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NOAH’S ARK SITE CONFIRMED BY TURKISH GOVERNMENT!

For many years, men have climbed all over the face of 17,011 foot Mt. Ararat in northeastern Turkey in quest of the famed Ark of Noah. This seems quite amazing considering that the lofty locations above tree line seem to contradict the Biblical account. We read in Genesis 8:9-11 that Noah sent out a dove from the ark to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth. The second time he sent the dove it returned in the evening with an “olive leaf plucked off.” Olive trees don’t grow above timberline. In fact, olive trees do not do real well above 6,000 elevation!

Some researchers also believe that the mountains were not thrust up until after the flood. They contend that the mountains were formed at the same time as the deep valley’s under the oceans, thus the run-off of tremendous amounts of water. If this were true, the ark would probably not have survived the violent up thrust of the earth’s surface nor would any of the animals have survived if they had been deposited at 11,000 to 13,000 feet high on the mountain.

I have often wondered why God would deposit the ark high on a steep mountain side where there would be so little grass for the animals to eat plus the challenge of safely getting the creatures down that mountain would be very great. Mt. Ararat is so steep that skilled climbers have often lost their lives trying to make the ascent!

One of the fervent ark explorers has recently abandoned the Mt. Ararat location entirely. In June, 2006, adventurer and explorer Bob Cornuke and a group of respected Christian men, visited an interesting site in Iran which they believed could be Noah's Ark.  Others who are considering the evidence are doubtful.  John Morris from Creation Research concludes:  "There are several questions regarding the site which could be easily answered.  Is the formation hollow as a ship would be?  Is there evidence that it was a structure even if it has been subsequently filled in?  Is there evidence of human carpentry?  What are its overall dimensions?  What type of rock surrounds it and what is the precise chemical and microscopic nature of the material now?  Based on the partial information I currently have, I suspect that this formation is not the ark of Noah.  The information we do have does not favorably point to a human origin, but toward a geologic source.”  

A more reasonable approach to the finding of Noah’s Ark may have been in the evidence of a huge man made structure found in the foothills of Mt. Ararat at a lower elevation!

On June 20, 1987, the Government of Turkey officially established the “Noah’s Ark National Park” and later upgraded the site to“National Treasure” status.  Groundbreaking for the Noah’s Ark Visitor’s Center was held on the same day and completed a short time later.

IT ALL BEGAN IN 1960:

Research at the site began when Life Magazine published an aerial photograph of a huge boat-shaped object twice the length of a football field.

Dr. Arthur Brandenburger, a photogrammerty expert from Ohio State University, concluded – “I have no doubt at all, that this object is a ship.  In my entire career, I have never seen an object like this on a stereo photo.”

After the photo became public in the September issue of Life Magazine, a group of Americans visited the site, but their superficial investigations found nothing significant. In fact, most of the “researchers” that visited the site looked around for a few hours and conclude that this is nothing of archeological importance.

Then a man by the name of Ron Wyatt, a nurse anesthetist from Nashville, TN, became interested in the site and made his first of many trips there in 1977. Wyatt was never trained as an archeologist and for this reason many critics discount anything that he claims to have found. It seems ironic, that the man without the proper letters behind his name found so many items of archeological significance that many archeologists began coming to him for advise. Even the Israel Antiquities Authority appeared to have great confidence in his experience and ability to find what others often overlooked. Wyatt spent the last years of his life probing around Jerusalem for the lost Ark of the Covenant and he did this all under the watchful eye of the Israeli authorities. 

Wyatt’s findings at the possible Noah’s Ark site were quite surprising and the evidence he unearthed led the Turkish Government to conclude that this boat-like object was, indeed, the remnants of the ancient ark of Noah.

Wyatt undertook extensive investigative work over the next ten years utilizing such methods as subsurface interface radar scanning, metal detection surveys, core drillings, etc.  Numerous core drillings yielded many interesting items from within the Ark including petrified animal dung (coprolite), cat and human hair, and even man-made fabric! Wyatt repeatedly requested that he be allowed the permits to excavate the site but was repeatedly turned down by the Turkish government. Perhaps some day the Turkish authorities will allow more extensive digging in order to substantiate Wyatt’s claims and beliefs.

