American researchers claim to have cracked one of the Bible’s enduring mysteries — after using radar technology to map the possible remains of Noah’s Ark.
“It is exactly what you’d expect to find if this were a man-made boat, consistent with the biblical specifications of Noah’s Ark,” Andrew Jones, an independent researcher, told the Christian Broadcasting Network, while revealing the results of his multi-year project.
Jones works with Noah’s Ark Scans, which he described as a “loose organization of individuals interested in pursuing scientific work and promoting” the site of the ark.
Jones and his team were attempting the solve the age-old question of whether the legendary vessel is buried in the mountains of eastern Turkey — roughly 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, which the Bible describes as the boat’s final resting place.
The exact spot is the Durupinar site, a 538-foot-long boat-shaped mound — with the same Book of Genesis-described dimensions as the ark.
While the idea that this area houses the legendary life-raft — an object central to Christianity, Judaism and Islam — is a topic of dispute, recent scans appear to indicate that it could be the case.
Jones used ground-penetrating radar to detect what appeared to be a 13-foot tunnel traversing the center of the formation, the Daily Mail reported.
These same scans captured a trifecta of subterranean layers that were alleged dead ringers for the Bible’s description of the boat’s three decks — in other words, it was literally “ship-shape.”
The Book of Genesis 6:16 states: “Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.”
Meanwhile, new analysis of the radar data allegedly revealed “central and side corridors or hallways running through the boat.”
Given the age of the alleged vessel, Jones said he doesn’t expect to find anything “fully preserved,” claiming that the remains constitute a “chemical imprint, pieces of wood and in the ground, the shape of a hall.”
Also uncovered were angular structures situated 20 feet beneath the surface that the team surmises could be quarters beneath a deck-like surface — making this potentially more than just a geological formation as many scientists have posited.
“This is not what you’d expect to see if the site were simply a solid block of rock or the result of random mudflow debris,” said Jones, who felt it instead matched the Biblical specifications of Noah’s Ark.
The ark was described in the Bible as measuring about 515 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 52 feet tall.
But was this actual evidence or just a case of life imitating ark? The organic matter found around the site seems to suggest that this wasn’t just some Indiana Jones-evoking urban legend, per the team.
“We noticed that the grass growing within the boat-shaped formation is a different color compared to the area just outside it,” said Jones, who believed this discrepancy suggested a human-made origin.
Meanwhile, an examination of 22 soil samples collected from the site revealed that the suspected structure had lower pH levels, two times the organic matter — and 40% more potassium — inside compared to outside the formation — discrepancies the team deemed “consistent with rotting wood.”
“If you know soil science — as I’m a soil scientist — you’ll understand that potassium levels, organic matter, and pH can all be influenced by decaying organic material,” said William Crabtree, another member of Noah’s Ark Scans. “If this was a wooden boat and the wood had rotted over time, we would expect to see elevated levels of potassium, changes in pH, and higher organic content — and that’s exactly what we’re finding.”
In the future, the team hopes to conduct a core drilling survey along with additional ground-penetrating radar scans around the repository to better discern what lies beneath, CBN reported.
“We want to compare what’s inside the formation to what’s outside,” Jones said. “That could give us a much clearer picture of whether this is truly something man-made.”
