Scientists getting closer to proving Turkish site as Noah’s ark

Soil samples near Mt. Ararat show differences in a boat-shaped ground formation that point to the presence of rotting wood.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Scientists are getting closer to proving a Turkish find discovered in the 1990s is the Biblical Noah’s ark, with soil samples consistent with the presence of rotting wood, the UK newspaper The Sun reported on Sunday.

Dr. Memet Salih Bayraktutan, a Turkish geologist, collected 22 samples from inside and just outside the possible structure at the Durupinar site last year.

An analysis at Ataturk University showed that the soil from inside had a lower pH, more potassium and a higher percentage of organic matter than the outside.

“These changes are consistent with rotting wood,” American researcher Andrew Jones, who has been studying the site since the 1990s, told The Sun.

According to the Biblical account, God commanded Noah to make the ark out of cypress beams.

A second finding that the experts say indicates an artificial construction is that the grass inside turns lighter and yellower in the fall than in the surrounding area.

These soil tests, said Jones, “suggest this formation isn’t simply part of the surrounding mud flow – it’s a distinct object.”

In 2019, the research team used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to scan the boat-shaped formation made of limonite, an iron ore, at the Durupinar site some 30 km south of Mt. Ararat, whose dimensions strongly correlate with the measurements cited in Genesis for the most famous ark in history.

The patterns unveiled by the GPR surveys appear to resemble rooms, possibly underneath a deck-like platform.

In a second study of the scans, another geophysicist said that he saw “a long hallway which opened up into a large central space,” The Sun reported.

The scientific group wants to uncover more proof by drilling into the open cavities that lie some 20 feet below the surface to slip in a camera that could “help us confirm whether the right angles and geometric patterns we see on the GPR scans are man-made structures or just natural formations,” Jones said.

They are not moving too fast, however, due to the ground conditions.

“The location lies in an active earth flow with harsh winters, so protecting the area is our top priority,” said Jones.

“Over the next few years,” he noted, “our Turkish university partners will conduct [more] non-destructive tests,” taking additional soil samples and conducting supplementary scans.

“Only after we gather enough evidence and have a proper preservation plan in place will we consider excavating,” he concluded.