PETRIFIED LAMINATED WOOD BEAMS:

Along with petrified samples of the wood that were used to build the structure, Wyatt found one particular specimen which was petrified laminated wood. 

On the day of the site dedication, Wyatt was demonstrating the use of subsurface radar equipment. With the Turkey Governor Ekinci looking on in great fascination, they located what appeared to be a piece of rock or wood buried just a few feet below the surface. The Governor ordered his own men to dig and retrieve the object. The find proved to be a great treasure! Several pieces of wood had been somehow glued or fastened together to form a strong beam.  It was thought that this process was unknown until modern technology.

Mr. Wyatt’s widow, Mary Nell Wyatt Lee, graciously allowed the editor to see the priceless artifact in February 2006 when he visited her and her new husband near Nashville, Tennessee.  One can clearly see the different pieces of wood that had been cemented together, now petrified into a very heavy testimony of ancient ingenuity.

METAL RIVETS: 

Throughout the site which many believe is the site of Noah’s Ark, Ron Wyatt found many samples of metal rivets and plates.  In fact, there was so much metal in the entire area that metal detection surveys were able to revealed the layout of the entire superstructure as pictured below.  Whatever the object is, impressive wisdom must have been used in piecing together such a huge structure out of wood!

In 1984 Wyatt and Former Apollo astronaut Col. Jim Irwin traveled to the site to do more extensive metal detector scans. In his High Flight newsletter which reported on the “1984 Search for Noah’s Ark,” Col. Irwin reported the following – “Finally we arrived in Dogubeyazit at the base of Mt. Ararat. That first morning we went to the boat-shaped object Wyatt wanted to investigate. It was not far from the hotel. It certainly looks like a boat and the dimensions are almost exactly those of Noah’s Ark. The metal deterctor gave very strong reading at several places along the length of this depression. I felt that the object should be fully investigated. I suggested to Marvin Steffins of International Expeditions that he should check into this object and off he went . . . “

Later, in a videotaped interview with Wyatt, Col. Irwin stated – “Yeah, we got some real positive readings, didn’t we, as we went up and down the long direction of the formation . . . The spacing made it appear like, very much like it was, you know, a man-made object.”

515 FEET LONG JUST AS RECORDED IN THE BIBLE:

The Bible declares that the Ark was 300 cubits long and 50 cubits wide.  A cubit is generally considered about 18” in length, but Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, had been schooled in Egypt.  He would have been aware of the “royal Egyptian Cubit” used for building the pyramids.  The Egyptian cubit was 20.62 inches long so the overall length of the Ark that Moses wrote about would have been 515 feet or almost the length of two football fields.

The exact length of the wooden object found in Turkey is 515 feet long, more compelling evidence that this is, in fact, Noah’s Ark!

It would appear that the top two decks of the vessel have collapsed and are lying on top of the bottom deck as shown in the diagram above.  Radar reveals that the hull and bottom deck are still in relatively good condition of preservation, and still contain open chambers.  Perhaps someday, the Turkish government will allow more detailed excavations of the site. Then, and only then, will all doubts and questions be removed.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDING NOAH’S ARK?

There seems to be no doubt that a huge wooden vessel of some kind has been preserved in the mountains of Ararat.  This is further confirmation that the Biblical claims of a global flood are not mere myth.  This may not fit into modern day acceptable thought and progressive evolutionary models, but archeological evidence cannot be denied.  It is not mere speculation that there was once a great flood.  The deluge occurred just as the Scriptures revealed!

THE REAL NOAH'S ARK?

There are a number of interesting points to consider in determining if this is, in fact, the site of Noah’s Ark:

The following summary was written by Mr. Kevin Fisher of www.arkdiscovery.com

1. It is in the shape of a boat, with a pointed bow and rounded stern.

2. Exact length as noted in biblical description, 515 feet or 300 Egyptian cubits.  (Egyptian not Hebrew cubit would have been known to Moses who studied in Egypt then wrote Genesis.)

