A research team in Turkey has spent the past year deep-core drilling at the Durupinar site near Mount Ararat, collecting hundreds of soil samples in an effort to determine whether the boat-shaped formation is the remains of Noah’s Ark described in the book of Genesis.
The Noah’s Ark Research Project has been drilling at the site for a full year, according to a Fox News report published Friday. Vice president Andrew Jones said the team used deep-core drilling for the first time this year, reaching more than 60 feet below the surface to pull samples now being tested in a laboratory.
“That’s what we’ll be testing this winter. Just to see if we can find any type of man-made activity or something that suggests decayed wood,” Jones said. He added that earlier results had already shown differences in the soil composition, prompting the team to dig deeper.
Some geologists maintain the formation is a natural rock structure rather than a man-made vessel, and the question remains unsettled.
A Kentucky Voice of Caution
Ken Ham, the Kentucky-based founder of the Ark Encounter theme park and Answers in Genesis, is telling fellow Christians not to get ahead of the evidence. Ham’s warning, reported by World on Tuesday, was aimed specifically at claims made by Noah’s Ark Scans, an American Christian research company, that it has already found the ark.
According to World, Ham argued that Christians risk their own credibility when they exaggerate evidence.
“Let’s see the actual data. After all, good science welcomes careful investigation,” Ham said in a video addressing the claims.
Answers in Genesis, the ministry Ham founded, describes Noah’s Ark as the vessel by which God spared Noah, his family, and the animal kinds from a global flood judgment, built to specific proportions by divine command.
The hunt for the ark has drawn expeditions and claims for decades, with wood-like formations and other artifacts presented as evidence over the years. Much of that material has failed to hold up to scrutiny. Harsh weather, political instability in the region, and a steady stream of hoaxes have made it difficult to separate credible findings from wishful thinking.
No conclusive proof of the ark’s existence has yet been established. Ham’s message from Kentucky is that believers should let the data speak before declaring victory.
