Noah's Ark has been one of the biggest Biblical mysteries of all times, with scholars and scientists often contemplating where it could have been buried! Going by the accounts in the Bible, Noah's ark came aground on the 'mountains of Ararat' following the worldwide flood at that time.
However, scientists have found new evidence, that directs towards a chilling truth! With the uncovering of this new evidence, they have been able to put two and two together, finally revealing the answer to one of the longest-standing mysteries of mankind.
Two By Two
According to the bible, God directed Noah not only to bring his family onboard, but also everything necessary to restart life following the flood. Therefore, he had to bring enough animals with him, so that once the flood abated, the animals could freely roam again.
Surviving the cataclysmic storm was too difficult and that too when Noah was directed to carry the necessities with him. Therefore, how did he manage to carry the animals and other things?
Surviving The Cataclysmic Storm
How did Noah survive the biblical storm so massive that it wiped out the world? Well, he required quite the ship to survive while also protecting himself and a zoo’s worth of animals. The ark was absolutely massive.
The dimensions for the ship were given to Noah by God. The dimensions were - 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits tall - equivalent of 450 x 75 x 45 ft. It had three decks inside. Hence, many experts and researchers led numerous expeditions to find details about Noah’s Ark.
Continued Research
Now, coming back to our discovery, one group called the Noah’s Ark Ministries International has taken the mission itself to find out the truth on Noah’s Ark. Many expeditions have been led by this Hong Kong-based group into finding more information on the ark.
Therefore, many experts have taken issue with NAMI and its findings, while others believe their research has some advantages. An ark hunter from California believes that they might have found the location of Noah’s ark, which can lead us to an answer.
Is It Real Or Is It Fantasy?
These findings seem exciting but many past findings have been disproved. Over the century, the search for Noah’s ark has had plenty of unsubstantiated claims.
A French explorer in 1955 reported that he discovered a five-foot beam under a glacier on Mount Ararat. However, a Spanish research institute further claimed that the wood beam was about 5,000 years old, putting it in range.
The Syrians Say Otherwise
Early Syrian tradition identifies them differently from the stories told by Josephus. In early centuries BC, the Syrians affirmed that Noah’s ark was at Mount Judi, also known as the ‘Place of Descent.’
Josephus said that the ark’s remains were shown at Mount Judi by Armenians in the first century. This Mount Judi is 60 miles southeast of Mount Ararat. Noah’s ark was associated with Mount Judi till the 11th century by Armenians.
Conflicting Internal Reports
Not everyone agrees with the claim that Noah’s ark landed on today’s Mount Ararat.
Dr. Andrew Snelling, a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney and a young-Earth creationist looked for the details with the ark hitting the ground on Mount Ararat and claimed that it is not possible for it to have landed there as Mount Ararat did not form until after the flood. Why does he believe so strongly in this variation of the story?
What Did It Actually Look Like?
However, theologians like Origen and Augustine had a clearer idea of what Noah’s Ark might have looked like. Then there are future scholars who are determined to work out the real appearance of the vessel.
An account written by Alfonso Tostada in the 15th century revealed every single detail about the ark. Then, a century later, Johannes Buteo laid out the ark's dimensions, which were taken as by many scholars.
The Legend of Ziusudra
Out of all the Mesopotamian flood stories, the most popular and oldest version is whose hero is King Ziusudra. This story is also known as the Sumerian Flood Story.
It has been inscribed in the Sumerian city of Nippur back in 1600 BCE, and details how Ziusudra built a boat. He tried to save the lives of the innocent after the gods decided to destroy the world. Of course, this is quite similar to the story of Noah.
Not How, But Why?
It's just as vital to understand why the many amazing stories in the Bible happened as it is to comprehend how they happened. While science strives to explain the causes of all things in minute detail, the Bible endeavors to explain the significance of these same things.
What caused the cosmos to exist? What is the point of it? This is exactly how the biblical account of Noah is approached by religious experts.
