{ "generated": "2026-11-06T06:10:52.115Z", "counts": { "events": 92, "people": 102, "sites": 4 }, "events": [ { "id": "0093-josephus-ark-relics-armenia", "date": "0093", "date_precision": "approx", "type": "claim", "title": "Josephus writes that Ark relics are shown in Armenia", "label": "Josephus: Ark relics shown in Armenia", "seo_description": "c. 93 CE: Josephus places Noah's Ark on a mountain in Armenia and says relics are still shown. An ancient written claim, with sources.", "summary": "Josephus, citing Berossus and others, placed the Ark on a mountain in Armenia and wrote that relics were exhibited \"to this day\".", "details": "Josephus later also named Carrhae as a location where locals showed remains. The Armenian mountain he meant is not identified precisely; it is linked to the Ararat region here by convention. Date is circa (Jewish Antiquities, c. 93-94 CE).", "claimants": [ "josephus" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "0375-epiphanius-remains-cardyaei", "date": "0375", "date_precision": "approx", "type": "claim", "title": "Epiphanius says Ark remains are shown in Cardyaei", "label": "Epiphanius: remains shown in Cardyaei", "seo_description": "c. 375 CE: Epiphanius says remains of Noah's Ark are still shown in Cardyaei, the region tied to Mount Judi (Cudi Dağı). Ancient claim, sourced.", "summary": "Epiphanius of Salamis wrote that the remains of Noah's ark were \"still shown in Cardyaei\", the Corduene region associated with Mount Judi.", "details": "Date is circa (the Panarion was written in the 370s). Linking Cardyaei/Corduene to Cudi Dağı follows the Wikipedia articles cited.", "claimants": [ "epiphanius" ], "sites": [ "cudi-dagi" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Judi", "title": "Mount Judi", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2006-03-06" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "0400-jacob-of-nisibis-legend", "date": "0400", "date_precision": "approx", "type": "claim", "title": "Legend of Jacob of Nisibis and a plank from the Ark", "label": "Legend of an Ark plank at Etchmiadzin", "seo_description": "The legend of Jacob of Nisibis and the Ark plank kept at Etchmiadzin, Armenia. What the 5th-century story says and how the relic is presented.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/etchmiadzin-ark-reliquary.jpg", "alt": "Ornate 1698 reliquary at Etchmiadzin Cathedral said to contain a plank from Noah's Ark", "credit": "Marcin Konsek / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2014_Prowincja_Armawir,_Wagharszapat,_Katedra_w_Eczmiadzynie,_Wn%C4%99trze,_Relikwiarz_zawieraj%C4%85cy_fragment_Arki_Noego.jpg", "kind": "photo" }, "summary": "By the 5th century a legend held that Jacob of Nisibis climbed toward the Ark and received a board from it from an angel; Etchmiadzin displays a relic said to be that wood.", "details": "Faustus of Byzantium placed the mountain in the district of Korduk' (Corduene). Armenians later relocated the legend to Masis (Mount Ararat) after the late 11th century. Date is circa.", "claimants": [ "faustus-of-byzantium" ], "sites": [ "cudi-dagi", "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "0628-heraclius-visits-mount-judi", "date": "0628", "date_precision": "approx", "end_date": "0629", "type": "claim", "title": "Emperor Heraclius reportedly climbs Mount Judi to the Ark site", "label": "Heraclius said to climb Mount Judi", "seo_description": "628 CE: Byzantine emperor Heraclius is reported to have climbed Mount Judi to visit the Ark's traditional resting place. Claim and sources.", "summary": "Byzantine emperor Heraclius is reported to have scaled Mount Judi to visit the site of the Ark in 628 or 629.", "details": "Reported in the chronicle of Theophilus of Edessa, as cited by Wikipedia.", "claimants": [ "heraclius" ], "sites": [ "cudi-dagi" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "0632-quran-al-judi", "date": "0632", "date_precision": "approx", "type": "claim", "title": "Qur'an names al-Jūdī as the Ark's resting place", "label": "Qur'an names al-Jūdī as landing place", "seo_description": "The Qur'an (11:44) says Noah's ship came to rest on al-Jūdī, usually identified with Mount Judi (Cudi Dağı) in southeast Turkey. Sources.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/cudi-dagi-panorama.jpg", "alt": "Panorama of the Cudi Dağı ridge, identified with al-Jūdī (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "KediÇobanı / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cudi_Da%C4%9F%C4%B1_panaroma.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Qur'an 11:44 says the ship came to rest on al-Jūdī, generally understood as Mount Judi (Cudi Dağı) in the former Corduene region.", "details": "Date is a circa placeholder for the Qur'anic text (revelation 610-632 CE). Islamic and Syriac tradition favour Cudi Dağı over Mount Ararat.", "claimants": [ "quran" ], "sites": [ "cudi-dagi" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Judi", "title": "Mount Judi", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2006-03-06" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1307-hayton-black-object-ararat", "date": "1307", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "Hayton of Corycus reports something black on Ararat's summit", "label": "Hayton reports a black object on Ararat", "seo_description": "1307: Hayton of Corycus writes that something black on Ararat's summit is said to be Noah's Ark. A medieval account, with sources.", "media": { "src": "assets/media/hayton-report-to-pope.jpg", "alt": "15th-century manuscript painting of Hayton presenting his 1307 account to the Pope", "credit": "Maîtres aux rinceaux d’or, BnF NAF 1255 / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HaytonRemittingHisReportToThePope.JPG", "kind": "illustration" }, "summary": "Armenian historian Hayton of Corycus wrote that \"on the mountain's summit something black is visible, which people say is the Ark\".", "claimants": [ "hayton-of-corycus" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1829-parrot-first-ascent-ararat", "date": "1829", "date_precision": "year", "type": "expedition", "title": "Friedrich Parrot makes the first recorded ascent of Ararat", "label": "First recorded ascent of Ararat", "seo_description": "1829: Friedrich Parrot makes the first recorded ascent of Mount Ararat and reports the local belief that the Ark remains on the summit.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/parrot-1834-map.jpg", "alt": "Map of the lands between the Black and Caspian Seas from Parrot's 1834 book Reise zum Ararat", "credit": "Friedrich Parrot, Reise zum Ararat (1834), Wellcome Library scan / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reise_zum_Ararat_(IA_b22009747).pdf", "kind": "map" }, "summary": "Friedrich Parrot led the first recorded ascent of Mount Ararat and wrote that local Armenians believed the Ark remained on the summit.", "details": "Parrot reported a belief, not a find. He did not claim to see the Ark.", "claimants": [ "friedrich-parrot" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Parrot", "title": "Friedrich Parrot", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-09-05" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://archive.org/details/journeytoararat00parrgoog", "title": "Journey to Ararat (Friedrich Parrot, tr. W. D. Cooley)", "publisher": "Internet Archive (Harper & Brothers edition)", "published": "1859" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1876-bryce-wood-on-ararat", "date": "1876", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "James Bryce finds a piece of hewn wood high on Ararat", "label": "Bryce reports hewn wood on Ararat", "seo_description": "1876: James Bryce finds tool-cut wood above Ararat's tree line and suggests it may be from Noah's Ark. His claim and the sources.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/bryce-1877-ararat-sketch.jpg", "alt": "James Bryce's 1877 sketch of Great and Little Ararat from the north-east", "credit": "James Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat (1877) / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Great_and_Little_Ararat_from_the_North-East%22_by_James_Bryce.png", "kind": "illustration" }, "summary": "James Bryce said he found a piece of wood \"evidently cut by some tool\" above the tree line on Ararat and argued it might be a remnant of the Ark.", "claimants": [ "james-bryce" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture", "title": "Where is Noah's Ark? Here's why it will never be found", "publisher": "National Geographic", "published": "2022-11-22" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1883-nz-herald-ark-hoax", "date": "1883-03-31", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "New Zealand Herald April Fools' story says avalanche revealed the Ark", "label": "NZ Herald April Fools' Ark story", "seo_description": "1883: an April Fools' newspaper story that Turkish officials found Noah's Ark spreads worldwide. The writer later admitted the hoax.", "summary": "According to Wikipedia and the New Zealand Herald, columnist George McCullagh Reed (\"Pollex\") wrote an April Fools' report that Turkish commissioners had found the Ark; it was reprinted worldwide and he apologised for the hoax on 24 November 1883.", "claimants": [ "george-mccullagh-reed" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "claimed_text": "A Turkish government commission, including a \"Captain Gascoyne\", found the Ark exposed by an avalanche.", "established_text": "Per Wikipedia, Reed wrote a column on 24 November 1883 apologising for the hoax, and the \"Captain Gascoyne\" named in the story did not exist.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ibrian-rudmani-nz-hoax-went-round-world/562U6HFYSYYWWNASL4TLSQWGMU/", "title": "Brian Rudman: NZ hoax went round world", "publisher": "New Zealand Herald", "published": "2004-04-01" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1887-nouri-claims-ark-summit", "date": "1887-04", "date_precision": "month", "type": "claim", "title": "John Joseph Nouri says he found the Ark on Ararat's summit", "label": "Nouri says he found the Ark on Ararat", "seo_description": "1887: archdeacon John Joseph Nouri says he found Noah's Ark on the summit of Mount Ararat. What he claimed and what sources say.", "summary": "Chaldean archdeacon John Joseph Nouri said he discovered Noah's Ark on the summit of Mount Ararat in April 1887.", "claimants": [ "john-joseph-nouri" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "established_text": "Turkish officials did not corroborate the claim; no physical evidence was produced.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1940-new-eden-roskovitsky-story", "date": "1940", "date_precision": "year", "type": "press", "title": "New Eden publishes the \"Vladimir Roskovitsky\" aviator story", "label": "New Eden runs the Roskovitsky story", "seo_description": "1940: New Eden prints the \"Roskovitsky\" story of a Russian expedition finding Noah's Ark on Ararat. Later shown to be fiction.", "summary": "New Eden printed a story credited to Russian aviator \"Vladimir Roskovitsky\" claiming a pre-revolution Russian expedition found the Ark on Ararat.", "claimants": [ "floyd-m-gurley", "new-eden" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "claimed_text": "A Russian pilot spotted the Ark c. 1917 and a 150-soldier expedition documented it before the Bolsheviks suppressed the report.", "established_text": "Benjamin F. Allen, the story's source, said about 95% of it, including the name Roskovitsky, was invented by publisher Gurley, who apologised; by 1942 at least two publications had retracted it.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PT/PT19460718-V62-15.pdf", "title": "Has Noah's Ark Been Found? (Lynn H. Wood)", "publisher": "Present Truth (Adventist Archives scan)", "published": "1946-07-18" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1946-wood-present-truth-rebuttal", "date": "1946-07-18", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Present Truth article questions the Roskovitsky and Nouri stories", "label": "Present Truth questions Ark stories", "seo_description": "1946: Lynn H. Wood reviews the Russian aviator and Nouri Ark stories in Present Truth and questions their reliability. Rebuttal, sourced.", "summary": "Lynn H. Wood's article in the Adventist paper Present Truth reviewed the Russian aviator and Nouri accounts and questioned their reliability.", "details": "Wikipedia cites this article for the anachronisms (parachutes, oxygen, superchargers) in the aviator story.", "claimants": [ "lynn-h-wood" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "sources": [ { "url": "https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PT/PT19460718-V62-15.pdf", "title": "Has Noah's Ark Been Found? (Lynn H. Wood)", "publisher": "Present Truth (Adventist Archives scan)", "published": "1946-07-18" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "1940-new-eden-roskovitsky-story", "1887-nouri-claims-ark-summit" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1948-ap-petrified-ship-report", "date": "1948-11", "date_precision": "month", "type": "press", "title": "AP reports Kurdish farmer found a petrified ship on Ararat", "label": "AP: farmer reports a petrified ship", "seo_description": "1948: an AP report relays a farmer's alleged find of a petrified ship's prow on Ararat. The account was never confirmed.", "summary": "AP reporter Edwin Greenwald relayed landowner Shukru Asena's account that a farmer named Reshit found a petrified ship's prow about two-thirds of the way up Ararat.", "details": "A 1949 expedition could not find Reshit or any witnesses. In 1986 David Fasold said the object Reshit found was the Durupınar formation, not something on Ararat.", "claimants": [ "edwin-greenwald", "associated-press" ], "people": [ "reshit-sarihan" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat", "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "A farmer named Reshit found the prow of a large petrified ship and many villagers climbed to see it.", "established_text": "The 1949 Smith expedition found neither Reshit nor witnesses; the account was second-hand.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.deseret.com/1992/10/23/19012142/researcher-says-a-farmer-found-ark-formation-in-48/", "title": "Researcher says a farmer found ark formation in '48", "publisher": "Deseret News", "published": "1992-10-23" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1949-smith-ararat-expedition", "date": "1949", "date_precision": "year", "type": "expedition", "title": "Aaron J. Smith's Ararat expedition finds no Ark", "label": "Smith expedition finds no Ark", "seo_description": "1949: Aaron J. Smith's Ararat expedition goes looking for the \"petrified ship\" reported in 1948 and finds neither the farmer nor the ship.", "summary": "Aaron J. Smith of People's Bible College led an expedition to Ararat after Egerton Sykes withdrew; the team could not locate Reshit or the reported ship.", "details": "TIME reported in April 1949 that Pravda accused the planned expedition of being a cover for surveillance near the Soviet border.", "claimants": [ "aaron-j-smith" ], "people": [ "egerton-sykes", "edwin-greenwald" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,856222,00.html", "title": "Russia: Suspicion on the Mount", "publisher": "TIME", "published": "1949-04-25" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.jta.org/1952/08/18/archive/french-expedition-to-mt-ararat-fails-to-find-traces-of-noahs-ark", "title": "French Expedition to Mt. Ararat Fails to Find Traces of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Jewish Telegraphic Agency", "published": "1952-08-18" } ], "related": [ "1948-ap-petrified-ship-report" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1952-de-riquer-expedition-no-trace", "date": "1952-08", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "French expedition to Ararat reports no trace of the Ark", "label": "French expedition finds no trace", "seo_description": "1952: Jean de Riquer's French expedition, with Fernand Navarra, reaches Ararat's summit and reports no trace of Noah's Ark.", "summary": "A French expedition led by polar explorer Jean de Riquer, with Fernand Navarra, reached Ararat's summit and reported finding no trace of the Ark.", "details": "Navarra later said that on this trip he alone saw a large dark mass he believed was the Ark.", "claimants": [ "jean-de-riquer" ], "people": [ "fernand-navarra" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.jta.org/1952/08/18/archive/french-expedition-to-mt-ararat-fails-to-find-traces-of-noahs-ark", "title": "French Expedition to Mt. Ararat Fails to Find Traces of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Jewish Telegraphic Agency", "published": "1952-08-18" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1955-navarra-recovers-wood", "date": "1955", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "Fernand Navarra says he recovered Ark timber from Ararat", "label": "Navarra says he found Ark timber", "seo_description": "1955: Fernand Navarra says he recovered Ark wood from ice on Mount Ararat. Later radiocarbon dates put the wood far too young.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-from-dogubayazit.jpg", "alt": "Mount Ararat seen from Doğubayazıt (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Iskan21 / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Do%C4%9Fubeyaz%C4%B1ttan_A%C4%9Fr%C4%B1_Da%C4%9F%C4%B1.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Fernand Navarra said he and his son recovered a hand-hewn beam from an ice-covered structure on Ararat, later published in his book J'ai trouvé l'Arche de Noé.", "claimants": [ "fernand-navarra" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "claimed_text": "The wood came from Noah's Ark; early non-radiocarbon tests were reported to suggest an age of about 5,000 years.", "established_text": "Later radiocarbon tests by several labs dated the 1955 samples to roughly 1,200-1,700 years old, far too young for the Ark. The New York Times reported in 1970 that Navarra nonetheless remained convinced the timbers came from the Ark. Per Wikipedia, Sehap Atalay said in 1962 that Navarra gave him the wood, and Jean de Riquer accused Navarra in 1970 of trying to buy old wood from villagers in 1952.