On the Durupinar Formation, a dramatic ship-shaped ridge rising from a remote, windswept hillside in Turkey’s eastern Ararat Mountains, an international group of archaeologists, researchers and Noah’s Ark investigators has spent years searching for answers.
Their investigation has involved LiDAR surface surveys, drone photography and thermal imaging, alongside electrical resistivity tomography and military-grade ground-penetrating radar. Thousands of soil samples have been extracted through core drilling, while a miniature subterranean robot named Gopher—originally developed in Australia to track wombats—has been sent into the resulting boreholes.
The work has been painstaking and persistent. Researchers have returned to the site intermittently for decades, spending millions of dollars as they continue to examine the formation from every possible angle.
Now, almost 80 years after the unusual outcrop was exposed roughly 10 miles from the Iranian border following an earthquake and severe storms in 1948, the team believes its efforts may have produced a breakthrough.
This week, Noah’s Ark Scans, the US-based organization leading the research, announced that its members believe they may have found evidence identifying the site as the final resting place of Noah’s Ark. According to the biblical account, the vast vessel came to rest near Mount Ararat after the flood, allowing eight people and thousands of animals to emerge and begin life anew.
The claim is nothing less than extraordinary: the discovery of Noah’s Ark.
“It is unreal—completely surreal,” says Lauren Witzke, a former Senate candidate and Christian activist who now serves as Noah’s Ark Scans’ marketing and fundraising director. “But we are now 100 per cent certain that there is a vessel here, a gigantic ship on the mountain, and it is going to change the world.”
A large, boat-shaped geological formation located about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey
A team of deeply committed archaeologists, scientists and Ark hunters from around the world have been hard at it
“It is not rock,” Witzke insists. “It is a ship—a massive vessel resting in the mountains of Ararat.”
Her conclusion raises an even bigger question: does this mean the biblical story was based on a real vessel, complete with animals gathered “two by two,” rather than being solely a religious tradition?
“Yes, absolutely,” she says. “We have evidence of a structure made by humans. We have the dimensions, the data and the three levels described in the Bible. Everything is beginning to align.”
“This is life-changing. This is the evidence we have been waiting for—tangible proof of Noah’s Ark. It is part of our heritage. All of us came from the eight people who survived on that boat.”
Witzke’s enthusiasm reflects her creationist beliefs. Creationists generally hold that the universe, Earth and life were brought into existence by a divine power, as described in Genesis, rather than developing through evolution and the processes associated with the Big Bang. “This proves that we did not evolve over millions and millions of years,” she says, arguing that the findings could undermine Darwin’s theory and challenge the foundations of modern education and science.
“Modern science will find this extremely difficult to explain away,” she adds. “I am very interested to see how scientists respond.”
The team is eager to publicize its claims, highlighting what it describes as a series of striking similarities between the Durupinar site and the Ark described in the Bible.
The first is the location. The formation lies approximately 18 miles from Mount Ararat, a region linked to the biblical line saying that the vessel came to rest “on the mountains of Ararat.”
Researchers also point to the formation’s apparent dimensions, which they say resemble the precise building instructions given to Noah before the flood intended to purge the world of violence, corruption and nearly all life.
In Genesis, the Ark is described as being constructed from cypress wood and sealed with pitch, measuring 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. That translates to approximately 515 feet in length, 86 feet in width and 52 feet in height—large enough for three internal decks. The account also refers to a side entrance and an opening near the roof. Using modern surveying tools, the Noah’s Ark Scans team says the site contains a broad, tapering boat-shaped structure measuring between 515 and 538 feet long, around 85 feet wide and 52 feet high.
And those are not the only similarities the researchers say they have identified.
While the research is yet to be confirmed, preliminary findings point to a three-level structure with a central corridor of about 234ft long, a parallel passage, and crossing corridors that meet at right angles – indicating the layout of designed hallways.
On top of all that, analysis shows significant differences in the soil within the boat shape and outside it – the former containing three times more organic matter, 38 per cent more potassium and an eight-fold difference in pH levels.
Project founder Andrew Jones said this week they had recovered samples from nearly 60ft down.
‘We have so far recovered layers of rich organic material that we believe could be the decayed top-tier remains of the Ark,’ he said.
‘It’s a boat, a bloody great boat sitting in the mountains!’ cries Lauren.
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Of course, while these latest discoveries are new, the site is not.
The Durupinar Formation was first spotted by a shepherd in 1948, after huge storms and an earthquake altered the topography. It was named ten years later after the Turkish army officer who officially mapped it. Ever since, it has been the focus of frenzied investigating and theorising, particularly among creationists such as Lauren and Andrew, who believe God caused the earthquake in 1948 to throw up the Ark and quieten the huge surge of Darwinism taking over the Western World.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of pushback.