Protecting The Past
Dr. Friedrich Parrot ascended Ararat in Turkey in 1829, more than 500 years after Marco Polo saw Ararat for the first time. Dr. Parrot did not bring a shovel. He attempted to dig out the ark, but he did explain how the villagers felt about Noah's ark narrative.
"All Armenians are strongly convinced that Noah's Ark remains on the summit of Ararat to this very day and that no human being is allowed to approach it in order to preserve it," he stated.
A Discovery We Can Work With
After years of excavations and adventures, NAMI (Noah's Ark Ministries International) claims that they have got proof of the Ark on Mount Ararat. In 2010, a group of evangelicals from China and Turkey set out in search of evidence to back up their claims.
They claimed to have discovered wooden artefacts from the ship after weeks of searching, confirming it as the location of the historic ship. It appeared to be the breakthrough that the world was looking for.
View From Above
When French explorer Fernand Navarra affirmed that he lied about his findings, George Greene, helicopter pilot, set out to find the ark. Greene said that he could see the ark from the skies during a helicopter journey above Ararat.
It was built into the side of a granite cliff roughly 13,000-14,000 feet above sea level, according to him. His photographs, on the other hand, were not successful in garnering funding for an expedition. Many people believe he saw a big block of basalt as the fake ark he saw.
The Ark’s Material
One of the enigmas surrounding Noah's Ark is determining the exact material used to construct it. The Ark was fashioned of "gopher wood," according to the King James Version of the Bible.
However, because no trees with this name exist today, it's difficult to know whether or not this is accurate. Some theorists believe the incorrect term was used. This is why the common term "cypress wood" is used in the NIV version of the Bible.
A DNA Dilemma
Apart from the dearth of evidence in the soil, DNA data has led scientists to doubt the flood narrative. Noah is told by God to transport his family, as well as a handful of each animal, onboard the enormous ark in the account of Noah and the flood.
Since his family was responsible for repopulating Earth over 4,600 years ago, we would be able to trace DNA genealogy back to them if they were the sole survivors of the flood.
Present Findings
Experts have affirmed that they have captured underground images of a mysterious ship-shaped object. And, astonishingly, the object was discovered half a century ago in eastern Turkey. Creationists are withholding their claims that Noah's legendary boat is buried beneath the rocky spot.
This spot is known as the Durupınar site.However, these people have not been able to convince everyone. For instance, many geologists are saying that the mountainous lump is simply an unusual mountain formation.
NAMI’s Claim
NAMI archaeologists claimed to have discovered the ark while investigating Mount Ararat in April 2010. "The search crew and I personally entered a wooden structure high on the mountain," Man-Fai Yuen, a NAMI researcher, stated.
The structure is divided into various spaces. We believe the wooden structure we entered is the identical one described in historical accounts, as well as the same ancient boat mentioned by locals." They claim the wood is 4,800 years old, based on carbon dating.
A strong statement
NAMI stood by their conclusions after they were made public. "It's not 100 percent that it's Noah's ark," Eung Wing-Cheung, a NAMI filmmaker, said, "but we think it's 99.9% that it is." Stony Brook University archaeologist Paul Zimansky, who specialises on the Middle East, responded sarcastically to the results.
He remarked that he never came to know of any expedition that has ever gone seeking for the ark and not discovered it. Esperante, on the other hand, is adamant that NAMI's findings are accurate.
Getting Closer
Esperante has pushed the world community to invest in his research, despite the fact that he has not yet revealed his findings. If he and NAMI are correct, it could be one of the most significant discoveries in human history since the finding of the Rosetta Stone.
The scientific community is still strongly opposed to any speculations about the actual site of Noah's ark, but that does not mean that inquiry will cease. In fact, it simply adds to their zeal as they pursue a legend.
