Noah’s Ark nestled on Mount Ararat

The Peninsula ^ | January 19, 2008 | Satish Kanady

[2ndDivisionVet]

Dogubayazit (Turkey’s Iran-Armenian Border) • For the first time in the seven decade-long history of the search for the legendary Noah’s Ark, a Turkish-Hong Kong exploration team on Tuesday came out with “material evidence”, to prove that the Ark was nestled on Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest mountain peak bordering Iran and Armenia.

A panel of experts, comprising Turkish authorities, veteran mountaineers, archaeologists, geologists and members of Hong Kong-based Noah’s Ark Ministries International, also displayed an almost one-metre-long peice of petrified wood before the media and specially invited international experts.

The experts claimed it to be a part of a long structure they had unearthed during their February-August 2007 exploration. “It is for the first time in the history of the Ark search that an exploration team is getting a material evidence and graphic documentation. This makes it not only a the significant breakthrough in the Ark-search, but one that is supported with the most substantial evidence in recent history,” the panel said.

The revelation is expected to open up a fresh chapter in the ongoing debates in the scientific community on the search for Noah’s Ark.

Narrating the genesis of their exploration on Mount Ararat, the mount which has a direct reference in Holy Quran (Mount Judi) and Bible, the panel said the search team had made several foiled attempts before unearthing the evidence at an altitude of 4,500-metres of the estimated 5,165 metre volcanic mountain.

“The structure was discovered in the interiors of an unusual cave. The 11.5m wide and 2.6m high white wooden texture was revealed after removing thick layers of volcanic ash on the cave wall,” panel members said at a press conference.

One of the underlying issues in the search for the Ark is the proper identification of its wood fragments. A petrographic examination carried out by the Applied Geoscience Centre of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, identified the object as a petrified wooden structure, the panel said.

“Some of the big holes found on the structure indicate the locations where branches used to grow on tree. In places, original holes are partly or completely replaced by individual minerals and crystalline materials that can be found in rock materials,” said Dr Ahmet Ozbek, a panel member, who is also a faculty of Geology Engineering Kahramanmara Suctcu Imam University.

Dismissing the possibilities of the structure being wood that could appear naturally around the discovery site, Professor Oktay Belli, director, Eurasian Archaeology Institute, University of Istanbul, said researches have proved that there was no vegetation on Mount Ararat ever since 2000BC, because of the asperities of Ararat’s climate.

Talking to The Peninsula, Cemalettin Demircioglu, Dogubayazit City Governor, under whose jurisdiction the mount is located, said the civic body will invite more international experts to conduct further scientific studies on Mount Ararat.

“History has more than one times corroborated the legendary evidence that the ark was nestled on Mount Ararat. We will introduce the latest findings to the world and continue the scientific study. All interested scientists and NGOs can join our missions” he said. However, he said, those who are involved in the project must ensure the findings are not used politically, religiously, or for any vested interest.

Located in the Far Eastern Turkey, Ararat is great prize for mountain collectors. Ark sighting has often been reported from this mountain. The observation of Vessel-shaped features in aerial photograph of Ararat had caused a stir in the late 1950’s. However, this is the first time an exploration team is coming out with “material evidence”.

[brytlea]

LOL at least it’s a starting point. Of course that’s assuming a cubit has always been even in that range. I have no idea.
susie

[fproy2222]

Water twenty-two and a half feet above Mount Everest. Wow! How did they know how deep it was? I reckon old Noah must have paddled over there and dropped a plumb line.

+++++++++++++++

Or God told us.

[slowhandluke]

Ah, how many millions of years does it take to petrify wood?

I would suppose that depends on the process. Since Arafat is described here as a volcano, the process might be quite rapid. After all, they did find petrified people when they dug up Pompeii. That gives an upper bound on the least time needed to petrify organic remains of about 2000 years.

[slowhandluke]

Argh.... Ararat, not Arafat.

[toddlintown]

If I had a dollar for everytime this was reported, I’d have more money than the Vatican.