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://archive.org/details/noahsarkitouched00nava", "title": "Noah's Ark: I Touched It (Fernand Navarra)", "publisher": "Internet Archive (Logos International edition)", "published": "1974" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/27/archives/experts-to-study-ruins-linked-to-ark.html", "title": "Experts to Study Ruins Linked to Ark", "publisher": "The New York Times", "published": "1970-02-27" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1959-durupinar-aerial-identification", "date": "1959", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "Boat-shaped formation near Doğubayazıt spotted in aerial imagery", "label": "Boat shape spotted in aerial photo", "seo_description": "1959: Turkish captain İlhan Durupınar spots a boat-shaped formation near Ararat in aerial photos, the origin of the Durupınar site claims.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2009-ridge.jpg", "alt": "The boat-shaped Durupınar ridge in 2009 (site photo, not the 1959 aerial image)", "credit": "Zorka Sojka / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turecko_Noemova_archa_(03).jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Turkish army captain İlhan Durupınar identified a boat-shaped formation south of Ararat in Turkish Air Force survey photos, prompting speculation it was the Ark.", "details": "Sources differ on the date: Wikipedia says October 1959; 2023 press reports give 11 September 1959. Recorded at year precision.", "claimants": [ "ilhan-durupinar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "The formation's size and boat-like shape (about 164 m long) suggest it could be the petrified remains of the Ark.", "established_text": "A 1960 survey found only soil and rock; geologists including Collins, Snelling, Avcı and Atabey describe it as a natural formation.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.anatolianarchaeology.net/scientists-examined-the-remains-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-and-here-are-the-results/", "title": "Scientists examined the remains believed to belong to Noah's Ark, and here are the results", "publisher": "Anatolian Archaeology", "published": "2023-10-26" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1960-arf-durupinar-survey", "date": "1960-09", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "1960 survey concludes the Durupınar shape is natural", "label": "1960 survey: Durupınar shape is natural", "seo_description": "1960: the first expedition to the Durupınar formation digs and blasts at the site and reports finding only soil and rocks.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2007.jpg", "alt": "The Durupınar formation in 2007 (site photo, not of the 1960 survey)", "credit": "Mfikretyilmaz / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY 3.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Structure_Claimed_to_be_the_Noah%27s_Ark_near_the_Mount_Ararat_in_Turkey.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "An Archaeological Research Foundation team including George Vandeman, İlhan Durupınar and Arthur Brandenberger dug and dynamited at the site and found only soil and rocks.", "claimants": [ "archaeological-research-foundation" ], "people": [ "george-vandeman", "ilhan-durupinar", "arthur-brandenberger" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "established_text": "The expedition's news release said there were \"no visible archaeological remains\" and the formation was \"a freak of nature and not man-made\".", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "1959-durupinar-aerial-identification" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1969-navarra-search-expedition-wood", "date": "1969", "date_precision": "year", "type": "expedition", "title": "SEARCH Foundation expedition with Navarra recovers more wood", "label": "SEARCH expedition recovers more wood", "seo_description": "1969: Navarra guides a SEARCH Foundation team to wood on Ararat. Radiocarbon tests later dated it to about 600 AD, far too young.", "summary": "On a SEARCH Foundation expedition, Fernand Navarra led the team to a site on Ararat where pieces of wood were found.", "claimants": [ "search-foundation", "fernand-navarra" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "established_text": "Two radiocarbon analyses of the 1969 samples dated the wood to about 1,350 years old (around 600 AD), far too young for the Ark. Per the New York Times (February 1970), Navarra remained convinced the timbers were remnants of the Ark, and some expedition sponsors cited older ages from non-radiocarbon tests.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/27/archives/experts-to-study-ruins-linked-to-ark.html", "title": "Experts to Study Ruins Linked to Ark", "publisher": "The New York Times", "published": "1970-02-27" }, { "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/01/archives/on-the-trail-of-noahs-ark.html", "title": "On the Trail Of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "The New York Times", "published": "1970-03-01" } ], "related": [ "1955-navarra-recovers-wood" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1970-hagopian-childhood-sighting", "date": "1970", "date_precision": "year", "type": "interview", "title": "Georgie Hagopian says he saw the Ark as a boy", "label": "Hagopian says he saw the Ark as a boy", "seo_description": "Georgie Hagopian's account of seeing a petrified Noah's Ark on Ararat as a boy in the early 1900s. His claim and how it was received.", "summary": "Armenian-American Georgie Hagopian said his uncle took him to see a moss-covered, petrified Ark on Ararat twice in the early 1900s.", "details": "Accounts place the first visit in 1902, 1906 or 1908. TalkOrigins questions how easily children reached a site other explorers could not.", "claimants": [ "georgie-hagopian" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "As a boy he twice saw a petrified Ark, over 1,000 ft long, on the edge of a cliff on Ararat.", "established_text": "No physical or documentary corroboration; the account rests on one person's recollection decades later.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH505_4.html", "title": "CH505.4: Hagopian and the Ark", "publisher": "TalkOrigins Archive (Index to Creationist Claims)", "published": "2003-05-07" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1973-haji-yearam-account-published", "date": "1973", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "Haji Yearam's deathbed story of a secret Ark expedition circulates", "label": "Haji Yearam's deathbed story circulates", "seo_description": "The Haji Yearam story: an Armenian immigrant's alleged deathbed account of guiding an expedition to Noah's Ark. Published claim, unverified.", "summary": "Pastor Harold Williams said Armenian immigrant Haji Yearam told him before his 1920 death that he had guided a secret expedition to the Ark as a boy.", "details": "Williams described the story in a 1952 letter; Wikipedia says it was not widely circulated until Violet Cummings' books in the 1970s (her Noah's Ark: Fable or Fact? is dated 1973). The date here marks that circulation.", "claimants": [ "harold-williams" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "established_text": "The account is entirely hearsay; Williams said his notes and a supporting newspaper clipping were destroyed in a 1940 fire, and no copy of the clipping has been found.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" }, { "url": "https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH505_1.html", "title": "CH505.1: Yearam and the ark", "publisher": "TalkOrigins Archive (Index to Creationist Claims)", "published": "2003-05-07" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1976-in-search-of-noahs-ark-film", "date": "1976", "date_precision": "year", "type": "press", "title": "Film In Search of Noah's Ark claims photographic evidence", "label": "Film “In Search of Noah's Ark” released", "seo_description": "1976: the film and book In Search of Noah's Ark claim \"photographic evidence\" of the Ark on Mount Ararat. Claim and sources.", "summary": "The 1976 book and film In Search of Noah's Ark said there was \"actual photographic evidence\" that the Ark exists on Mount Ararat.", "details": "Skeptical Inquirer (2026) notes that despite decades of trips to Ararat the Ark remained elusive.", "claimants": [ "sun-classic-pictures" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-re-re-re-re-discovery-of-noahs-ark/", "title": "The Re-Re-Re-Re-Discovery of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Skeptical Inquirer", "published": "2026-09-29" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1977-wyatt-promotes-durupinar", "date": "1977", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "Ron Wyatt begins promoting the Durupınar formation as the Ark", "label": "Ron Wyatt promotes Durupınar as the Ark", "seo_description": "1977: Ron Wyatt visits the Durupınar site and begins years of promoting it as Noah's Ark. His claims and the response.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2019.jpg", "alt": "The Durupınar formation seen from the visitor-centre bluff in 2019 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Wikkiwooki / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Durupinar_site_in_July_2019.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Amateur archaeologist Ron Wyatt visited the Durupınar site in 1977 and spent the following years promoting it as the remains of Noah's Ark.", "details": "Wyatt revisited in 1979 and 1984; James Irwin and John D. Morris were not convinced by the site, per Wikipedia.", "claimants": [ "ron-wyatt" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "The Durupınar formation is the petrified remains of Noah's Ark.", "established_text": "Geologists, including creationist Andrew Snelling, describe the formation as natural; per Wikipedia, Irwin and Morris were not convinced.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Wyatt", "title": "Ron Wyatt", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-07-13" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1982-irwin-ararat-expedition-fall", "date": "1982-08", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "Astronaut James Irwin injured in fall on Ararat during Ark search", "label": "Astronaut Irwin hurt on Ararat", "seo_description": "1982: Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin searches Mount Ararat for Noah's Ark; the expedition ends when he falls and is hospitalised.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-from-orbit-2001.jpg", "alt": "Mount Ararat photographed from orbit in 2001 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "NASA/JSC / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NEO_ararat_big.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Former Apollo 15 astronaut James Irwin's Ararat expedition, approved by Gen. Kenan Evren, ended when he fell and was flown to hospital.", "details": "UPI reported the fall on 21 August 1982; the expedition began 9 August. Irwin returned to Ararat later in 1982, in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987.", "claimants": [ "james-irwin", "high-flight-foundation" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/21/Former-US-astronaut-James-Irwin-was-injured-in-a/8483398750400/", "title": "Former U.S. astronaut James Irwin was injured in a fall", "publisher": "UPI Archives", "published": "1982-08-21" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1985-wyatt-fasold-durupinar-survey", "date": "1985", "date_precision": "year", "type": "expedition", "title": "Wyatt, Fasold and Baumgardner survey Durupınar with radar", "label": "Wyatt and Fasold radar survey", "seo_description": "1985: Wyatt, Fasold and Baumgardner survey the Durupınar formation with radar and report a regular structure. Later rejected.", "media": { "src": "assets/media/fasold-drogue-stone.jpg", "alt": "David Fasold beside one of the standing stones at Arzap that he and Wyatt called drogue stones", "credit": "Robert C. Michelson / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DrogueStoneFasold.jpg", "kind": "photo" }, "summary": "Ron Wyatt, David Fasold and geophysicist John Baumgardner surveyed the formation with ground-penetrating radar and a \"frequency generator\", reporting a regular internal structure.", "details": "Status refers to the specific 1985 claims (internal structure, iron fittings, drogue stones). Per Wikipedia's David Fasold article, researchers David Allen Deal and Robert Michelson and biographer June Dawes reported that before his 1998 death Fasold again said the site was the Ark.", "claimants": [ "ron-wyatt", "david-fasold" ], "people": [ "john-baumgardner" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "debunked", "claimed_text": "Radar showed a regular internal structure and a length of 538 ft, close to 300 royal Egyptian cubits; nearby stones were drogue anchors.", "established_text": "Creationist geologist Andrew Snelling said the frequency generator was used like divining rods; Collins and Fasold (1996) found the anchor stones were local andesite and the supposed iron fittings natural minerals, and Fasold testified to his doubts in 1997.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" }, { "url": "https://archive.org/details/arkofnoah00faso", "title": "The Ark of Noah (David Fasold)", "publisher": "Internet Archive (Wynwood Press edition)", "published": "1988" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Fasold", "title": "David Fasold", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2006-01-28" } ], "related": [ "1977-wyatt-promotes-durupinar" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1985-irwin-escorted-expedition", "date": "1985-08-24", "date_precision": "day", "type": "expedition", "title": "Irwin climbs Ararat under military escort amid Kurdish rebel attacks", "label": "Irwin climbs under military escort", "seo_description": "1985: James Irwin climbs Ararat with a Turkish military escort, while Ron Wyatt's team is stopped at the Durupınar site.", "summary": "James Irwin began a scaled-down Ararat climb with five companions escorted by 30 Turkish troops; Ron Wyatt's group was refused permission to continue at the Durupınar site.", "details": "Per Wikipedia, Turkish officials ordered the party to descend just as it reached the summit.", "claimants": [ "james-irwin", "high-flight-foundation" ], "people": [ "eryl-cummings", "ron-wyatt" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat", "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/24/Ex-astronaut-searching-for-Noahs-Ark/6834493704000/", "title": "Ex-astronaut searching for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "UPI Archives", "published": "1985-08-24" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1987-irwin-icr-aerial-survey", "date": "1987-08", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "Irwin and ICR consortium limited to an aerial survey of Ararat", "label": "Irwin team limited to aerial survey", "seo_description": "1987: ground permits for an Irwin and ICR Ark search are revoked, so the team flies a high-altitude aerial survey of Mount Ararat instead.", "summary": "A consortium including Irwin's High Flight Foundation and the Institute for Creation Research had ground permits revoked and flew a high-altitude aerial survey instead.", "details": "Per John D. Morris, approval was conditioned on also evaluating the Durupınar site. It was Irwin's last expedition.", "claimants": [ "high-flight-foundation", "institute-for-creation-research" ], "people": [ "james-irwin", "john-d-morris" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat", "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.icr.org/article/report-icr-ararat-expedition-1987", "title": "A Report on the ICR Ararat Expedition, 1987", "publisher": "Institute for Creation Research", "published": "1988-01-01" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1988-fasold-the-ark-of-noah", "date": "1988", "date_precision": "year", "type": "claim", "title": "David Fasold publishes The Ark of Noah", "label": "Fasold publishes “The Ark of Noah”", "seo_description": "1988: David Fasold's book The Ark of Noah argues the Durupınar formation is the fossilised Ark. His case and the sources.", "summary": "David Fasold's book argued the Durupınar formation is the fossilised remains of the Ark and linked a nearby peak locally called Cudi to the Qur'an's al-Jūdī.", "details": "Wikipedia says the Cudi place-name link is controversial and not well supported by local toponymy.", "claimants": [ "david-fasold" ], "sites": [ "durupinar", "cudi-dagi" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "Durupınar is the fossilised Ark; nearby standing stones are drogue anchors; a nearby peak is the Qur'an's al-Jūdī.", "established_text": "Fasold co-authored a 1996 paper concluding the formation is natural and the stones local andesite.