Noah’s Ark Documentary
According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, a film crew led by long-time ark hunter Cem Sertesen claimed that they have snapped whatever's down there.Therefore, the team will soon reveal the pictures that they claim to obtain by "sending electric signals underground via cables".
So, wait for the forthcoming documentary about the Ark to get a glimpse of those pictures. Sertesen, who previously released a documentary about finding the ark in 2017 said that these are the real images of Noah's Ark. The pictures are not fake and simulated. Those images depict the entire ship was buried underground.
Expeditions led by Scientists
Legends claimed that Noah summoned two of every animal onto a 150-metre long ark to save them from apocalyptic flooding. In the Book of Genesis, Noah's Ark comes to rest after the Great Flood in the mountains of Ararat which is now located in eastern Turkey. Numerous expeditions have been led by people to find the craft across the vast mountain range. However, no physical proof has emerged till now.
Although, many searchers are focusing on the Durupınar site, a 150-metre-long formation among the mountains.There have been intense arguments going on with the creationista and scientists. According to creationists, the peculiar object is the remains of Noah's ship buried deep underground. While according to scientists, the object is a natural formation. Now, everyone is hoping that the 3D scans of the object may prove once and for all if Durupınar is as holy as creationists believe.
Iraqi Connection
According to a new documentary, a series of ruins in Iraq's Babylon Province may be the location where the ark was previously built. For starters, the numerous bricks mirror descriptions of the Tower of Babel, which is said to have been destroyed by God's angels in the Bible.
"In Borshippa, a sequence of cylinders were discovered that cobbled together a massive tower," the narrator continues. "Given their scale, these could be part of the Tower of Babel."
Beliefs of Experts
Computer engineer and archaeologist Andrew Jones, as well as geophysicist John Larsen, created them to study these objects. Jones and Larsen revealed their findings with Sertesen, director of the 2017 documentary "Noah's Ark". Sertesen agreed that the images aren't necessarily of Noah's Ark. He further admitted that the images could be of another ship entirely.
He said, "It's a ship, but it's too early to claim it as Noah's Ark."That appears unlike thinking the spot is over 50 miles from the closest water body Captain Ilhan Durupinar, an expert cartographer, discovered the ship-shaped site in 1959.Therefore, after 26 years, the first scientific research of the formation was performed. Henceforth, the researchers concluded that ''it is highly likely that the formation underground is a ship."
Sertesen’s documentary
The date for airing Sertesen's documentary has not been announced yet. The other news talked about a Greek "Odysseus" vessel, the world's oldest shipwreck, dating back 2,400 years.
At the bottom of the icy Baltic Sea in July, a peculiar 500-year-old shipwreck was found in almost perfect condition. And, earlier this year, in the "Egyptian Atlantis, an eerie destroyed temple and treasure-laden ships were found.
Ark Remains Found?
Another programme showed how Digital Globe, a space imaging firm, flew to a Turkish mountain to photograph what they claim to be the ruins of Noah's Ark. The company's exploration takes place against the backdrop of the Ararat Mountains, which many think is where the ark finally rested.
The researchers had some exciting findings and images to share with the world after the exploration was completed. The end result is just gorgeous.
See For Yourself
Have you ever imagined what it might be like to walk through Noah's ark? Fortunately, life-size reproductions are available, allowing you to appreciate the enormity of the structure. Answers in Genesis, a creationist organisation, inaugurated 'Ark Encounter,' a theme park in Grant County, Kentucky, in July 2016.
A life-size replica of Noah's ark serves as the park's home. For the tax incentives it receives, it has been chastised for violating the "separation of church and state."
Stunning Images
Professor Porcher Taylor of the University of Richmond's School of Continuing Studies has been convinced that the photographs represent reliable Biblical evidence since they were released.
"In terms of my ongoing push to have the intelligence community declassify some of the more definitive-type photos," he continued, "I've found new found optimism." "It's named my satellite archaeological project."What do you think about Noah's Ark story? Let us know in the comments!