Archaeologists May Have Discovered Ancient Biblical Relic

A team of American archaeologists believe they have uncovered the remains of Noah’s Ark, the Daily Mail reported.

Researchers working at a site in Turkey known as the Durupınar Formation uncovered a “tunnel” located under a boat-shaped formation, which matches the Biblical description of Noah’s Ark. The site is only 18 miles from Mount Ararat, which has long been rumored to have been the final destination of the ship. “We're not expecting something that's fully preserved,” lead researcher Andrew Jones said. “What's left is the chemical imprint, pieces of wood, and in the ground, the shape of a hall.”

Jones and his colleagues detected structures running as deep as 20 feet underground, something they believe would be unlikely were the mass anything but a ship. “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,” Jones explained. “But 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.”

Soil samples culled from 22 separate locations inside the formation have so far shown them to be radically different from samples collected from outside the mass. “Organic matter was found to be double inside the formation compared to the surrounding soil,” said soil scientist William Crabtree. “If you know soil science, as I am a soil scientist, you will understand that potassium levels, organic matter, and pH can all be affected by the decomposition of organic materials. If this was a wooden vessel and the wood had rotted over time, we would expect to see increased potassium levels, changes in pH, and higher organic content—and that's exactly what we find.”

The Durupınar area has drawn the interest of archaeologists since the late 1940s, when the outline of the boat-like structure was first exposed. Still, there has never been an officially sanctioned excavation. Naysayers have long contended that the Durupınar is simply a rock formation, but considering their new evidence, Jones and Crabtree believe the area is worthy of official exploration.

“We want to compare what’s inside the formation to what’s outside,” Jones said of future work he and his team hope to undertake. “That could give us a much clearer picture of whether this is truly something man-made.”