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://archive.org/details/arkofnoah00faso", "title": "The Ark of Noah (David Fasold)", "publisher": "Internet Archive (Wynwood Press edition)", "published": "1988" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" } ], "related": [ "1985-wyatt-fasold-durupinar-survey" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1992-snelling-amazing-ark-expose", "date": "1992-09-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Creationist geologist Snelling rejects the Durupınar \"Ark\"", "label": "Snelling rejects the Durupınar “Ark”", "seo_description": "1992: geologist Andrew Snelling argues in Creation magazine that the Durupınar formation is natural, not Noah's Ark. Rebuttal, sourced.", "summary": "Andrew Snelling's Creation magazine report argued the Durupınar formation is natural and criticised the methods and claims promoted by Ron Wyatt and others.", "claimants": [ "andrew-snelling", "answers-in-genesis" ], "people": [ "ron-wyatt" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://answersingenesis.org/creationism/arguments-to-avoid/special-report-amazing-ark-expose/", "title": "Special Report: Amazing 'Ark' Exposé", "publisher": "Answers in Genesis (originally Creation 14:4)", "published": "1992-09-01" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" } ], "related": [ "1985-wyatt-fasold-durupinar-survey" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1992-icr-status-of-ark-search", "date": "1992-09-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "ICR's John Morris: no Ark sighting has been substantiated", "label": "ICR: no sighting substantiated", "seo_description": "1992: ICR's John D. Morris writes that evidence for Noah's Ark on Ararat rests on unverified eyewitness reports. Rebuttal, sourced.", "summary": "John D. Morris of the Institute for Creation Research wrote that evidence for the Ark on Ararat rests mainly on eyewitness reports, none substantiated by documentation.", "claimants": [ "john-d-morris", "institute-for-creation-research" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.icr.org/article/360", "title": "The Search for Noah's Ark: Status 1992", "publisher": "Institute for Creation Research", "published": "1992-09-01" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1992-fasold-reshit-interview", "date": "1992-10-23", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Fasold says farmer Reshit, not Wyatt, first found the formation", "label": "Fasold credits farmer Reshit", "seo_description": "1992: David Fasold tells the Deseret News about the 1948 farmer's find at Durupınar and his split from Ron Wyatt. Interview, sourced.", "summary": "In a Deseret News interview, David Fasold said a Turkish farmer named Reshit found the formation in 1948 and that he had backed away from Ron Wyatt years earlier.", "claimants": [ "david-fasold" ], "people": [ "reshit-sarihan", "ron-wyatt" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.deseret.com/1992/10/23/19012142/researcher-says-a-farmer-found-ark-formation-in-48/", "title": "Researcher says a farmer found ark formation in '48", "publisher": "Deseret News", "published": "1992-10-23" } ], "related": [ "1948-ap-petrified-ship-report" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1993-cbs-incredible-discovery-jammal", "date": "1993-02-20", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "CBS airs The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark featuring George Jammal", "label": "CBS airs Jammal's Ark story", "seo_description": "1993: a CBS special shows George Jammal with \"Noah's Ark wood\" from Ararat. He later admitted the story was a hoax.", "summary": "A CBS special produced by Sun (the company behind the 1976 film) presented George Jammal displaying wood he said came from the Ark on Ararat.", "details": "TIME (5 July 1993) said the network did not check Jammal's story. The air date is from Wikipedia.", "claimants": [ "cbs", "sun-classic-pictures" ], "people": [ "george-jammal" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "sources": [ { "url": "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,978812,00.html", "title": "Phony Arkaeology", "publisher": "TIME", "published": "1993-07-05" }, { "url": "https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-30-ca-51222-story.html", "title": "Admitting 'Noah's Ark' Hoax", "publisher": "Los Angeles Times", "published": "1993-10-30" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1993-jammal-admits-hoax", "date": "1993-10-30", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "George Jammal tells the Los Angeles Times his CBS Ark story was a hoax", "label": "Jammal admits CBS Ark story was a hoax", "seo_description": "1993: George Jammal admits his CBS Noah's Ark wood was a hoax, made from railroad timber he cooked in an oven. Sourced.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-from-iss-2021.jpg", "alt": "Oblique view of Mount Ararat from the International Space Station, 2021 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "NASA Johnson Space Center / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iss064e029480.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Jammal told the Los Angeles Times he made up the story; he said the \"ark wood\" came from railroad tracks in Long Beach and that he had never been to Turkey. The Times reported he hardened the wood by cooking it in an oven.", "details": "Jammal told the Times he did it to expose what he called poorly researched religious propaganda; it reported that USC professor emeritus Gerald Larue was in on it. Sun's president called it a \"well-planned and well-thought-out deception\".", "claimants": [ "george-jammal" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "debunked", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-30-ca-51222-story.html", "title": "Admitting 'Noah's Ark' Hoax", "publisher": "Los Angeles Times", "published": "1993-10-30" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "1993-cbs-incredible-discovery-jammal" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1994-cia-imagery-review-memo", "date": "1994-02", "date_precision": "month", "type": "study", "title": "CIA memo: 1992 imagery search of Ararat found nothing conclusive", "label": "CIA memo: imagery search inconclusive", "seo_description": "1994: CIA records say analysts reviewed 1990–92 imagery of Mount Ararat and found nothing conclusive about the \"Ararat anomaly\".", "media": { "src": "assets/media/cia-memo-1994-p1.jpg", "alt": "First page of the CIA memorandum 'Noah's Ark' dated 15 February 1994", "credit": "Central Intelligence Agency (via Internet Archive mirror of the CIA Reading Room)", "licence": "Public domain (US federal government work)", "licence_url": "https://www.usa.gov/government-copyright", "source_url": "https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0000839386", "kind": "scan" }, "summary": "CIA documents say imagery analysts searched 1990-1992 imagery of Ararat at DCI Gates' direction and found nothing conclusive, only apparent rock formations.", "details": "The documents (including a 7 February 1994 note) also say the agency had never conclusively identified Noah's Ark.", "claimants": [ "cia" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "established_text": "The CIA's own finding was that its analysts saw nothing conclusive, only apparent rock formations, and that the agency had never conclusively identified Noah's Ark. Status reflects the wider Ararat-anomaly claim, not this finding.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000839386.pdf", "title": "Noah's Ark (CIA Office of Imagery Analysis memo OIA 044/94)", "publisher": "CIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room", "published": "1994" }, { "url": "https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/cia/noahsark-CIA.pdf", "title": "CIA documents on Noah's Ark and Mt. Ararat imagery (FOIA release)", "publisher": "The Black Vault", "published": "1994" } ], "related": [ "1995-dia-releases-ararat-anomaly-photos" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1994-fasold-plimer-site-visit", "date": "1994-09", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "Fasold visits Durupınar with geologist Ian Plimer and concludes it is not a boat", "label": "Fasold and Plimer: not a boat", "seo_description": "1994: David Fasold revisits Durupınar with geologist Ian Plimer and concludes the formation is not a boat. Sources.", "summary": "David Fasold returned to the site with Australian geologist Ian Plimer and concluded the formation was not a boat, suggesting ancient people had mistaken it for the Ark.", "details": "Wikipedia cites a November 1994 Australian Sun-Herald article; the copy linked there is no longer online.", "claimants": [ "david-fasold", "ian-plimer" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1995-dia-releases-ararat-anomaly-photos", "date": "1995-03-14", "date_precision": "day", "type": "study", "title": "DIA releases 1949 aerial photos of the \"Ararat anomaly\"", "label": "DIA releases “Ararat anomaly” photos", "seo_description": "1995: the US Defense Intelligence Agency releases 1949 photos of the \"Ararat anomaly\" and an analysis calling it ice, snow and shadow.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-anomaly-1949.jpg", "alt": "Grainy 1949 US aerial photo of the snow-covered 'Ararat anomaly'", "credit": "US Defense Intelligence Agency (1949 photo, released 1995) / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "Public domain", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ararat_anomaly_1949.jpeg", "kind": "photo" }, "summary": "After a FOIA campaign by Porcher Taylor, the Defense Intelligence Agency released June 1949 US Air Force photos of a feature on Ararat and an analysis calling it shadows, ice and snow.", "claimants": [ "us-defense-intelligence-agency" ], "people": [ "porcher-taylor" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "Some, including Taylor, have said the feature near the western summit might be a man-made structure.", "established_text": "The DIA analysis described the \"anomaly\" as linear facades of glacial ice under recent snow, with tone and texture consistent with shadowed snow, ice and debris. Status reflects the wider claim that the feature is the Ark, not the DIA's finding.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.noahsarksearch.com/anomaly.htm", "title": "Anomaly or Noah's Ark? (reprint of Insight magazine cover story 'The Mystery on Mt. Ararat')", "publisher": "NoahsArkSearch.com, reprinting Insight on the News", "published": "2000-11-20" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_anomaly", "title": "Ararat anomaly", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-05-29" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1996-collins-fasold-bogus-ark-paper", "date": "1996", "date_precision": "year", "type": "study", "title": "Collins and Fasold paper calls Durupınar a common geologic structure", "label": "Collins & Fasold: a geologic structure", "seo_description": "1996: a geology paper by Lorence Collins and David Fasold concludes the Durupınar formation is a natural syncline, not Noah's Ark.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2009-hull.jpg", "alt": "The Durupınar ridge in 2009 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Zorka Sojka / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turecko_Noemova_archa_(04).jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Geologist Lorence Collins and David Fasold concluded in the Journal of Geoscience Education that the formation is a natural doubly plunging syncline and the \"anchor\" stones are local andesite.", "claimants": [ "lorence-collins", "david-fasold" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "supported", "claimed_text": "Proponents describe metal-braced walls, an iron bracket, fossilised gopherwood and drogue anchor stones.", "established_text": "The paper found the supposed bracket and walls are weathered volcanic minerals and natural limonite/magnetite concentrations, the \"bark\" is metamorphosed peridotite, and the stones are local andesite.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://doi.org/10.5408/1089-9995-44.4.439", "title": "Bogus 'Noah's Ark' from Turkey Exposed as a Common Geologic Structure", "publisher": "Journal of Geoscience Education 44(4)", "published": "1996" }, { "url": "https://www.csun.edu/~vcgeo005/Nr1Bogus2.pdf", "title": "Bogus 'Noah's Ark' from Turkey Exposed as a Common Geologic Structure (author copy)", "publisher": "California State University, Northridge (L. G. Collins)", "published": "1996" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" } ], "related": [ "1985-wyatt-fasold-durupinar-survey" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "1997-plimer-v-roberts-ruling", "date": "1997-06-02", "date_precision": "day", "end_date": "1997-12-05", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Australian court rules on Plimer's case over Ark lectures", "label": "Court rules in Plimer v Roberts", "seo_description": "1997: an Australian court finds some of Allen Roberts' Noah's Ark claims false but rejects geologist Ian Plimer's case against him.", "summary": "New Scientist reported that Justice Sackville found some of Allen Roberts' Ark claims were false but ruled his activities were not \"trade or commerce\", rejecting Plimer's complaint; Fasold was awarded A$2,500 over a copied diagram.", "details": "Trial heard in April 1997; during it Fasold testified to his doubts about the site. Plimer's appeal was dismissed by the Full Federal Court on 5 December 1997.", "claimants": [ "ian-plimer" ], "people": [ "allen-roberts", "david-fasold", "ark-search" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "established_text": "New Scientist reported that the court agreed Roberts had falsely claimed to have conducted or commissioned research identifying the formation as the Ark.", "sources": [ { "url": "http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/1997/439.html", "title": "David Fasold & Anor v Allen Roberts & Anor [1997] FCA 439", "publisher": "AustLII (Federal Court of Australia)", "published": "1997-06-02" }, { "url": "https://www.newscientist.com/article/1845404-ark-verdict-spells-ruin-for-geologist/", "title": "Ark verdict spells ruin for geologist", "publisher": "New Scientist", "published": "1997-06-07" }, { "url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.276.5311.348", "title": "Australian Geologist Battles 'Ark' Claim", "publisher": "Science", "published": "1997-04-18" }, { "url": "https://www4.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/1997/1361.html", "title": "Ian Rutherford Plimer v Allen Roberts & Anor [1997] FCA 1361", "publisher": "AustLII (Federal Court of Australia)", "published": "1997-12-05" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2000-insight-ikonos-anomaly-images", "date": "2000-11-20", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "Insight magazine publishes commissioned satellite images of the anomaly", "label": "Insight runs anomaly satellite images", "seo_description": "2000: commercial IKONOS satellite images of the \"Ararat anomaly\" are published, building on Porcher Taylor's FOIA work. Sourced.", "summary": "Insight on the News published an IKONOS satellite study of the \"Ararat anomaly\" it commissioned with Space Imaging, featuring Porcher Taylor's FOIA work.", "details": "IKONOS imaged the anomaly on 5 August and 13 September 2000, per Wikipedia.", "claimants": [ "insight-magazine" ], "people": [ "porcher-taylor" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.noahsarksearch.com/anomaly.htm", "title": "Anomaly or Noah's Ark? (reprint of Insight magazine cover story 'The Mystery on Mt. Ararat')", "publisher": "NoahsArkSearch.com, reprinting Insight on the News", "published": "2000-11-20" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_anomaly", "title": "Ararat anomaly", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-05-29" } ], "related": [ "1995-dia-releases-ararat-anomaly-photos" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2004-mcgivern-announces-anomaly-expedition", "date": "2004-04", "date_precision": "month", "type": "claim", "title": "Daniel McGivern announces expedition to the Ararat anomaly", "label": "McGivern announces anomaly expedition", "seo_description": "2004: Daniel McGivern says satellite photos show a man-made object on Ararat and plans an expedition. His claim and the sources.", "summary": "Honolulu businessman Daniel McGivern said commercial satellite photos \"unequivocally show a man-made object\" on Ararat and announced a July 2004 expedition led by Ahmet Ali Arslan.", "details": "Per Wikipedia, Turkey declined the request in September 2004 and the expedition did not take place. Wikipedia says critics suggested McGivern announced it before getting permission as a publicity stunt to press Turkey to authorise it.", "claimants": [ "daniel-mcgivern" ], "people": [ "ahmet-ali-arslan" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/03/research.science", "title": "Scientists to search for Noah's ark on Turkish mountain", "publisher": "The Guardian", "published": "2004-05-03" }, { "url": "https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/july/14.18.html", "title": "Explorers of Noah's Lost Ark", "publisher": "Christianity Today", "published": "2004-07-01" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "1995-dia-releases-ararat-anomaly-photos" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2004-hong-kong-evangelists-claim", "date": "2004-11-23", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Hong Kong evangelists say they found parts of the Ark on Ararat", "label": "Hong Kong team says it found Ark parts", "seo_description": "2004: Hong Kong evangelists say they found parts of Noah's Ark in Ararat's ice but show only blurred images. Claim and sources.", "summary": "Andrew Yuen Man-fai and Pastor Boaz Li said they found parts of the Ark in ice near Ararat's summit; the South China Morning Post reported they had only blurred images, which they said a \"mysterious force\" had disrupted.", "claimants": [ "andrew-yuen", "boaz-li", "media-evangelism" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.scmp.com/article/479283/hk-evangelists-join-list-noahs-ark-discoverers", "title": "HK evangelists join list of Noah's Ark 'discoverers'", "publisher": "South China Morning Post", "published": "2004-11-23" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2006-cnn-satellite-anomaly-study", "date": "2006-03-13", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "SPACE.com/CNN report on satellite study of the Ararat anomaly", "label": "CNN reports satellite anomaly study", "seo_description": "2006: SPACE.com and CNN report on spy-satellite and commercial imagery of the Ararat anomaly, leaving its nature open. Sourced.", "summary": "SPACE.com, via CNN, reported on aircraft, spy-satellite and commercial imagery of the Ararat anomaly, saying whether it is natural, shadow or man-made \"remains to be seen\".", "claimants": [ "porcher-taylor" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/03/13/satellite.noahs.ark/index.html", "title": "Satellite closes in on Noah's Ark mystery", "publisher": "CNN / SPACE.com", "published": "2006-03-13" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ararat_anomaly", "title": "Ararat anomaly", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-05-29" } ], "related": [ "2000-insight-ikonos-anomaly-images" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2006-base-institute-iran-candidate", "date": "2006-06", "date_precision": "month", "type": "claim", "title": "BASE Institute reports Ark \"candidate\" on a mountain in Iran", "label": "BASE Institute: Ark “candidate” in Iran", "seo_description": "2006: the BASE Institute reports a rock-like object resembling petrified wood on Takht-e Suleyman in Iran as a Noah's Ark candidate.", "summary": "Bob Cornuke's BASE Institute said a team found a large rock-like object resembling petrified wood at about 13,000 ft on Takht-e Suleyman in Iran's Alborz range.", "claimants": [ "base-institute", "bob-cornuke" ], "people": [ "arch-bonnema" ], "sites": [ "takht-e-suleyman" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "The object is the one Ed Davis said he saw and is a candidate for Noah's Ark (\"I can't imagine what it could be if it is not the Ark\", Arch Bonnema told ABC).", "established_text": "Per Wikipedia, geologists and timber experts reviewing the photos disputed that the object was petrified wood, and the find was not peer reviewed.