Noah’s Ark Found? (with video)

Explorer checks wooden beams of possible Ark on Ararat

A press conference in Hong Kong this past weekend on Sunday April 25 announced the discovery of Noah’s Ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey by a team of 15 Chinese and Turkish explorers.

The site is 13,000 ft high on the mountain. The exact location has not been disclosed to permit the Turkish government to apply to UNESCO for World Heritage Listing for site preservation.

The recent search by Noah’s Ark Ministries International has been going on for almost 2 years. NAMI says they first located the Ark in June 2008. Severe weather, political and military conflicts, the high altitude, and the site’s extremely rugged terrain all combined to delay the investigation and excavation of the site.

Wall racks inside the Ark

Repeated expeditions over the last 200 years have sought the Ark. There have been many reports of sightings and many failed searches. No one has yet identified the Ark’s resting place for certain.

If confirmed, this discovery would be the greatest archaeological find in history! It would be stunning evidence corroborating the Bible’s record of Noah’s Flood.

But first, the site will have to be revealed and excavated. It will take time and effort to corroborate or disprove the identity of the site as Noah’s Ark.

Chinese & Turkish Explorer Team

In recognition of the Hong Kong team’s contribution to the discovery of the Ark, the Lieutenant Governor of Turkey’s Agri Province which includes Ararat named four of the team Honorable Citizens. They are the first foreigners ever granted this honor.

At the press conference the search team displayed recovered artifacts and pictures of what they believed to be the remains of Noah’s ark. The wood specimens were carbon-dated at 4,800 years old which is in the right neighborhood for Noah’s Flood of about 2500 BC according to the Bible.

Map of 7 ark spaces

The discovery team explored and photographed 7 spaces/rooms they were able to access in the ice and lava bound wooden structure. Several wooden staircases and a door in the ceiling of one of the spaces leads to the conclusion that the structure has more than 1 floor. Much remains to be uncovered.

A spokesman for the NAMI research team said, “It’s not 100 percent that it is Noah’s Ark, but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it.”

Mt. Ararat
Agri Province, Turkey

Here is the report on the discovery from the South China Morning Post of April 26, 2010 in English. Click the Chinese character tab at the right side of the newspaper web page if you prefer to read it in the original Chinese characters.

Mail Online‘s article contains pictures and maps.

Here is World Net Daily’s long article.

Here’s a YouTube video of the discovery team exploring the site:

Conclusion:
Is the discovered structure the remains of Noah’s Ark? I would love to say , “YES!” Indeed, I hope it is. But it is too early to give a definitive answer. It will take months, possibly years to determine whether it is Noah’s Ark.

The discovery is highly significant and certainly merits further investigation. Whether it is Noah’s Ark or not, only time and exhaustive archaeological study will tell. Wait for a consensus of creationist experts from organizations like Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research who will eventually be able to access the site.

If it is Noah’s Ark, some skeptics will never be convinced, regardless of the amount of evidence amassed. One’s philosophical starting point (worldview) always determines how one interprets evidence.

Jesus quoted Abraham as telling the rich man, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

Indeed, when Jesus raised Lazarus of Bethany from the grave and when Jesus Himself rose from the dead, many refused to believe, both then and throughout the ensuing centuries.

One of the events Moses wrote about in Genesis was Noah’s Flood of 4500 years ago and the rescue of eight people via Noah’s Ark. If people refuse to believe the Genesis record, even the discovery of the Ark will not persuade most of them.

The truth is that forty-five centuries ago Noah and his sons built an ocean-going ship to preserve life during the worst storm the world has ever known. Tidal waves crashed across continents and covered every mountain on earth, but Noah and his three sons and their four wives were safely preserved in the Ark.

Noah’s gigantic vessel has long fascinated people. Even today with all our sophisticated knowledge, man has difficulty duplicating Noah’s shipbuilding feat. This recent discovery, if verified, will be the greatest historical discovery of all time.

Recently large-scale models have been built to visualize the impact of the Biblical record. See the article Noah’s Ark Replicas for a survey of current models.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Subscribe – Don’t miss future blog posts!
Click the sidebar’s “SUBSCRIBE” button to follow the
Bible-Science Guy Blog. You’ll automatically receive
new posts free by email. Click SUBSCRIBE NOW!

©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:4)
Wednesday April 28, 2010 A.D.

Read my April 2010 Bible-Science column
Is This a Contradiction?.

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. “And this is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. “You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. “And behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. “But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark– you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. “And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. “Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind shall come to you to keep them alive. “And as for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them.”
(Genesis 6:13-21)