potential site since it was discovered in 1956 (pictured)
The first portion of their work began in December 2022, when they collected 30 samples of rock and soil fragments that the ITU laboratory analyzed. Pictured is the team walking inside the formation to collect rocks and soil
The first portion of their work began in December 2022, when they collected 30 samples of rock and soil fragments that the ITU laboratory analyzed.
AİÇÜ Vice Rector Professor Faruk Kaya said: ‘According to the first findings obtained from the studies, there have been human activities in the region since the Chalcolithic period between the years 5500 and 3000 BC.
‘It is known that the flood of Prophet Noah went back 5,000 years ago.
‘In terms of dating, it is stated that there was life in this region as well. This was revealed in the laboratory results.
‘It is not possible to say that the ship is here with the dating. We need to work for a long time to reveal this.’
The Bible claims the ark settled on the ‘mountains of Ararat’ in Turkey following a 150-day flood that drowned the Earth and every living thing on it that was not housed inside the wooden ship
However, Dr Andrew Snelling, a young Earth creationist with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, had previously said that Mount Ararat could not be the ark’s location because the mountain did not form until after the flood waters receded.
Although considered a historical event, most scholars and archaeologists do not believe in literally interpreting the Ark story.
In the Bible, God commands Noah to build a vast ship, the ark – capable of saving himself, his family and a representation of the world’s animals.
The wickedness and corruption of man spurred God’s vows to send a great cleansing flood.
Deeming Noah to be the only righteous man worth saving, God commands him to build a vast ship.
According to the Bible, when Noah has completed his task, and God has sent ‘two of every sort’ of animal to the Ark, the flood waters rise until all mountains are covered, and life (except fish) is destroyed.