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2133311&page=1", "title": "Has Noah's Ark Been Found?", "publisher": "ABC News", "published": "2006-06-29" }, { "url": "https://www.deseret.com/2006/8/12/19968163/is-noah-s-ark-on-mount-in-iran", "title": "Is Noah's Ark on mount in Iran?", "publisher": "Deseret News (from The Gazette)", "published": "2006-08-12" }, { "url": "https://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2006/06/17/noahs-ark-found-again", "title": "Noah's Ark Found - Again", "publisher": "ScienceBlogs (Dispatches from the Culture Wars)", "published": "2006-06-17" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2007-avci-telceker-earthflow-paper", "date": "2007-03-16", "date_precision": "day", "type": "study", "title": "Engineering-geology paper explains the Durupınar feature as a slumped limestone block", "label": "Paper: a slumped limestone block", "seo_description": "2007: a peer-reviewed paper explains the Durupınar \"ship\" as a limestone block shaped by earthflow, a natural landform. Sourced.", "summary": "Murat Avcı's peer-reviewed paper describes the ship-like feature as a Miocene limestone block that slumped and crept downslope on Eocene clays and was shaped by earthflow abrasion.", "details": "Status describes the paper's own finding (natural origin), which agrees with Collins and Fasold (1996) and Atabey (2025).", "claimants": [ "murat-avci" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "supported", "established_text": "Published in Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment (Springer).", "sources": [ { "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10064-007-0084-3", "title": "'Noah's Ark': its relationship to the Telçeker earthflow, Mount Ararat, Eastern Turkey", "publisher": "Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment (Springer)", "published": "2007-03-16" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2007-cline-raiders-of-the-faux-ark", "date": "2007-09-30", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Eric Cline criticises amateur \"discoveries\" of biblical relics", "label": "Eric Cline criticises Ark “discoveries”", "seo_description": "2007: archaeologist Eric Cline argues in the Boston Globe that amateur Noah's Ark claims harm biblical archaeology. Sourced.", "summary": "Archaeologist Eric H. Cline wrote in the Boston Globe that claimed finds such as Noah's Ark by non-specialists harm biblical archaeology and should be challenged.", "claimants": [ "eric-cline" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/30/raiders_of_the_faux_ark/", "title": "Raiders of the faux ark", "publisher": "The Boston Globe", "published": "2007-09-30" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim", "date": "2010-04-25", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "NAMI announces wooden structure on Ararat as Noah's Ark", "label": "NAMI claims wooden Ark on Ararat", "seo_description": "2010: Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI) says it found wooden rooms high on Ararat dated to about 4,800 years. The claim, sourced.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-from-igdir.jpg", "alt": "Mount Ararat's north side from the Iğdır plain (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Mdegirmenci38 / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A%C4%9Fr%C4%B1_Mountain_from_I%C4%9Fd%C4%B1r_plain.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Hong Kong-based Noah's Ark Ministries International said a Chinese-Turkish team entered wooden compartments at about 4,000 m on Ararat and that samples dated to about 4,800 years.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-ministries-international", "yeung-wing-cheung" ], "people": [ "ahmet-ertugrul", "andrew-yuen" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "The team said it was \"99.9 percent\" sure the structure is the Ark and that wood was carbon-dated to about 4,800 years ago.", "established_text": "No peer-reviewed study or site location was published. Andrew Snelling later said only one test of one sample gave the 4,800 BP result; per Wikipedia, a UNESCO spokesperson said it had received no heritage request.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.scmp.com/article/712534/have-hong-kong-evangelists-found-biblical-noahs-ark", "title": "Have Hong Kong evangelists found the biblical Noah's ark?", "publisher": "South China Morning Post", "published": "2010-04-26" }, { "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/noahs-ark-found-not-so-fast-6C10404024", "title": "Noah's Ark found? Not so fast", "publisher": "NBC News", "published": "2010-04-27" }, { "url": "https://time.com/archive/6949950/has-noahs-ark-been-discovered-in-turkey/", "title": "Has Noah's Ark Been Discovered in Turkey?", "publisher": "TIME", "published": "2010-04-29" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2010-price-hoax-allegation", "date": "2010-04-28", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Randall Price, who worked with NAMI's team in 2008, says the Ararat find may be a hoax", "label": "Randall Price says NAMI find may be hoax", "seo_description": "2010: archaeologist Randall Price suggests NAMI's Ararat Ark find may be a hoax, citing reports that wood was planted. Sourced.", "summary": "Price told the Christian Science Monitor that \"proper analysis may show this to be a hoax\"; a leaked email he confirmed writing said Kurdish workers \"are said to have planted\" wood beams at the site.", "details": "Wikipedia summarises Price's allegation as being that guide Ahmet Ertuğrul hired the workers. Per Wikipedia, NAMI said its relationship with Price ended in October 2008. ICR's John Morris told the Monitor: \"I don't think there's fraud involved. But that is a possibility.\"", "claimants": [ "randall-price" ], "people": [ "ahmet-ertugrul" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0428/Doubt-cast-on-Noah-s-ark-found-in-Turkey", "title": "Doubt cast on Noah's ark found in Turkey", "publisher": "The Christian Science Monitor", "published": "2010-04-28" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2010-nami-stands-by-claim", "date": "2010-04-30", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "NAMI stands by its Ark claim and rejects hoax allegations", "label": "NAMI stands by its claim", "seo_description": "2010: NAMI rejects hoax claims about its Ararat structure while saying more research is needed to prove it is Noah's Ark.", "summary": "NAMI members rebutted the skepticism, arguing the structure could not have been hauled up the mountain, while saying more research was needed to prove it is the Ark.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-ministries-international" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0430/Chinese-explorers-stand-by-claim-of-Noah-s-Ark-find-in-Turkey", "title": "Chinese explorers stand by claim of Noah's Ark find in Turkey", "publisher": "The Christian Science Monitor", "published": "2010-04-30" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim", "2010-price-hoax-allegation" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2010-mackenzie-missing-on-ararat", "date": "2010-10", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "Ark searcher Donald Mackenzie goes missing on Ararat", "label": "Searcher Donald Mackenzie goes missing", "seo_description": "2010: Scottish Ark searcher Donald Mackenzie goes missing on Mount Ararat while looking for the site NAMI reported. Sourced.", "summary": "Scottish searcher Donald Mackenzie, who hoped to find the site NAMI reported, was reported missing on Ararat on 14 October 2010; bad weather hampered the search.", "claimants": [ "donald-mackenzie" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "claimed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11875315", "title": "Weather hits search for Noah's Ark man Donald Mackenzie", "publisher": "BBC News", "published": "2010-11-30" }, { "url": "https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/a-mystery-on-the-mountain-of-pain/", "title": "A Mystery on the Mountain of Pain", "publisher": "Roads & Kingdoms", "published": "2014-11-25" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2011-snelling-nami-wood-critique", "date": "2011-11-09", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Snelling questions whether NAMI's wood is from the Ark", "label": "Snelling questions NAMI's wood", "seo_description": "2011: Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis argues NAMI's radiocarbon results don't support its wood being from Noah's Ark.", "summary": "Writing for Answers in Genesis, Andrew Snelling examined NAMI's radiocarbon report and argued the 4,800 BP result does not support the wood being from the Ark.", "claimants": [ "andrew-snelling", "answers-in-genesis" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/noahs-ark-found/is-the-wood-recently-found-on-mt-ararat-from-the-ark/", "title": "Is the Wood Recently Found on Mt. Ararat from the Ark?", "publisher": "Answers in Genesis", "published": "2011-11-09" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2015-ses-nami-presentation-questioned", "date": "2015-10-26", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "ICR questions NAMI claims presented at Southern Evangelical Seminary", "label": "ICR questions NAMI seminary talk", "seo_description": "2015: ICR's Brian Thomas questions NAMI-related Ark claims shown at a Southern Evangelical Seminary conference. Sourced.", "summary": "ICR's Brian Thomas gave reasons for skepticism after Norman Geisler's Southern Evangelical Seminary featured NAMI-related video and testimony at its October 2015 apologetics conference.", "claimants": [ "brian-thomas", "institute-for-creation-research" ], "people": [ "norman-geisler", "ahmet-ertugrul" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.icr.org/article/noahs-ark-discovery-likely-sinking", "title": "Noah's Ark 'Discovery' Likely a Sinking Ship", "publisher": "Institute for Creation Research", "published": "2015-10-26" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2016-collins-pscf-durupinar-article", "date": "2016-12", "date_precision": "month", "type": "study", "title": "Collins: Durupınar \"wood\" is basalt and \"rivets\" are mineral grains", "label": "Collins: “wood” is basalt", "seo_description": "2016: geologist Lorence Collins writes that the Durupınar \"petrified wood\" is basalt and its \"iron fittings\" are minerals.", "summary": "Lorence Collins wrote in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith that the formation's \"petrified wood\" is basalt and its supposed iron fittings are cemented mineral grains.", "claimants": [ "lorence-collins" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "supported", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2016/PSCF12-16Collins.pdf", "title": "Noah's Ark near Dogubayazit, Turkey?", "publisher": "Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (American Scientific Affiliation)", "published": "2016-12" } ], "related": [ "1996-collins-fasold-bogus-ark-paper" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2020-icr-ark-not-found", "date": "2020-08-31", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Institute for Creation Research says the Ark has not been found", "label": "ICR: the Ark has not been found", "seo_description": "2020: ICR's Brian Thomas writes that Noah's Ark has not been found and looks unlikely to turn up, while keeping faith in Genesis.", "summary": "ICR's Brian Thomas wrote \"We don't yet have Noah's Ark, and it looks unlikely to turn up\", while maintaining belief in the Genesis account.", "claimants": [ "brian-thomas", "institute-for-creation-research" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.icr.org/article/did-someone-really-find-noahs-ark", "title": "Did Someone Really Find Noah's Ark?", "publisher": "Institute for Creation Research", "published": "2020-08-31" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark", "title": "Searches for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-15" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2020-feagans-pseudoarchaeology-of-the-ark", "date": "2020-12-23", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Archaeologist Carl Feagans on the pseudoarchaeology of Ark discoveries", "label": "Feagans on Ark pseudoarchaeology", "seo_description": "2020: Carl Feagans argues that Ark finds announced to the media rather than to archaeologists show signs of pseudoarchaeology.", "summary": "Carl Feagans argued that Ark discoveries pitched directly to the media rather than to archaeologists fit known warning signs of pseudoarchaeology.", "claimants": [ "carl-feagans" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://ahotcupofjoe.net/2020/12/the-pseudoarchaeology-of-noahs-ark/", "title": "The Pseudoarchaeology of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Archaeology Review (Carl Feagans)", "published": "2020-12-23" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2022-natgeo-why-ark-will-never-be-found", "date": "2022-11-22", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "National Geographic: archaeologists call Ark hunting a \"fool's errand\"", "label": "NatGeo: Ark hunting a “fool's errand”", "seo_description": "2022: National Geographic reviews the history of Noah's Ark searches and why archaeologists don't look for it. Sourced.", "summary": "National Geographic reviewed the history of Ark searches; archaeologist Jodi Magness said \"No legitimate archaeologist does this\".", "details": "The article was later updated (June 2025) to mention Noah's Ark Scans' soil claims.", "claimants": [ "national-geographic" ], "people": [ "jodi-magness", "james-bryce" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat", "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture", "title": "Where is Noah's Ark? Here's why it will never be found", "publisher": "National Geographic", "published": "2022-11-22" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2022-itu-aicu-durupinar-sampling", "date": "2022-12", "date_precision": "month", "type": "expedition", "title": "İTÜ and AİÇÜ team collects samples at the Durupınar formation", "label": "Turkish universities sample Durupınar", "seo_description": "2022: Turkish university researchers collect about 30 rock and soil samples at the Durupınar formation near Mount Ararat.", "summary": "The \"Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team\" from Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University and Istanbul Technical University collected about 30 rock and soil samples at the site.", "details": "Per the New York Post, the universities have investigated the site since 2021. Andrews University is named as a partner in later reporting.", "claimants": [ "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university", "istanbul-technical-university" ], "people": [ "faruk-kaya" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/", "title": "The ruins believed to belong to Noah's Ark date back to 5500-3000 years BC", "publisher": "Arkeonews", "published": "2023-10-26" }, { "url": "https://nypost.com/2023/10/28/news/noahs-ark-site-rock-samples-reveal-human-activity-dating-back-thousands-of-years/", "title": "Noah's Ark site rock samples reveal human activity dating back thousands of years", "publisher": "New York Post", "published": "2023-10-28" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2023-itu-aicu-sample-results", "date": "2023-10", "date_precision": "month", "type": "study", "title": "Durupınar samples reported as 3,500-5,000 years old", "label": "Samples reported 3,500–5,000 years old", "seo_description": "2023: Turkish researchers report clay, marine material and signs of human activity in Durupınar samples, but no proof of a ship.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2009-view.jpg", "alt": "Hills around the Durupınar formation in 2009 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Zorka Sojka / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turecko_Noemova_archa_(02).jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "AİÇÜ vice rector Faruk Kaya said initial İTÜ lab results found clayey and marine materials and indicated human activity since the Chalcolithic, adding dating alone cannot show the ship is there.", "details": "Results were discussed at the 7th International Ararat and Noah's Ark Symposium at İTÜ in October 2023. Kaya also announced joint research in the Cudi and Ararat regions with Andrews University. The Christian Post reported pottery said to be about 5,000 years old.", "claimants": [ "faruk-kaya", "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university", "istanbul-technical-university" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar", "cudi-dagi" ], "status": "claimed", "claimed_text": "Samples date to 3,500-5,000 years ago, show human activity in the Chalcolithic, and the area was once covered by water.", "established_text": "Only press reports and symposium statements; no peer-reviewed paper was found. Kaya: \"it is not possible to say that the ship is here\".", "sources": [ { "url": "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/", "title": "The ruins believed to belong to Noah's Ark date back to 5500-3000 years BC", "publisher": "Arkeonews", "published": "2023-10-26" }, { "url": "https://www.anatolianarchaeology.net/scientists-examined-the-remains-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-and-here-are-the-results/", "title": "Scientists examined the remains believed to belong to Noah's Ark, and here are the results", "publisher": "Anatolian Archaeology", "published": "2023-10-26" }, { "url": "https://nypost.com/2023/10/28/news/noahs-ark-site-rock-samples-reveal-human-activity-dating-back-thousands-of-years/", "title": "Noah's Ark site rock samples reveal human activity dating back thousands of years", "publisher": "New York Post", "published": "2023-10-28" }, { "url": "https://www.christianpost.com/news/evidence-of-pottery-ancient-human-activity-found-noahs-ark-site.html", "title": "Evidence of pottery, ancient human activity found at Noah's Ark", "publisher": "The Christian Post", "published": "2023-11-02" } ], "related": [ "2022-itu-aicu-durupinar-sampling" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2024-jones-gpr-lidar-chapter", "date": "2024-05-10", "date_precision": "day", "type": "study", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans lead publishes GPR and LiDAR analysis of Durupınar", "label": "Jones publishes radar and LiDAR study", "seo_description": "2024: Andrew Jones compares 1987 and 2019 ground-penetrating radar and LiDAR studies of the Durupınar formation. Sourced.", "summary": "Andrew Jones published a book chapter comparing 1987 and 2019 field studies, integrating ground-penetrating radar and LiDAR data from the Durupınar formation.", "details": "Published by Akademisyen Kitabevi (Turkey); a revised version is dated 2024-10-30.