[infowarrior]

It’s amazing that, in the 21st Century, a place could be so remote that it’s resistant to archaeological study.

It is not just the remoteness of that region of Turkey, but the nature of the local inhabitants which has caused difficulties in any possible search.

The area is rugged, and populated with fierce folk who answer only to themselves, and not Turkish law. These folks are extremely suspicious of outsiders, and have been known to kill them on sight. Thus, the Turkish government issues few permits for archaeological expeditions to the Ararat region, as they don't wish to deal with the ramifications of a slaughtered archaeological team.

the infowarrior

[IreneE]

Well, Jesus believed in Adam and Eve. And so did Paul. Good enough for them, good enough for me.

Just remembered to tell you that Noah lived for six hundred years. Lost of propagating going on then.

[Hiddigeigei]

Noah an' Jonah an' Cap'n John Smith,
Mariners, travelers, magazines of myth,
Settin' up in Heaven, chewin' and
a-chawin'
Eatin' their terbaccy, talkin' and a-jawin';
Settin' by a crick, spittin' in the worter,
Talkin' tall an' tactless, as saints hadn't orter,
Lollin' in the shade, baitin' hooks and anglin',
Occasionally friendly, occasionally wranglin'.

Noah took his halo from his old bald head
An' swatted of a hoppergrass an' knocked it dead,
An' he baited of his hook, an' he spoke an' said:
"When I was the Skipper of the tight leetle Ark
I useter fish fer porpus, useter fish fer shark,
Often I have ketched in a single hour on Monday
Sharks enough to feed the fambly till Sunday—
To feed all the sarpints, the tigers an' donkeys,
To feed all the zebras, the insects an' monkeys,
To feed all the varmints, bears an' gorillars,
To feed all the camels, cats an' armadillers,
To give all the pelicans stews for their gizzards,
To feed all the owls an' catamounts an' lizards,
To feed all the humans, their babies an' their
nusses,
To feed all the houn' dawgs an' hippopotamusses,
To feed all the oxens, feed all the asses,
Feed all the bison an' leetle hoppergrasses—
Always I ketched, in half a hour on Monday
All that the fambly could gormandize till Sunday!"

Jonah took his harp, to strum and to string her,
An' Cap'n John Smith teched his nose with his
Finger.
Cap'n John Smith, he hemmed some an' hawed
some,
An' he bit off a chaw, an' he chewed some and
chawed some:—

[Sudetenland]

Yep, incest at its best.

[Danae]

Ping to that link.

Thanks for posting that! Thats absolutely facinating!

[Sudetenland]

Nah, that's your tin-hat rattling moonbat. Atlantis is a pagan legend related by Plato...not much there concerning Judeo-Christian beliefs. Plato also believed in Zeus and Hera. Does that mean I should believe that we learned of fire because Prometheus stole it from Zeus?

Have fun in your alternate universe...you haven't taking your meds lately have you?

[Sudetenland]

Impossible! The Vatican is richer than the Vatican. :)

[fproy2222]

Just a guess, I heard an opinion, that after God had His animals enter the Ark, He had them sleep a deep sleep, so they would be little trouble for His human caretakers.

[uglybiker]

So how do we exactly do a gopher wood test?

Put it in a box of dirt. See if it tries to dig a hole.

Or maybe that's the the dogwood test....

[r9etb]

Ah, how many millions of years does it take to petrify wood? Depends how frequently Janet Reno, Hillary Clinton, or Helen Thomas had been in proximity.

In their case, I don't think it would be possible to petrify wood without pharmaceuticals (taken in unhealthy quantities).

[Inyo-Mono]

Thanks! I agree with yours too.

[SunkenCiv]

Uh-oh, global warming has exposed Noah's Ark. ;')

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[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks pcottraux. I haven't read it yet, but thought I'd take the chance and ping the list. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are Blam, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[nicmarlo]

bookmark!

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

On the other hand, that thrill-seeking pilot Mr. Fossett was just declared dead

They lost no time in declaring him legally dead. Only 5 months. With a man of his wealth, they were in a hurry to divvy up his money!