A strange, boat-like landform high in Turkey’s mountains has reignited one of history’s most enduring mysteries: could it be the buried remains of Noah’s Ark?
In the biblical account, Noah’s enormous vessel carried his family and representatives of every animal species through a devastating flood—an event that some biblical timelines date to more than 4,300 years ago.
Researchers from several countries studying the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat now say they are “100 percent confirmed” that the site is not a naturally formed geological structure, but instead a “man-made object.”
New ground-penetrating radar scans have reportedly identified what appear to be layered structures, unusually straight features, right-angled junctions and large voids buried at different depths.
The most eye-catching interpretation involves possible chambers, passageways and tunnels beneath the surface. Investigators also identified a substantial underground layer that appears to divide into three sections, which they have linked to the three-deck design described in the Book of Genesis.
Core samples taken during drilling revealed a stratum containing abundant organic material. Scientists are now examining those samples to establish whether any of the material could be decomposed wood.
Andrew Jones, an independent investigator and founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, has spent almost three decades studying the formation. He told Our News Outlet that neither the radar work nor drilling operations inside the mound found limestone or intact bedrock.
“This undermines the idea that the formation is simply a solid limestone block sculpted into a boat shape by glaciers and weathering after sliding down the mountain,” he said. “It also challenges the explanation that mud flowed around a section of bedrock and created the outline.”
Researchers believe this unusual formation in the Turkish mountains could be linked to Noah’s Ark
Recent drilling produced samples that could help determine whether the site contains traces of ancient timber
Jones stressed that the findings have not conclusively proved the formation is the vessel described in the Bible.
Even so, he said: “I firmly believe the Durupınar Formation is the buried remains of Noah’s Ark.”
He characterized the latest radar results as a “compelling new line of evidence” that the site may contain structures created by humans, while acknowledging that the scans do not amount to final proof.
An earlier radar survey carried out in 2019 revealed a series of straight and angular abnormalities. The research team interpreted those patterns as possible walls, corridors and individual internal compartments.
A more extensive survey in 2026, led by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, employed a high-powered radar system developed through US Air Force research. The technology was designed to penetrate considerably deeper than the equipment used in previous studies.
The deeper scans recorded broad, layered reflectors—subsurface boundaries that send radar signals back toward the surface—as well as features the researchers believe could be cavities partially filled with sediment.
Five of the strongest anomalies appeared to trace a potential tunnel network running for about 151 feet, with the structures reaching an average height of more than 14 feet.
The international research team says it is “100 percent confident” the formation was created by humans
Two additional large anomalies were estimated to be roughly 26 feet and 39 feet high. A separate underground feature measured approximately 23 feet in height.
In several sections of the site, the radar also detected a layer between 16 and 20 feet thick, located around 16 feet below ground level.
That layer appeared to contain three separate sublayers.
But the readings are not photographs of exposed rooms or passageways. They instead show how radar waves reacted to different materials and boundaries beneath the ground.
Those anomalies must be physically investigated before researchers can determine what produced them.
The team is using the measurements as a road map to select the most promising locations for further drilling.
The site was formally identified in 1959 by a shepherd and has sparked intrigue ever since
The samples (pictured) will be tested for signs of decaying wood, which may prove the theory
Lauren Witzke, director of marketing and fundraising for Noah’s Ark Scans, claimed the formation’s uppermost section is deteriorating.
‘The top, and most exposed, tier is decaying, and the hardened mudflow encasing the rims of the boat are basically the only thing holding it together,’ she said.
‘It’s very fragile, as to be expected with 4,300-year-old wood. But beneath the surface, the bottom two layers appear to still be intact, and we believe we have hit a floor of petrified wood.’
However, researchers have not confirmed the material is wood, nor have they scientifically dated anything recovered from drilling to 4,300 years ago.
Jones stressed the figure represents a proposed biblical time frame for the flood rather than an established scientific age.
The team must isolate suitable organic material from its core samples and submit it for radiocarbon dating before it can determine whether the site fits that timeline.
Researchers have also discovered pottery outside the formation dating from the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, through the Iron Age.
The team said the pottery helps establish people occupied or visited the mountainside across a long period of ancient history and identifies areas that may warrant further archaeological investigation.
The radar captured ‘a series of right angles’ about 20 feet down, which researchers believe could be rooms that held animals on the ark
Further studies using infrared thermography (IRT) may show a ship-shaped hull under the soil
‘It’s quite possible this pottery was used to store food and supplies on the Ark, and was used as Noah’s family exited the Ark and set up camp (the Bible says Noah was living in a tent),’ Witzke shared in a statement.
However, Jones acknowledged pottery alone cannot establish that the formation is the Ark or demonstrate that the people who left the artifacts were connected to it.
The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest peak.
Local accounts claim heavy rain and earthquakes exposed its unusual outline in 1948, when it was reportedly noticed by a Kurdish shepherd.
The site was formally identified in 1959 after Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar spotted its ship-like outline in aerial survey photographs.
The team found pottery which they say predates what biblical scholars call the Great Flood
The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest peak
Much of the fascination surrounding the mound stems from its elongated shape and dimensions, which researchers say closely resemble the biblical description of the Ark.
Scripture describes the vessel as roughly 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall. Yet the formation has divided investigators for decades.
Early researchers who surveyed and excavated the site reported finding only soil and rocks, concluding it was a naturally formed geological feature rather than remains of a vessel.
Most geologists continue to favor a natural explanation, while Ark researchers argue the new radar readings, core samples and nearby pottery justify another investigation.
‘What excites me most about this phase is that we are transitioning from remote imaging to collecting physical samples deep within the site, allowing us to scientifically evaluate hypotheses that have been debated for decades,’ Jones said.