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "GPR and LiDAR data show subsurface structures within the formation consistent with a large constructed object.", "established_text": "Published as a book chapter by the project's lead; Answers in Genesis (2025) and geologists cited here dispute a man-made origin.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://doi.org/10.37609/akya.3101.c10296", "title": "Integration of Ground-Penetrating Radar, LiDAR, and Empirical Field Studies: A Multifaceted Analysis Comparing 1987 and 2019 field studies of the Durupinar Boat Formation known as 'Noah's ark'", "publisher": "Akademisyen Kitabevi (book chapter)", "published": "2024-05-10" }, { "url": "https://www.noahsarkscans.com/research", "title": "Noah's Ark Research Papers & Reports", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans", "published": "2025" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2024-jpost-durupinar-discovery-report", "date": "2024-10-23", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "Jerusalem Post: Durupınar findings \"could restart\" the Ark search", "label": "JPost: findings “could restart” search", "seo_description": "2024: the Jerusalem Post reports the Durupınar sample results, reviving Noah's Ark headlines. What was claimed and what's known.", "summary": "The Jerusalem Post, citing The Sun, reported the research team's sample dating and marine materials and said the findings revived interest in the site.", "claimants": [ "istanbul-technical-university", "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-825786", "title": "Possible discovery of biblical Noah's ark location in Turkey", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2024-10-23" } ], "related": [ "2023-itu-aicu-sample-results" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-press-wave-marine-deposits", "date": "2025-03", "date_precision": "month", "type": "press", "title": "Press wave: \"fresh clues\" at Durupınar spark renewed debate", "label": "Press wave over “fresh clues”", "seo_description": "2025: a new wave of articles on marine deposits at Durupınar, alongside geology concluding the formation is natural. Sourced.", "summary": "Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom re-reported the 2023 sample results; Israel Hayom also cited Lorence Collins' 2016 work concluding the formation is natural.", "details": "Israel Hayom credits the Daily Mail as its source.", "claimants": [ "istanbul-technical-university", "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university", "andrews-university" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeology-around-the-world/article-845277", "title": "Fresh clues in Turkey spark renewed debate over Noah's Ark discovery", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2025-03-09" }, { "url": "https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/03/12/new-evidence-sparks-debate-could-this-be-noahs-ark/", "title": "New evidence sparks debate: Could this be Noah's Ark?", "publisher": "Israel Hayom", "published": "2025-03-12" } ], "related": [ "2023-itu-aicu-sample-results", "2016-collins-pscf-durupinar-article" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-daily-mail-dig-plans", "date": "2025-04-07", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "Daily Mail headline says scientists plan to dig up the formation", "label": "Daily Mail: scientists plan to dig", "seo_description": "2025: the Daily Mail reports plans to excavate the Durupınar mound; researchers say non-destructive tests come first.", "summary": "The Daily Mail reported plans to excavate the boat-shaped mound, while quoting Andrew Jones that excavation would come only after non-destructive tests and a preservation plan.", "details": "Noah's Ark Scans posted in April 2025 that no excavation was happening that year; IFLScience (14 May 2025) also said the team had no immediate plans to excavate.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14579779/noahs-ark-boat-turkey-bible.html", "title": "Has Noah's Ark been found? Scientists reveal plans to dig up boat-shaped mound in Turkey", "publisher": "Daily Mail", "published": "2025-04-07" }, { "url": "https://www.noahsarkscans.com/news", "title": "Noah's Ark Project News & Media Coverage", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans", "published": "2025-04" }, { "url": "https://www.iflscience.com/noahs-ark-or-just-a-big-mound-us-researchers-eye-up-a-strange-ship-shaped-ridge-in-turkey-79200", "title": "Durupınar Site: A Ship-Shaped Mystery In Turkey Evokes Biblical Myths", "publisher": "IFLScience", "published": "2025-05-14" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-nas-soil-gpr-reanalysis-claim", "date": "2025-05", "date_precision": "month", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans says soil tests and re-analysed radar suggest a man-made structure", "label": "Noah's Ark Scans claims man-made structure", "seo_description": "2025: Noah's Ark Scans says soil tests and re-analysed radar show organic matter and right angles inside the Durupınar formation.", "summary": "Noah's Ark Scans said September 2024 soil samples showed higher organic matter and potassium inside the formation and re-analysed 2019 GPR showed right angles and corridors.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "andrew-jones" ], "people": [ "william-crabtree" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "Higher organic matter (Jones told Fox News 2.72 times more carbon inside) suggests decayed wood; radar shows angular, room-like features that point to a man-made structure.", "established_text": "Findings were released via project statements and press; independent geologists describe the formation as natural (see Avcı 2007, Collins 1996/2016, Atabey 2025).", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/travel/researchers-find-compelling-evidence-possible-noahs-ark-remains-country", "title": "Researchers find 'compelling evidence' of possible Noah's Ark remains in one country", "publisher": "Fox News", "published": "2025-05-26" }, { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/archaeology-around-the-world/article-854083", "title": "Durupinar radar scans reveal hidden structures linked to Noah's Ark", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2025-05-15" }, { "url": "https://www.noahsarkscans.com/news", "title": "Noah's Ark Project News & Media Coverage", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans", "published": "2025-04" } ], "related": [ "2024-jones-gpr-lidar-chapter" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-iflscience-skeptical-take", "date": "2025-05-14", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "IFLScience urges caution on Durupınar Ark claims", "label": "IFLScience urges caution", "seo_description": "2025: IFLScience urges caution over new Noah's Ark claims at Durupınar, noting experts have long called it a natural formation.", "summary": "IFLScience said the bold claims should be taken \"with a pinch of Dead Sea salt\", noting earlier claims about the site were typically dismissed by experts as natural rock formations.", "details": "The article discusses claims by Noah's Ark Scans.", "claimants": [ "iflscience" ], "people": [ "noahs-ark-scans" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iflscience.com/noahs-ark-or-just-a-big-mound-us-researchers-eye-up-a-strange-ship-shaped-ridge-in-turkey-79200", "title": "Durupınar Site: A Ship-Shaped Mystery In Turkey Evokes Biblical Myths", "publisher": "IFLScience", "published": "2025-05-14" } ], "related": [ "2025-nas-soil-gpr-reanalysis-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-atabey-mta-landslide-report", "date": "2025-06", "date_precision": "month", "type": "study", "title": "MTA geologist: the \"Noah's Ark\" is a landslide-shaped geological structure", "label": "MTA geologist: a landslide formation", "seo_description": "2025: Turkish state geologist Eşref Atabey concludes the Durupınar formation is a natural syncline shaped by landslide, not the Ark.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-winter-2024.jpg", "alt": "The Durupınar formation under snow, February 2024 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Irek i Kasia / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arka_Noego_zimn%C4%85_przy_Centrum_Turystycznym_w_%C3%9Czengili_(Turcja).jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Eşref Atabey of Turkey's mineral research directorate (MTA) concluded the Durupınar formation is a natural syncline shaped by folding, erosion and landslide, not Ark remains.", "details": "Report in Turkish; uploaded to ResearchGate on 20 June 2025.", "claimants": [ "esref-atabey", "mta" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "supported", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392866505", "title": "Nuh'un Gemisi, Heyelan Etkisiyle Oluşmuş Jeolojik Bir Yapı (Eşref Atabey)", "publisher": "ResearchGate", "published": "2025-06" }, { "url": "https://tc8bfx57eu1msb72.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/articles/NUHUNGEMSHEYELANETKSYLEOLUMUJEOLOJKBRYAPI.pdf", "title": "Nuh'un Gemisi, Heyelan Etkisiyle Oluşmuş Jeolojik Bir Yapı (PDF, hosted by Noah's Ark Scans research library)", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans document library", "published": "2025-06" }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site", "title": "Durupınar site", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "published": "2005-06-26" } ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2025-aig-ham-snelling-rebuttal", "date": "2025-06-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Answers in Genesis: new Durupınar headlines recycle refuted claims", "label": "AiG: headlines recycle refuted claims", "seo_description": "2025: Ken Ham and Andrew Snelling of Answers in Genesis say the new Durupınar publicity recycles claims refuted since the 1980s.", "summary": "Ken Ham, quoting geologist Andrew Snelling, wrote that the 2025 publicity mostly recycles claims made since the 1980s and refuted by skeptics and creationist geologists.", "claimants": [ "ken-ham", "andrew-snelling", "answers-in-genesis" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2025/06/01/has-noahs-ark-been-found-for-real/", "title": "Has Noah's Ark Been Found . . . For Real This Time?", "publisher": "Answers in Genesis (Ken Ham Blog)", "published": "2025-06-01" } ], "related": [ "2025-nas-soil-gpr-reanalysis-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "date": "2026-06-28", "end_date": "2026-09-11", "date_precision": "day", "type": "expedition", "title": "Sivas Cumhuriyet University and Noah's Ark Scans run a 2026 field season at Durupınar", "label": "2026 field season: radar and drilling", "seo_description": "2026: drilling, radar and soil sampling at the Durupınar formation under a ministry-approved project. Results pending.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-ararat-panorama.jpg", "alt": "Panorama of Üzengili, the visitor centre, Mount Ararat and the Durupınar formation, 2023 (site photo, not of the 2026 work)", "credit": "Irek i Kasia / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_Arka_Noego_w_g%C3%B3rach_Ararat.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "A ministry-approved project led by Prof. Cenker Atila mapped the formation, ran GPR and core drilling, and sent soil samples to Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University for analysis; reported sample counts differ and results are pending.", "claimants": [ "sivas-cumhuriyet-university", "cenker-atila", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "Fieldwork ran 28 June to 11 September 2026 under an approval dated 21 May 2026 from the Erzurum regional directorate of the Environment Ministry, with about 20 researchers from five countries (SCU). Noah's Ark Scans said on 23 September that core drilling had begun and that a drill bit broke on a hard layer it suggested could be petrified wood; Jones later told Newsweek no material had yet been identified as ancient wood and that a hard rock block was another possibility. SCU expects evaluation and reporting to run to mid-2027. Reported sample counts differ. Al Jazeera (12 October 2026) reported that the team focused on about 366 soil samples taken 1-15 m deep inside and outside the formation; Atila told the DHA news agency (27 September 2026) that about 1,000 soil samples were taken from 100-150 points; and Ağrı governor Önder Bozkurt said on 2 October 2026 that, according to Atila, nearly 360 soil samples had been taken for Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University's laboratory.", "claimed_text": "Noah's Ark Scans says the cores found no bedrock or solid limestone inside the formation and recovered organic-rich layers it believes could be decayed Ark remains.", "established_text": "No laboratory results had been published as of October 2026; Jones and SCU describe the findings as preliminary and not yet peer reviewed.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://haberler.cumhuriyet.edu.tr/haber/18791-sivas-cumhuriyet-universitesi-onculugunde-yurutulen-durupinar-formasyonu-arastirmasi-dunya-bilim-cevrelerinin-odaginda", "title": "Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Öncülüğünde Yürütülen \"Durupınar Formasyonu\" Araştırması Dünya Bilim Çevrelerinin Odağında", "publisher": "Sivas Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi", "published": "2026-09-28", "archive_url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261006000719/https://haberler.cumhuriyet.edu.tr/haber/18791-sivas-cumhuriyet-universitesi-onculugunde-yurutulen-durupinar-formasyonu-arastirmasi-dunya-bilim-cevrelerinin-odaginda" }, { "url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/23/3367545/0/en/core-drilling-begins-at-durupinar-noah-s-ark-site-drill-bit-shatters-on-possible-layer-of-petrified-wood.html", "title": "Core Drilling Begins at Durupinar Noah's Ark Site, Drill Bit Shatters on Possible Layer of Petrified Wood", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans via GlobeNewswire", "published": "2026-09-23" }, { "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/noahs-ark-hunters-say-they-havent-found-ancient-wood-yet-12494934", "title": "Noah's Ark Hunters Testing for Wood After Drilling Mission", "publisher": "Newsweek", "published": "2026-09-28" }, { "url": "https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/galeri-arastirma-ekibi-baskani-acikladi-nuhun-gemisi-bulundu-mu-1743698", "title": "Araştırma ekibi başkanı açıkladı. Nuh'un Gemisi bulundu mu?", "publisher": "NTV", "published": "2026-09-27" }, { "url": "https://www.haberler.com/guncel/agri-dogubayazit-ta-nuh-un-gemisi-iddiasina-ait-20276348-haberi/", "title": "Nuh'un Gemisi gerçek mi? Ağrı'daki formasyondan alınan bin numune laboratuvarda", "publisher": "Haberler.com (DHA)", "published": "2026-09-27" }, { "url": "https://www.haberturk.com/yasam/agri-valisi-bozkurt-tan-nuh-un-gemisi-aciklamasi-3916700", "title": "Ağrı Valisi Bozkurt'tan, Nuh'un Gemisi açıklaması", "publisher": "Habertürk (Anadolu Ajansı)", "published": "2026-10-02" }, { "url": "https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2026/10/12/%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af-%d8%ad%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%aa-40-%d9%85%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af%d8%a9-%d9%87%d9%84-%d8%b9%d8%ab%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89", "title": "مقاطع فيديو حصدت 40 مليون مشاهدة.. هل عُثر على سفينة نوح شرقي تركيا؟", "publisher": "Al Jazeera", "published": "2026-10-12" } ], "related": [ "2025-nas-soil-gpr-reanalysis-claim", "2024-jones-gpr-lidar-chapter" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-skeptical-inquirer-rediscovery", "date": "2026-09-29", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Skeptical Inquirer reviews a century of Ark \"rediscoveries\"", "label": "Skeptical Inquirer on “rediscoveries”", "seo_description": "2026: Skeptical Inquirer traces repeated \"Noah's Ark found\" claims and argues searchers start from their conclusion.", "summary": "A Skeptical Inquirer article traced repeated claimed Ark finds, from Ararat books and films to NAMI's 2010 announcement, arguing searchers start from their conclusion.", "claimants": [ "skeptical-inquirer" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-re-re-re-re-discovery-of-noahs-ark/", "title": "The Re-Re-Re-Re-Discovery of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Skeptical Inquirer", "published": "2026-09-29" } ], "related": [ "2010-nami-ararat-structure-claim", "1976-in-search-of-noahs-ark-film" ], "added": "2026-10-21" }, { "id": "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim", "date": "2026-10-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans publishes a radar report saying Durupınar is \"not geological\"", "label": "Radar report: Durupınar “not geological”", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans releases Khosrow Bakhtar's radar report claiming a non-geological structure under Durupınar. Disputed.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2009-ridge.jpg", "alt": "The boat-shaped Durupınar ridge in 2009 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Zorka Sojka / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Turecko_Noemova_archa_(03).jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Noah's Ark Scans released a preliminary report in which radar developer Dr. Khosrow Bakhtar said BakhtarRadar imaged an organised, non-geological structure with corridors and chambers beneath the formation.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "khosrow-bakhtar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "Bakhtar says the processed radar imagery shows a man-made structure with corridors, chambers and organised voids, and that it is not a geological formation.", "established_text": "The report is a project release; the Jerusalem Post noted the findings had not been independently verified or peer reviewed.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://noahsarkscans.substack.com/p/its-not-geological-preliminary-report", "title": "\"It's NOT Geological!