Researchers drill over 60 feet at Turkey's Durupınar site, await lab results on 'Noah's Ark' theory

Right · 2The Noah's Ark Research Project has finished its first full field season at the Durupınar site near Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey, drilling more than 60 feet (20 metres) beneath the boat-shaped formation. 1 2 Right · 1The project, supported by Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, collected over 300 soil samples from varying depths inside and outside the formation, according to its vice president, Andrew Jones. He said deep-core drilling was used at the site for the first time. 1 Right · 1Jones said the drilling did not hit a solid block of limestone or other rock, only mainly soil, though boulders were found in some places. He said this should give sceptics pause when they call the site a rock formation, but added that the team is still studying its results. 1

Right · 1The decision to drill deeper followed 2024 sampling that Jones said showed three times more organic matter inside the site than outside, 38% more potassium, and differences in pH. 1 Right · 2Samples from inside the formation have gone to laboratories, and testing this winter will look for signs of human activity or material suggesting decayed wood. No such evidence has been reported yet. 1 2 Right · 1The formation was first identified in 1959. In a 1996 paper, geologists Lorence Gene Collins and David Franklin Fasold concluded it was "a natural rock structure", and geologists have generally argued it is natural. 1

Right · 1Jones said pottery found beside the formation, not within it, was tentatively dated by style from the early Chalcolithic (Copper Age) to the Iron Age. He noted two ancient settlements nearby, one unexcavated, and said "You can connect the dots" if the site were the Ark. He identified himself as a Christian who believes the biblical story, urged people not to jump to conclusions, and said the team still has "a lot of work to do." 1 Right · 1Separately, Ken Ham, founder of Kentucky's Ark Encounter and Answers in Genesis, urged caution about claims that the ark has been found, made by the American company Noah's Ark Scans. Breitbart, citing World, said Ham warned that Christians risk their credibility by exaggerating evidence, and said "Let's see the actual data." 2 Right · 1No conclusive proof of Noah's Ark has been established, and earlier claimed finds have met scepticism and lacked rigorous scientific validation. 2