From geologists who have insisted that the formation was always one mass of solid rock. From experts pointing out that there is no evidence that the world was ever underwater – though more localised floods are of course possible and might well have inspired the story of Noah in the Bible. And particularly from Darwinists and atheists, those who believe that we were created through evolution over millions of years, not all descended from eight people in the Ark.
The dimensions mirror the oddly specific Ark construction instructions which God gave to Noah just before he flooded the Earth
Which meant that those pursuing the cause have come in for plenty of flak – nicknamed ‘Arkaeologists’ and ‘pseudo archaeologists’ – and have struggled with funding. But they have pressed on because, as Lauren puts it: ‘We don’t need proof to believe, but this discovery could save millions, perhaps billions, of souls.’
But before we get swept away with all the excitement, perhaps we should pause a moment. Because for those of us who are not creationists, it’s all quite a jump. Yes, we all loved the story of Noah’s Ark, drew pictures of it in school, made papier-mache models of it and moved the little animals in and out, two by two. But wasn’t it – like many stories in the Bible’s Old Testament – more of a metaphor? The flood representing chaos and judgment, the Ark a symbol for safety, faith and the preservation of life, and the rainbow at the end, hope? Rather than a real boat with thousands of wild animals and just eight humans on board.
‘No, no, no,’ says Lauren. ‘It is real, like every story in the Bible.’ Andrew adds: ‘Some people think it is like looking for the North Pole or Santa Claus, but if you believe in God and think of the Bible as a historical document, then finding the Ark changes everything.’
Andrew – a Seventh-day Adventist – has dedicated much of his life to this mission. ‘I have been obsessed ever since I heard a talk at my church about the Durupinar Formation when I was about 12,’ he says.
He first visited the site in 1997 and was completely blown away.
‘It was the biggest thing seeing this boat shape, just sitting there on the side of the mountain all by itself. All bare and lonely.’ As soon as he’d made some money in computer programming, he was back, seeking permits, permissions and archaeologists.
Since 2014, he’s been back and forth, navigating delays with civil unrest and the pandemic, struggling to find funding, but always keeping his faith. ‘God has always driven it along,’ he says. ‘Working behind the scenes.’
Lauren, a self-proclaimed ‘flat-earther’ who once called the Covid vaccine a ‘satanic plot’ – says her calling came more recently and direct from God. ‘God laid it on my heart last year – it was very random and I can’t explain it, but I knew it was something I needed to do, so I started looking at different Noah’s Ark projects. I found Andrew and things accelerated.’
But while Laura and Andrew and many of their donors are creationists, the team includes bona fide and highly respected archaeologists and geologists from around the world.
The wider investigation is directed by archaeologist Cenker Atila of Sivas Cumhuriyet University. Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, of Bakhtar Research and Engineering LLC, led the radar survey. Both are highly respected. While this week’s findings are preliminary, pending full results, what does seem increasingly clear is that the Durupinar Formation is not a solid lump of rock, but instead, some sort of underground structure, perhaps in the shape of a boat.
Which does not, of course, mean that it is Noah’s Ark. Some say it might be the remains of another very large boat that inspired the Bible story 4,300 years ago. When I speak to Professor Dr Atila, he confirms that the research does suggest a ship-like structure on the site but cautions, ‘despite these findings, we cannot say, “yes, this is Noah’s Ark”.
‘The results of the soil samples will provide some of the most important information. If we find traces of organic matter, animal or human remains, faecal material, or similar organic residues, we will be able to speak with much greater certainty.’
And next year, we might have a better idea because the team will be sending in DNA experts to see if they can find evidence of ancient animals. Maybe even – if they can find enough very old human waste – Noah’s DNA.
Goodness.
All in all, as the Gopher trundles around the site, high-resolution camera flashing, there’s a lot to think about. And, if it does turn out to be Noah’s Ark, an awful lot of questions to answer.
Not just about Darwinism and the Big Bang and the meaning of life, but some rather more prosaic issues. Such as how Noah and his seven family members could look after all those animals for 150 days and nights. Where did all the food go and why didn’t all the animals kill each other?
H elpfully, one pressing issue – how could a boat possibly stay afloat with such a massive cargo? – has already been firmly dispatched by scientists at University of Leicester. In 2014, they proved that, had Noah used God’s exact instructions, his Ark could have stayed afloat with a staggering 70,000 animals on board.
For now, though, as the weather chills in the mountains of Ararat, the research season draws to a close and team members await a definitive report, the focus is preserving the site – which is apparently already crumbling and decaying in the top layers – and hoping that the Turkish government continues to let them investigate what could be one of the greatest wonders of the world.
Or not.