\": Preliminary Report From Defense Scientist Reveals \"Man-made Object\" Beneath the Surface of Durupinar", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans (Substack)", "published": "2026-10-01" }, { "url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/01/3372794/0/en/it-s-not-geological-long-awaited-preliminary-report-from-defense-scientist-reveals-man-made-object-beneath-the-surface-of-durupinar.html", "title": "\"It's NOT Geological!\": Long-Awaited Preliminary Report From Defense Scientist Reveals \"Man-made Object\" Beneath the Surface of Durupinar", "publisher": "Noah's Ark Scans via GlobeNewswire", "published": "2026-10-01" }, { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-910413", "title": "Search for Noah's Ark: Radar scan reveals claimed 'man-made' structure in Turkey", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2026-10-03" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-icr-thomas-durupinar-media", "date": "2026-10-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "ICR's Brian Thomas argues natural geology better explains Durupınar", "label": "ICR: natural geology fits better", "seo_description": "2026: ICR's Brian Thomas argues the Durupınar formation is better explained by natural geology than as Noah's Ark. Sourced.", "summary": "Writing on the 2026 drilling headlines, Brian Thomas of the Institute for Creation Research argued that the Durupınar formation is better explained by natural geology than as the remains of the Ark.", "claimants": [ "brian-thomas", "institute-for-creation-research" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.icr.org/article/possible-ark-site-turkey/", "title": "Possible Ark Site Has Mainstream Media Hopping", "publisher": "Institute for Creation Research", "published": "2026-10-01" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-agri-governor-no-certainty", "date": "2026-10-02", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "Ağrı governor says the Durupınar research has no scientific certainty yet", "label": "Governor: no scientific certainty yet", "seo_description": "2026: Ağrı's governor says the Durupınar work has not reached scientific certainty and results will follow lab analysis.", "summary": "After visiting the site, Ağrı Governor Önder Bozkurt said the work had not yet reached scientific certainty, asked the public to rely on official information, and said results would be shared after lab analysis.", "claimants": [ "onder-bozkurt" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila", "sivas-cumhuriyet-university" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.haberturk.com/yasam/agri-valisi-bozkurt-tan-nuh-un-gemisi-aciklamasi-3916700", "title": "Ağrı Valisi Bozkurt'tan, Nuh'un Gemisi açıklaması", "publisher": "Habertürk (Anadolu Ajansı)", "published": "2026-10-02" }, { "url": "https://www.gzt.com/gundem/nuhun-gemisi-bulundu-mu-agri-valisi-durupinar-arastirmasi-icin-aciklama-yapti-4266222", "title": "Nuh'un Gemisi bulundu mu? Ağrı Valisi Durupınar araştırması için açıklama yaptı", "publisher": "GZT", "published": "2026-10-02" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-jones-fox-no-bedrock-interviews", "date": "2026-10-02", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Andrew Jones tells Fox News the 2026 cores hit \"mainly soil\", not solid rock", "label": "Jones: cores hit “mainly soil”", "seo_description": "2026: Andrew Jones tells Fox News that drilling at Durupınar found no solid rock, and expects soil results after winter.", "summary": "Jones told Fox News the team drilled over 60 ft and found no solid rock block, which he said should give skeptics pause; on \"Saturday in America\" he said he expects confirmation after this winter's soil analysis.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "Jones said over 300 soil samples were collected and that lab work is still to be done. He said pottery dated by style from the early Chalcolithic to the Iron Age was found beside the formation, not within it. Fox described the project as supported by Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, while SCU and NTV name Sivas Cumhuriyet University as the lead institution.", "claimed_text": "Drilling found mainly soil and boulders rather than a consistent rock mass, which Jones says challenges the view that the formation is natural rock.", "established_text": "Laboratory results were pending; earlier geological studies (Collins & Fasold 1996) concluded the formation is natural.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/travel/noahs-ark-mystery-enters-new-phase-researchers-probe-deep-beneath-site", "title": "Noah's Ark mystery enters new phase as researchers probe deep beneath site", "publisher": "Fox News", "published": "2026-10-02" }, { "url": "https://www.foxnews.com/media/noahs-ark-researchers-inching-towards-confirmation-drilling-challenges-natural-rock-theory", "title": "Noah's ark team finds no bedrock in Turkey boat-shaped formation drill", "publisher": "Fox News", "published": "2026-10-03" }, { "url": "https://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/nuhun-gemisi-icin-yeni-iddia-7673090", "title": "Nuh'un Gemisi için yeni iddia", "publisher": "Milliyet", "published": "2026-10-05" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "1996-collins-fasold-bogus-ark-paper" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-aig-ham-100-percent-confirmed", "date": "2026-10-06", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Ken Ham: Answers in Genesis does not believe the Ark has been found at Durupınar", "label": "Ken Ham: AiG doubts Durupınar Ark", "seo_description": "2026: Ken Ham says Answers in Genesis does not believe Noah's Ark has been found at Durupınar, despite \"100% confirmed\" headlines.", "summary": "Responding to headlines calling the Durupınar identification \"100% confirmed\", Ken Ham wrote that Answers in Genesis does not believe Noah's Ark has been found at the site and warned against sensationalism.", "claimants": [ "ken-ham", "answers-in-genesis" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2026/10/06/is-it-confirmed-noahs-ark-found/", "title": "Is It \"100% Confirmed\" That Noah's Ark Has Been Found?", "publisher": "Answers in Genesis (Ken Ham Blog)", "published": "2026-10-06" } ], "related": [ "2025-aig-ham-snelling-rebuttal", "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-ai-ark-excavation-videos-fact-checks", "date": "2026-10-07", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Fact-checkers find viral Ark \"excavation\" videos are AI-generated", "label": "Viral Ark dig videos found AI-generated", "seo_description": "2026: fact-checkers find that viral videos of Noah's Ark being excavated near Ararat were AI-generated or showed other footage.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/ararat-two-cones.jpg", "alt": "Greater and Lesser Ararat from the Armenian side (site photo; the viral videos are not shown)", "credit": "Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Ararat,_Two_volcanic_cones,_Ararat_Plain,_Armenia.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "Lead Stories, Anadolu Ajansı's Teyit Hattı, TF1 Info and Al Jazeera reported that viral early-October 2026 videos said to show the Ark being excavated near Ararat were AI-generated or did not show the real work.", "claimants": [ "lead-stories", "anadolu-agency", "tf1-info", "al-jazeera" ], "sites": [ "mount-ararat", "durupinar" ], "status": "debunked", "details": "Lead Stories traced one 10-second helicopter clip to an X post of 5 October 2026 and reported AI-detection results (Hive, and a SynthID watermark via OpenAI's Verify tool). TF1 Info said three such videos did not match the real Noah's Ark Scans footage. Al Jazeera said related clips drew about 40 million views. Status refers to the claim that the videos show a real excavation, not to the Durupınar research itself.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2026/10/fact-check-fake-video-depicts-excavation-of-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-it-is-ai-generated.html", "title": "Fact Check: FAKE Video Depicts Excavation of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat -- It Is AI-Generated", "publisher": "Lead Stories", "published": "2026-10-07" }, { "url": "https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/teyithatti/aktuel/video-agri-daginda-bulunan-nuhun-gemisini-mi-gosteriyor-/1820666", "title": "Video, Ağrı Dağı'nda bulunan Nuh'un gemisini mi gösteriyor?", "publisher": "Anadolu Ajansı (Teyit Hattı)", "published": "2026-10-08" }, { "url": "https://www.tf1info.fr/sciences-et-innovation/verif-l-arche-de-noe-a-t-elle-ete-retrouvee-en-turquie-gare-a-ces-images-de-fouilles-qui-circulent-2469081.html", "title": "VÉRIF' - L'arche de Noé a-t-elle été retrouvée en Turquie ? Gare à ces images de fouilles qui circulent", "publisher": "TF1 Info", "published": "2026-10-09" }, { "url": "https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2026/10/12/%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af-%d8%ad%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%aa-40-%d9%85%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af%d8%a9-%d9%87%d9%84-%d8%b9%d8%ab%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89", "title": "مقاطع فيديو حصدت 40 مليون مشاهدة.. هل عُثر على سفينة نوح شرقي تركيا؟", "publisher": "Al Jazeera", "published": "2026-10-12" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-atila-symposium-radar-update", "date": "2026-10-15", "date_precision": "day", "type": "study", "title": "Atila reports interim radar and sample results at the 8th Ağrı Dağı and Noah's Ark Symposium", "label": "Atila presents interim radar results", "seo_description": "2026: Prof. Cenker Atila says Durupınar radar shows room-like features but calls the data inconclusive and possibly geological.", "summary": "Prof. Cenker Atila said 20% of the radar analysis was done, with corridor- and room-like features and a three-layer formation, but said the data are not conclusive and the features may be geological.", "claimants": [ "cenker-atila", "sivas-cumhuriyet-university" ], "people": [ "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university", "andrews-university" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "Atila said a small amount of burnt wood was found and sent for carbon-14 dating in Turkey and France, with results expected in about 15 days (France) and 3 months (Turkey), and that soil samples down to about 18 m are being analysed. Eric Hovind, who attended, wrote that the symposium was hosted by Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University in cooperation with Andrews University.", "claimed_text": "Radar shows corridor-like structures, room-like voids and a three-layer formation, which Atila said could be linked to the three-deck Ark of scripture.", "established_text": "Atila said the current data are not sufficient for a firm conclusion and that the structures could be geological; lab results were pending.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.iha.com.tr/agri-haberleri/agrida-nuhun-gemisi-arastirmasinda-radar-calismalarinin-yuzde-20si-tamamlandi-500976982", "title": "Ağrı'da Nuh'un Gemisi araştırmasında radar çalışmalarının yüzde 20'si tamamlandı", "publisher": "İhlas Haber Ajansı (İHA)", "published": "2026-10-15" }, { "url": "https://x.com/erichovind/status/2112559779134558497", "title": "Eric Hovind on attending the 8th International Symposium on Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark (X post)", "publisher": "X (@erichovind)", "published": "2026-10-20" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-latrobe-gopher-robot-durupinar", "date": "2026-10-19", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "La Trobe University says its Gopher burrow robot was deployed at Durupınar", "label": "La Trobe robot deployed at Durupınar", "seo_description": "2026: La Trobe University says a wombat-burrow camera robot was used at the Durupınar formation in the Noah's Ark search.", "summary": "La Trobe University said a small camera robot designed by Dr Robert Ross to explore wombat burrows was deployed at the Durupınar formation for Noah's Ark Discovery, noting that Ark claims remain highly contested.", "claimants": [ "la-trobe-university", "robert-ross" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2026/release/wombat-robot-joins-search-for-noahs-ark", "title": "Wombat robot joins search for Noah's Ark", "publisher": "La Trobe University", "published": "2026-10-19" }, { "url": "https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/major-noahs-ark-update-wombat-37797264", "title": "Major Noah's Ark update as 'wombat robot' sent to explore holes beneath site", "publisher": "Daily Star", "published": "2026-10-21" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-arj-loper-reassessing-durupinar", "date": "2026-10-20", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Answers Research Journal paper critically reassesses recent Durupınar claims", "label": "ARJ paper reassesses Durupınar claims", "seo_description": "2026: Nate Loper argues the radar, soil and drilling results from Durupınar fit natural geology rather than Noah's Ark.", "summary": "Nate Loper argued that the reported radar, soil and drilling observations remain compatible with the site's natural geology, and that the 1979 Galbraith analyses look closer to rock and carbonate than petrified wood.", "claimants": [ "nate-loper", "answers-in-genesis" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones", "cenker-atila" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "Written from a young-earth framework that affirms the historical Ark. It calls for continued drilling, separate organic and carbonate carbon measurements, matched soil controls, blinded independent analysis and publication of full datasets.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://answersresearchjournal.org/noahs-ark/reassessing-durupinar-formation/", "title": "Reassessing the Durupinar Formation: A Critical Evaluation of Recent Geophysical, Geochemical, Geological, and Archaeological Claims Concerning Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Answers Research Journal", "published": "2026-10-20" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim", "1996-collins-fasold-bogus-ark-paper" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-witzke-x-precipice-claim", "date": "2026-10-20", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans producer Lauren Witzke says the team is near proving the Ark", "label": "Witzke says team is near proving Ark", "seo_description": "2026: Lauren Witzke of Noah's Ark Scans says on X the team is near proving Noah's Ark at Durupınar. The claim and the context.", "summary": "In an X post, Lauren Witzke of Noah's Ark Scans summarised the 2026 radar, drilling and soil work and said the team is \"at the precipice of proving the truth of Noah's Ark\".", "claimants": [ "lauren-witzke", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "claimed_text": "Witzke says radar found right-angled structures, corridors and chambers, and that soil inside the formation matches the chemistry of decaying wood.", "established_text": "Lab results from the 2026 season were still pending; the project lead, Prof. Atila, said on 15 October that the data were not conclusive.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/2112679198829772937", "title": "Lauren Witzke on the Durupınar investigation (X post with video)", "publisher": "X (@LaurenWitzkeDE)", "published": "2026-10-20" } ], "related": [ "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim", "2026-atila-symposium-radar-update" ], "added": "2026-10-22" }, { "id": "2026-jmo-chamber-geological-engineers-statement", "date": "2026-10-21", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Turkey's Chamber of Geological Engineers says the Durupınar claims lack scientific support", "label": "Engineers’ chamber: claims lack support", "seo_description": "2026: Turkey's Chamber of Geological Engineers says the Durupınar formation is a landslide and erosion feature, not linked to the Flood.", "key": true, "media": { "src": "assets/media/durupinar-2019.jpg", "alt": "The Durupınar formation seen from the visitor-centre bluff in 2019 (site photo, not of this event)", "credit": "Wikkiwooki / Wikimedia Commons", "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0", "source_url": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Durupinar_site_in_July_2019.jpg", "kind": "photo", "generic": true }, "summary": "TMMOB's Chamber of Geological Engineers (JMO) said the formation should be assessed as a product of landslide and erosion processes, and that no scientifically verified evidence links it to Noah's Flood.", "claimants": [ "tmmob-jmo" ], "people": [ "mta" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "The statement, issued by the chamber's Cultural Geology and Geological Heritage Working Group, cites MTA's 1986 geological, geomorphological and geophysical studies of the Telçeker landslide as a main basis for treating the formation as natural. It says geophysical anomalies alone cannot establish an archaeological or geological origin, that drill samples cannot be presented as confirming a historical account without their location, sampling method, analysis results and stratigraphic context, and asks that the data be shared with the scientific community. It also asks that any drilling take landslide hazard and natural-heritage protection into account. The statement does not name the research team.", "claimed_text": "The JMO says a ship-like shape is not evidence of a ship, that the landslide and geology of the area support a natural origin, and that unverified claims should not be presented as discoveries.", "established_text": "The statement is a professional body's position paper, not new fieldwork; the 2026 project's laboratory results had not been published.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.jmo.org.tr/genel/bizden_detay.php?kod=19755&tipi=17&sube=0", "title": "Basına ve Kamuoyuna: Nuh'un Gemisi İddiaları", "publisher": "TMMOB Jeoloji Mühendisleri Odası", "published": "2026-10-21" }, { "url": "https://dogubayazitgazetesi.com/jmodan-telceker-heyelanindaki-sondaj-iddialarina-tepki", "title": "JMO'dan Telçeker Heyelanındaki Sondaj İddialarına Tepki", "publisher": "Ağrı Doğubayazıt Gazetesi", "published": "2026-10-21" }, { "url": "https://www.gazetepusula.net/nuh-un-gemisi-iddialarina-bilimsel-kanit-uyarisi/397410/", "title": "\"Nuh'un Gemisi\" iddialarına bilimsel kanıt uyarısı", "publisher": "Erzurum Pusula Gazetesi", "published": "2026-10-21" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "2025-atabey-mta-landslide-report" ], "added": "2026-10-23" }, { "id": "2026-jpost-durupinar-site-visit-interviews", "date": "2026-10-22", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Jerusalem Post visits Durupınar and interviews Jones, Atila and the project team", "label": "Jerusalem Post visits Durupınar", "seo_description": "2026: at the Durupınar site, Andrew Jones says no borehole hit bedrock, while Prof. Atila says a radar void may be a geological hole.", "summary": "Andrew Jones told the Jerusalem Post that none of the 16 boreholes hit bedrock, which he sees as favouring the Ark view, while Prof. Cenker Atila said a radar void \"can be a geological hole\" and declined to call it a corridor.