3. It is on a mountain in Eastern Turkey, as stated in the Bible, "The ark rested . . . upon the mountains of Ararat" Genesis 8:4. (Ararat being the name of the ancient country Urartu which covered this region.)

4. Contains petrified wood, as proven by lab analysis.

5. Contains high-tech metal alloy fittings, as proven by separate lab analyses paid for by Ron Wyatt, then later Kevin Fisher of this web site.  Aluminum was found in the fittings which is a MAN-MADE metal!

6. Vertical rib timbers on its sides, comprising the skeletal superstructure of a boat.  Regular patterns of horizontal and vertical deck support beams are also seen on the surface of the ark.

7. Occupied ancient village at the ark site at 6,500 ft. elevation matching Flavius Josephus' statement "Its remains are shown there by the inhabitants to this day." 

8. Dr. Bill Shea found an ancient pottery sherd within a few yards of the ark which has a carving on it that depicts a bird, a fish, and a man with a hammer wearing a headdress that has the name "Noah" on it.  In ancient times these items were created by the locals in the village to sell to visitors of the ark.  The ark was a tourist attraction in ancient times and today.

9. Recognized by Turkish Government as Noah's Ark National Park and a National Treasure.  Official notice of its discovery appeared in the largest Turkish newspaper.

10. Visitors' center built by the government to accommodate tourists further confirms its authenticity.

11. Huge anchor stones were found near the ark and in a village, Kazan, 15 miles away, which hung off the rear of the ark to steady its ride. 

12. The ark rests upon Cesnakidag (or Cudi Dagi) Mountain, which is  translated as "Doomsday" Mountain.

13. Dr. Salih Bayraktutan of Ataturk University stated, "It is a man made structure, and for sure it's Noah's Ark" Common Sense.  This same article also states "The site is immediately below the mountain of Al Judi, named in the Qur'an as the resting place of the Ark." Houd Sura 11:44

14. Radar scans show a regular pattern of timbers inside the ark formation, revealing keels, keelsons, gunnels, bulkheads, animal chambers, ramp system, door in right front, two large barrels in front 14 x 24', and an open center area for air flow to all three levels.

HUGE ANCHOR STONES:

In addition to the objects found directly at the site that the Turkish Government has dedicated at Noah’s Ark, numerous drogues or anchor stones have been found all over the area in close proximity to what appears to be the ark. They are very similar to numerous drogue anchor stones found in the Mediterranean Sea but the ones near Mt. Ararat are huge. One of the stone that was shown to Wyatt had eight crosses carved into the side. These crosses were probably the workmanship of men who lived long after Noah and his three sons and all their wives were gone but it does indicate that earlier residents in the area believed these to be part of the ancient ship.

Drogue stones were used in ancient times to stabilize vessels, especially during times of storms. Wyatt recorded his first observations of these stones – “A startling series of realizations spread through my mind. We were looking at the first and largest of the “sea anchors” that were used for steering ancient ships. I was familiar with these stone artifacts but had not realized the absolute necessity of their use on Noah’s Ark. Although the ark was built only to float and not necessarily to travel from one place to another; it was very necessary that it have some mechanism by which to hold the prow into the rough seas. Without such a mechanism the boat would have spun dizzily through the raging storm, making life totally unbearable for the occupants . . . By suspending these large stone from the end of a strong cord and allowing them to trail far enough below the back of the ship to prevent it from being thrown against the hull, the flow of the current against these stones would hold the front of the ship into the current.” (The Boat-Shaped Object on Doomsday Mountain” by Mary Nell Wyatt)

THE BOAT-SHAPED OBJECT ON DOOMSDAY MOUNTAIN:

Mary Nell Wyatt has authored an excellent book on the subject of her late husband’s research at the possible Noah’s Ark site in Turkey. Any serious student of the subject should secure a copy of “The Boat-Shaped Object on Doomsday Mountain” at www.wyattmuseum.com

The conclusive evidence is that something man-made of gigantic proportions has been discovered in the foothills of Mt. Ararat. As Mrs. Wyatt concluded in her book – “But let me ask this – if it is not Noah’s Ark, then what is it?”