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones", "cenker-atila", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "ohav-cohen", "william-crabtree", "khosrow-bakhtar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "According to the article, the team drilled 12 holes inside the formation and four outside, to about 20 m in places, and samples were sent to several universities including Bar-Ilan University, with a final report expected in spring 2027. Atila said the BakhtarRadar team had only seven days on site because of rain and other constraints and is expected to return in 2027. Jones said a broken drill bit remains in one hole, that paperwork for a second season has been submitted, and that he wants approval for seismic, magnetometry, microgravity and possibly muon imaging. Jones also said the local governor halted the work for nearly a week in July after complaints to officials; this is his account and was not independently confirmed in the article. Ohav Cohen, an Israeli lawyer working with the project, described it as a multi-faith effort.", "claimed_text": "Jones says the absence of a solid rock layer in the boreholes counts against explanations that require bedrock beneath the formation.", "established_text": "Atila said he did not want to say the void is \"absolutely\" a corridor and that it may be geological; carbon-dating, soil and final radar results were still awaited.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-912549", "title": "'We're all in the same boat,' Noah's Ark researcher tells 'Post' at Turkey's Durupinar site", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2026-10-22" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim", "2026-atila-symposium-radar-update" ], "added": "2026-10-23" }, { "id": "2026-witzke-x-atila-endorses-bakhtar-claim", "date": "2026-10-23", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Lauren Witzke says project lead Atila has endorsed the Bakhtar radar report", "label": "Witzke says Atila endorsed the radar report", "seo_description": "2026: Lauren Witzke says on X that Prof. Atila confirmed the Bakhtar radar report proving a man-made structure. Unconfirmed claim.", "summary": "In an X post, Lauren Witzke of Noah's Ark Scans said Prof. Cenker Atila had \"reviewed and confirmed\" Khosrow Bakhtar's radar report as an official part of the study, and that the report proved the formation is a man-made, three-tiered structure.", "claimants": [ "lauren-witzke" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila", "khosrow-bakhtar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "The post (with video) was published at 00:56 UTC on 23 October. No statement from Atila or Sivas Cumhuriyet University confirming the endorsement was found on 23 October; the claim is Witzke's.", "claimed_text": "Witzke says Bakhtar proved the formation is \"NOT geological\" and that there is a three-tiered man-made structure with hallways over 4 m high, chambers and corridors.", "established_text": "In remarks published by the Jerusalem Post on 22 October, Atila said a radar void could be \"a geological hole\"; at the 15 October symposium he said the data were not sufficient for a firm conclusion.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/2113434250968019375", "title": "Lauren Witzke on Atila and the Bakhtar report (X post with video)", "publisher": "X (@LaurenWitzkeDE)", "published": "2026-10-23" }, { "url": "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-912549", "title": "'We're all in the same boat,' Noah's Ark researcher tells 'Post' at Turkey's Durupinar site", "publisher": "The Jerusalem Post", "published": "2026-10-22" } ], "related": [ "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim", "2026-witzke-x-precipice-claim", "2026-jpost-durupinar-site-visit-interviews" ], "added": "2026-10-23" }, { "id": "2026-nas-x-wood-sent-for-carbon-dating", "date": "2026-10-26", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans says Atila confirms charred wood from Durupınar is at the lab for carbon-14 dating", "label": "NAS: wood sent for carbon dating", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans posts what it calls an official update from Prof. Atila: charred wood from Durupınar sent for carbon-14 dating.", "summary": "In an X post, Noah's Ark Scans shared what it called an official update from Prof. Cenker Atila that multiple pieces of charred wood recovered at Durupınar are at a laboratory for carbon-14 dating, adding that Atila says this is not proof of the Ark until results are in.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila", "lauren-witzke" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "The post (with four photos and a donation link) was published at 22:39 UTC on 26 October. It says the charring could come from an attempt to burn the Ark or from past volcanic activity, and that the recovery depth suggests great age; both are the group's interpretations. No depth, location or laboratory was given. Lauren Witzke reposted it as \"It's official. Wood has been found.\" Atila had already reported a small amount of burnt wood sent to labs in Turkey and France at the 15 October symposium. No statement from Atila or Sivas Cumhuriyet University itself was found on 27 October.", "claimed_text": "Noah's Ark Scans says the wood's depth indicates it is very old and that charring may explain why it has not decomposed.", "established_text": "No species identification or carbon-14 date had been published as of 27 October; the post itself quotes Atila as saying the find is not proof until results are in.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/noahsarkscans/status/2114849496878178488", "title": "BREAKING: Wood sent for lab testing from Noah's Ark Durupinar Site (X post with photos)", "publisher": "X (@noahsarkscans)", "published": "2026-10-26" }, { "url": "https://x.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/2114865181037822215", "title": "Lauren Witzke on the wood sent for carbon-14 testing (X post)", "publisher": "X (@LaurenWitzkeDE)", "published": "2026-10-26" }, { "url": "https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/internacional/hallan-restos-madera-sitio-arca-noe/1300761/2026/", "title": "Hallan restos de madera en sitio ligado al Arca de Noé, ¿qué se sabe?", "publisher": "elsalvador.com", "published": "2026-10-26" } ], "related": [ "2026-atila-symposium-radar-update", "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season" ], "added": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "2026-lifesite-witzke-interview", "date": "2026-10-26", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Lauren Witzke tells LifeSiteNews the Ark is real and textbooks will have to be rewritten", "label": "Witzke interview with LifeSiteNews", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans fundraiser Lauren Witzke tells LifeSiteNews the Durupınar Ark is real. Interview; lab results still pending.", "summary": "In a LifeSiteNews interview, Noah's Ark Scans fundraising and marketing lead Lauren Witzke said \"the Ark is real, the global flood happened\" and that textbooks would have to be rewritten, and responded to critics of the drilling and radar work.", "claimants": [ "lauren-witzke" ], "people": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "cenker-atila", "khosrow-bakhtar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "LifeSiteNews reports that the group has collected more than 400 drill samples now under laboratory analysis. Witzke describes her role as fundraising and marketing. In reply to the point that the samples are untested and the radar is unvalidated in archaeology, she said no study had faced such scrutiny and that Atila had told her he did not understand the personal attacks on him; that account is hers.", "claimed_text": "Witzke says the Ark is real, the global flood happened, and that the findings will force textbooks to be rewritten.", "established_text": "Laboratory results on the 2026 samples had not been published as of 27 October, and the radar interpretation has not been independently validated.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-noahs-ark-research-team-says-they-will-have-to-re-write-textbooks/", "title": "EXCLUSIVE: Noah's Ark research team says 'they will have to re-write textbooks'", "publisher": "LifeSiteNews", "published": "2026-10-26" } ], "related": [ "2026-witzke-x-atila-endorses-bakhtar-claim", "2026-nas-x-wood-sent-for-carbon-dating" ], "added": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet", "date": "2026-10-27", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans press release says charred wood came from about 30 feet deep and that Atila confirmed the radar results", "label": "NAS: charred wood from 30 feet down", "seo_description": "2026: a Noah's Ark Scans press release says charred wood came from about 30 feet inside Durupınar. Daily Mail coverage; no lab result yet.", "summary": "In a GlobeNewswire press release, Noah's Ark Scans said charred wood was recovered almost 30 feet deep in the Durupınar formation and sent for carbon-14 dating and species identification, and that Prof. Cenker Atila had reviewed and confirmed Khosrow Bakhtar's preliminary radar results.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "andrew-jones" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila", "khosrow-bakhtar" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "The release says the wood is not surface debris or mudflow material because of its depth, and that Atila will release photographs. Andrew Jones is quoted as saying the find could be \"the charred remains of Noah's Ark\" or of \"a shepherd's campfire\", and that its age is unknown until testing is done. The Daily Mail reported the same day, quoting Jones that both charred and uncharred wood were recovered and Bakhtar that the radar features are \"not geologic related\". The release's account of Atila confirming the radar results is the group's; at the 15 October symposium Atila was reported as saying the data were not sufficient for a conclusion and the features might be geological. No statement from Atila or Sivas Cumhuriyet University on the press release was found by 28 October.", "claimed_text": "Noah's Ark Scans says the wood's depth shows it is not recent debris, and that its charring may have preserved it.", "established_text": "No species identification or carbon-14 result had been published as of 28 October, and the project's own release says no firm conclusions should be drawn before then.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/27/3389657/0/en/charred-wood-recovered-from-deep-inside-durup%c4%b1nar-noah-s-ark-site-radar-results-verified-at-eastern-turkey-noah-s-ark-symposium.html", "title": "Charred Wood Recovered from Deep Inside Durupınar Noah's Ark Site; Radar Results Verified at Eastern Turkey Noah's Ark Symposium", "publisher": "GlobeNewswire (Noah's Ark Scans)", "published": "2026-10-27" }, { "url": "https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16243863/noahs-ark-charred-wood-turkey.html", "title": "'Charred remains of Noah's Ark' discovered as researchers unearth burnt wood 30 feet underground", "publisher": "Daily Mail", "published": "2026-10-27" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-x-wood-sent-for-carbon-dating", "2026-atila-symposium-radar-update", "2026-bakhtar-radar-not-geological-claim" ], "added": "2026-10-28" }, { "id": "2026-ancient-origins-wood-fact-check", "date": "2026-10-27", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Ancient Origins fact-check rates the claim that the Durupınar wood will show it is Noah's Ark as unverified", "label": "Fact-check: wood claim unverified", "seo_description": "2026: an Ancient Origins fact-check rates the Durupınar wood-as-Ark claim unverified, noting a carbon date only shows when a tree died.", "summary": "An Ancient Origins fact-check rated as unverified the idea that wood sent for carbon dating from Durupınar will show the formation is Noah's Ark, while rating as established that fragments were sent to labs.", "claimants": [ "ancient-origins" ], "people": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "cenker-atila" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "The piece, by Aris Manus, says reports conflict on whether the wood is charred or petrified and give no confirmed location or depth, that a radiocarbon date shows only when an organism died, and that whether the formation is natural rock remains disputed. Status refers to the claim that the wood identifies the Ark, not to the research itself.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/durupinar-wood-carbon-dating-fact-check-00128323", "title": "Can Carbon-14 Tests on the Durupinar Wood Show It Was Noah's Ark?", "publisher": "Ancient Origins", "published": "2026-10-27" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-x-wood-sent-for-carbon-dating", "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet" ], "added": "2026-10-28" }, { "id": "2026-witzke-x-wood-pitch-sap-tests", "date": "2026-10-28", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Lauren Witzke says the Durupınar wood is also being tested for pitch, tree sap and species", "label": "Witzke: wood tested for pitch", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans' Lauren Witzke says the charred Durupınar wood is being tested for bitumen, tree sap and species as well as carbon-14.", "summary": "Lauren Witzke of Noah's Ark Scans said on X that the charred Durupınar wood is being tested for bitumen (\"pitch\"), tree sap and species as well as carbon-14.", "claimants": [ "lauren-witzke", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "The post was published at 22:40 UTC on 28 October. Witzke said the wood came from deep enough that \"we know that it's very old and not a result of mudflow or subsurface debris, but that's pretty much all we know\"; that dating inference is hers. Genesis 6:14 describes the Ark as coated with pitch, which is why a bitumen test is of interest to the group. Replying the next day, the Freedom From Religion Foundation said old wood in the ground is not evidence of the Ark and that dating and species tests cannot establish the biblical story as historical fact.", "claimed_text": "Witzke says the wood's depth shows it is very old and not mudflow debris.", "established_text": "No laboratory had named the labs, the tests or any results as of 30 October; neither Atila nor Sivas Cumhuriyet University had described pitch or sap tests publicly.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/2115574412745256992", "title": "Lauren Witzke on the wood being tested for carbon-14, pitch, tree sap and species (X post with video)", "publisher": "X (@LaurenWitzkeDE)", "published": "2026-10-28" }, { "url": "https://x.com/FFRF/status/2115623444088057862", "title": "Freedom From Religion Foundation: \"Finding old pieces of wood in the ground is not evidence of Noah's Ark\" (X post)", "publisher": "X (@FFRF)", "published": "2026-10-29" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet", "2026-nas-x-wood-sent-for-carbon-dating" ], "added": "2026-10-30" }, { "id": "2026-nas-x-field-season-samples-recap", "date": "2026-10-31", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans posts a recap of 2026 Durupınar samples, with an illustrated graphic", "label": "NAS: 300+ samples recap", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans recaps the Durupınar season on X: 300+ soil samples, ~20 m cores, charred wood sent for C-14. No lab results yet.", "summary": "Noah's Ark Scans recapped the 2026 Durupınar season on X, citing 300+ soil samples, cores to about 20 metres, radar anomalies and charred wood it says Atila confirmed, now out for carbon-14 dating.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "cenker-atila" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "The post (19:54 UTC, 31 October) says the team collected \"hundreds of physical samples from inside, outside, and deep beneath the formation\" and that \"the next chapter of this investigation will be written in the laboratory\". The attached graphic shows soil jars, two blackened wood pieces, core tubes and a radar-style rendering; the post does not say whether these are photographs of the actual samples, and the images look illustrative. It adds no new results. Sivas Cumhuriyet University has separately reported 366 core samples sent to Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, with fuller results expected into 2027.", "claimed_text": "NAS says Atila confirmed recovery of multiple pieces of damaged, charred wood and that radar shows unusual subsurface patterns.", "established_text": "Wood fragments were sent for carbon-14 dating; as of 2 November no laboratory result, species identification or verified photograph of the wood had been published.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/noahsarkscans/status/2116619913439871000", "title": "\"What have researchers actually recovered from beneath the proposed resting place of Noah's Ark?\" (X post with graphic)", "publisher": "X (@noahsarkscans)", "published": "2026-10-31" }, { "url": "https://www.srthaber.com/2026/09/durupinar-formasyonundaki-arazi-calismalari-tamamlandi/", "title": "Durupınar Formasyonu'ndaki arazi çalışmaları tamamlandı", "publisher": "Sivas SRT Haber", "published": "2026-09-28" } ], "related": [ "2026-witzke-x-wood-pitch-sap-tests", "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet" ], "added": "2026-11-02" }, { "id": "2026-lostroh-andrew-jones-interview", "date": "2026-11-02", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Andrew Jones interviewed on the Austin Lostroh show about the Durupınar wood", "label": "Jones on Lostroh show", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans founder Andrew Jones talks to Austin Lostroh about the Durupınar wood, said by the host to be found in late August, and death threats.", "summary": "Noah's Ark Scans founder Andrew Jones discussed the Durupınar site, the charred and uncharred wood and death threats he says he has received in episode 40 of Austin Lostroh's X broadcast.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "In the clip post, the host says the wood samples were found about 30 feet below the surface \"in late August\" and are being sent for carbon-14 dating and species identification. That is the first dating of the find itself seen in this tracker; earlier coverage traced the first public mention to Atila's 15 October symposium talk. The timing and the death-threat account come from the host's post descriptions, not an independent source.", "claimed_text": "Per the host's summary, the wood was recovered at about 30 feet in late August 2026.", "established_text": "Samples have been sent for carbon-14 dating; no laboratory result or species identification had been published by 3 November.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://x.com/AustinLostroh/status/2117255833448857943", "title": "Andrew Jones on the Durupinar Noah's Ark Site, the Wood Found, & Death Threats | Austin Lostroh", "publisher": "X (@AustinLostroh)", "published": "2026-11-02" }, { "url": "https://x.com/AustinLostroh/status/2117323232344670621", "title": "Clip of Andrew Jones on the wood samples (X post with video)", "publisher": "X (@AustinLostroh)", "published": "2026-11-02" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet", "2026-nas-x-field-season-samples-recap" ], "added": "2026-11-03" }, { "id": "2026-baptistpress-parker-ham-caution", "date": "2026-11-03", "date_precision": "day", "type": "press", "title": "Baptist Press reports hope and caution from a seminary archaeologist and Ken Ham", "label": "Baptist Press: hope and caution", "seo_description": "2026: Baptist Press quotes Jim Parker and Ken Ham on Durupınar: promising drilling approach, but no claims before peer review. AiG does not accept the site.", "summary": "Baptist Press reported that Jim Parker of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary backs the drilling approach but wants peer review before any claim, while Ken Ham said Answers in Genesis does not accept the site.", "claimants": [ "baptist-press" ], "people": [ "jim-parker", "ken-ham", "cenker-atila", "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "Scott Barkley's article (3 November) says Parker called the team's methods \"an excellent way to recover evidence\", citing twelve core holes inside the formation and four outside and a planned 2027 excavation season; those particulars are Parker's account of what he had read, not confirmed by the project in this article. Parker also said \"there is a steep curve to proof\" and recommended no claims about the site's identity until the evidence is analysed and peer reviewed. Ken Ham said Answers in Genesis does not believe the Ark has been found at Durupınar. The article describes the stones at the site as drogue stones and the crosses on them as later additions by Armenian Christians, which is the site advocates' reading.", "claimed_text": "Supporters say the drilling and radar work is a sound way to gather evidence; the article frames the question as still open.", "established_text": "The 2026 drilling and radar findings have not been peer reviewed, and no laboratory date for the wood had been published as of 4 November.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/optimism-caution-accompany-news-over-location-of-noahs-ark/", "title": "Optimism, caution accompany news over location of Noah's Ark", "publisher": "Baptist Press", "published": "2026-11-03" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet", "2026-arj-loper-reassessing-durupinar" ], "added": "2026-11-04" }, { "id": "2026-newsnation-unreported-wood-update", "date": "2026-11-03", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Andrew Jones and Lauren Witzke discuss the wood on NewsNation's Unreported", "label": "Jones and Witzke on NewsNation", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans' Andrew Jones and Lauren Witzke tell NewsNation's Unreported the wood find strengthens their case; results still pending.", "summary": "On NewsNation's Unreported, Andrew Jones and Lauren Witzke said the buried wood strengthens the case for Durupınar, with Jones comparing the evidence to a court case built from several lines.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones", "lauren-witzke", "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones", "lauren-witzke" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "The episode was hosted by Meagan Medick and is listed by NewsNation under 3 November; the page would not load directly on 4 November and the date comes from search results and a 3 November X post linking the YouTube upload. Jones is quoted as saying \"It's a court case. You have all these lines of evidence pointing to what we think it is.\" No new laboratory figure was given in the listed description.", "claimed_text": "Jones and Witzke say the evidence collected strengthens the possibility the team has found the Ark.", "established_text": "No carbon-14 result or species identification had been published by 4 November.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/noahs-ark-update-wood-found-30-feet-underground-unreported/", "title": "Noah's Ark Update: Wood Found 30-feet Underground | Unreported", "publisher": "NewsNation", "published": "2026-11-03" } ], "related": [ "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet", "2026-lostroh-andrew-jones-interview" ], "added": "2026-11-04" }, { "id": "2026-charisma-jones-interview", "date": "2026-11-01", "date_precision": "day", "type": "interview", "title": "Andrew Jones tells Charisma he rejects a \"100%\" claim and expects excavation permits", "label": "Jones interview with Charisma", "seo_description": "2026: Andrew Jones tells Charisma the data is 'not at 100', describes break-ins and threats, and expects excavation permits and 2027 results.", "summary": "In a Charisma interview Andrew Jones said the case for Durupınar is strong but \"not at 100\", described threats and a break-in, and said he expects excavation permits sooner rather than later.", "claimants": [ "andrew-jones" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones", "khosrow-bakhtar", "cenker-atila" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "Published 1 November and missed in the 2 November sweep, so added here. Jones said 12 holes were drilled inside the formation and four outside, some reaching about 20 metres, producing nearly 400 soil samples; the permit allowed 75 metres. He said radar reached about 95 metres and that Bakhtar told him the patterns were \"not natural\". He recounted threats at his apartment and a break-in in which drives, a laptop and cameras were taken, and said \"it could just be thugs\". He said he would reassess if no man-made activity turned up after two seasons, that a broader release of findings is expected after the winter, and that excavation could start next summer. His claims about depth, sample numbers and the break-in rest on his account.", "claimed_text": "Jones says the data is \"leading to 100%\" but \"not at 100\", and that permits for excavation may come within a year or two.", "established_text": "No laboratory results had been published by 4 November, and no excavation permit had been granted that this tracker could confirm.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://mycharisma.com/article/noahs-ark-new-evidence-brings-researchers-closer-to-an-answer/", "title": "Noah's Ark: New Evidence Brings Researchers Closer to an Answer", "publisher": "Charisma Media", "published": "2026-11-01" } ], "related": [ "2026-lostroh-andrew-jones-interview", "2026-witzke-x-wood-pitch-sap-tests" ], "added": "2026-11-04" }, { "id": "2026-nas-inside-hull-footage", "date": "2026-11-04", "date_precision": "day", "type": "claim", "title": "Noah's Ark Scans footage said to show voids near a \"hull\" at Durupınar", "label": "NAS 'inside the hull' footage", "seo_description": "2026: Noah's Ark Scans releases drill-hole footage it says shows voids near a hull-like band at Durupınar; Newsweek reports a fuller report is due in 2027.", "summary": "Newsweek reported footage from Noah's Ark Scans that the group says shows a possible cavity and a distinct band matching a wooden hull at the lower end of the Durupınar formation.", "claimants": [ "noahs-ark-scans" ], "people": [ "andrew-jones" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "claimed", "details": "Newsweek (Jordan King, 4 November) says the group posted the video on Monday 2 November, that the clip was filmed on 9 September, and that Jones expects a final report in late April or May 2027; Newsweek said it had not reviewed the scans and could not verify the interpretation, and cited the US Geological Survey on groundwater held naturally above low-permeability beds. A caption circulating with the footage on X from 3 November says that late in the 2026 season the team drilled where earlier scans showed a band following the boat's outline, reached water at about 18 feet, drilled to 24 feet and saw a possible cavity at about 15 to 16 feet. It says the layer \"looks like the inner surface of the hull\" and that the team still needs to determine what the outer layer is made of. Newsweek's video page would not load directly (paywall). This tracker found no copy of the clip on the group's own X account in this window.", "claimed_text": "The group says the drilling shows a hull-like layer of different material from the surrounding mud, as expected from a wooden hull.", "established_text": "No laboratory identification of the layer, carbon-14 date or peer-reviewed report had been published by 5 November.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/noahs-ark-hunters-reveal-video-inside-hull-12664867", "title": "Noah's Ark Hunters Reveal Video From Inside 'the Hull'", "publisher": "Newsweek", "published": "2026-11-04" }, { "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/videos/noahs-ark-hunters-reveal-video-they-claim-could-be-from-inside-hull", "title": "Noah's Ark Hunters Reveal Video They Claim Could be From Inside 'Hull'", "publisher": "Newsweek", "published": "2026-11-04" }, { "url": "https://diariodopara.com.br/noticias/video-mostra-interior-de-estrutura-que-pode-esconder-a-arca-de-noe-na-turquia/", "title": "Vídeo mostra interior de estrutura que pode esconder Arca de Noé", "publisher": "Diário do Pará", "published": "2026-11-04" }, { "url": "https://x.com/SecretFire79/status/2117700753506656744", "title": "Inside the hull of Noah's Ark (repost of footage and caption)", "publisher": "X", "published": "2026-11-03" } ], "related": [ "2026-latrobe-gopher-robot-durupinar", "2026-nas-press-release-charred-wood-30-feet" ], "added": "2026-11-05" }, { "id": "2026-dogrulukpayi-durupinar-fact-check", "date": "2026-09-28", "date_precision": "day", "type": "rebuttal", "title": "Doğruluk Payı rates viral \"deck, tunnels and rooms\" claim about Durupınar partly false", "label": "Doğruluk Payı fact-check", "seo_description": "2026: Turkish fact-checker Doğruluk Payı rates a viral claim that radar found Noah's Ark decks and rooms at Durupınar as partly false.", "summary": "Turkish fact-checker Doğruluk Payı rated partly false a viral X claim that radar found decks, tunnels and rooms six metres under Durupınar, saying the anomalies are real but unexplained.", "claimants": [ "dogruluk-payi" ], "people": [ "noahs-ark-scans", "sivas-cumhuriyet-university" ], "sites": [ "durupinar" ], "status": "disputed", "details": "Published 28 September by Resul Kunt and missed in earlier sweeps, so added as a backfill. The check addressed an X post of 27 September with more than 630,000 views. It says radar anomalies and higher organic matter in some soil samples were reported, but organic matter can come from roots and other natural sources, the anomalies have not been physically confirmed as decks or rooms, and independent peer review is needed. It cites the 1996 Collins and Fasold paper.", "claimed_text": "The viral post claimed radar had found the Ark's deck, tunnels and rooms about six metres down.", "established_text": "Radar anomalies and soil differences were reported, but no physical deck, tunnel or room had been confirmed.", "sources": [ { "url": "https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/durupinar-formasyonundaki-bulgular-nuh-un-gemisini-mi-gosteriyor", "title": "Durupınar Formasyonundaki Bulgular Nuh'un Gemisini mi Gösteriyor?", "publisher": "Doğruluk Payı", "published": "2026-09-28" } ], "related": [ "2026-scu-nas-durupinar-field-season", "2026-ai-ark-excavation-videos-fact-checks" ], "added": "2026-11-06" } ], "people": [ { "id": "friedrich-parrot", "name": "Friedrich Parrot", "kind": "person", "summary": "Baltic German naturalist who led the first recorded ascent of Mount Ararat in 1829.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Parrot" ], "role": "Explorer" }, { "id": "james-bryce", "name": "James Bryce", "kind": "person", "summary": "British jurist and politician who climbed Ararat in 1876 and reported a piece of hewn wood above the tree line.", "links": [ "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture" ], "role": "Explorer" }, { "id": "george-mccullagh-reed", "name": "George McCullagh Reed", "kind": "person", "summary": "New Zealand Herald columnist (\"Pollex\") who wrote the 1883 April Fools' story of the Ark's discovery.", "links": [ "https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/ibrian-rudmani-nz-hoax-went-round-world/562U6HFYSYYWWNASL4TLSQWGMU/" ], "role": "Journalist" }, { "id": "john-joseph-nouri", "name": "John Joseph Nouri", "kind": "person", "summary": "Chaldean archdeacon who said he found the Ark on the summit of Ararat in 1887; Turkish officials did not corroborate it.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Claimant" }, { "id": "floyd-m-gurley", "name": "Floyd M. Gurley", "kind": "person", "summary": "Los Angeles publisher of New Eden, which printed the 1940 \"Vladimir Roskovitsky\" Ark story.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Publisher" }, { "id": "lynn-h-wood", "name": "Lynn H. Wood", "kind": "person", "summary": "Seventh-day Adventist writer whose 1946 Present Truth article examined the Roskovitsky and Nouri stories.", "links": [ "https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/PT/PT19460718-V62-15.pdf" ], "role": "Critic" }, { "id": "edwin-greenwald", "name": "Edwin Greenwald", "kind": "person", "summary": "Associated Press reporter who in 1948 relayed a Kurdish landowner's report of a petrified ship on Ararat.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Journalist" }, { "id": "reshit-sarihan", "name": "Reşit Sarıhan", "kind": "person", "summary": "Kurdish farmer whom David Fasold identified as the \"Reshit\" of the 1948 report and as the first finder of the Durupınar formation.", "links": [ "https://www.deseret.com/1992/10/23/19012142/researcher-says-a-farmer-found-ark-formation-in-48/" ], "role": "Witness" }, { "id": "aaron-j-smith", "name": "Aaron J. Smith", "kind": "person", "summary": "Dean of People's Bible College, North Carolina, who led an unsuccessful 1949 Ararat expedition.", "links": [ "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,856222,00.html" ], "role": "Expedition leader" }, { "id": "egerton-sykes", "name": "Egerton Sykes", "kind": "person", "summary": "British amateur archaeologist who planned a 1949 Ararat expedition with Aaron J. Smith.", "links": [ "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,856222,00.html" ], "role": "Expedition organiser" }, { "id": "jean-de-riquer", "name": "Jean de Riquer", "kind": "person", "summary": "French polar explorer who led a 1952 Ararat expedition that reported no trace of the Ark.", "links": [ "https://www.jta.org/1952/08/18/archive/french-expedition-to-mt-ararat-fails-to-find-traces-of-noahs-ark" ], "role": "Expedition leader" }, { "id": "fernand-navarra", "name": "Fernand Navarra", "kind": "person", "summary": "French industrialist who said he recovered Ark timber from Ararat in 1955 and 1969.", "links": [ "https://archive.org/details/noahsarkitouched00nava" ], "role": "Claimant" }, { "id": "ilhan-durupinar", "name": "İlhan Durupınar", "kind": "person", "summary": "Turkish army captain and cartographer who spotted the boat-shaped formation later named after him in 1959 aerial imagery.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site" ], "role": "Discoverer" }, { "id": "george-vandeman", "name": "George Vandeman", "kind": "person", "summary": "American evangelist who organised the 1960 expedition to the Durupınar formation.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Expedition organiser" }, { "id": "arthur-brandenberger", "name": "Arthur Brandenberger", "kind": "person", "summary": "Professor of photogrammetry on the 1960 Durupınar survey.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durup%C4%B1nar_site" ], "role": "Scientist" }, { "id": "ron-wyatt", "name": "Ron Wyatt", "kind": "person", "summary": "American amateur archaeologist who promoted the Durupınar formation as Noah's Ark from 1977.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Wyatt" ], "role": "Claimant" }, { "id": "david-fasold", "name": "David Fasold", "kind": "person", "summary": "Marine salvage expert and author of The Ark of Noah (1988) who championed, then publicly doubted, the Durupınar site.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Fasold" ], "role": "Marine salvage expert and author" }, { "id": "john-baumgardner", "name": "John Baumgardner", "kind": "person", "summary": "Geophysicist who joined 1985 Durupınar surveys and later distanced himself from Wyatt's conclusions.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Scientist" }, { "id": "james-irwin", "name": "James Irwin", "kind": "person", "summary": "Apollo 15 astronaut and evangelist who led several Ararat expeditions between 1982 and 1987.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Irwin" ], "role": "Expedition leader" }, { "id": "eryl-cummings", "name": "Eryl Cummings", "kind": "person", "summary": "American Ark researcher, called \"the dean of American ark hunters\", who made many Ararat trips.", "links": [ "https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/08/24/Ex-astronaut-searching-for-Noahs-Ark/6834493704000/" ], "role": "Researcher" }, { "id": "john-d-morris", "name": "John D. Morris", "kind": "person", "summary": "Institute for Creation Research geologist and Ark searcher.", "links": [ "https://www.icr.org/article/report-icr-ararat-expedition-1987" ], "role": "Researcher" }, { "id": "andrew-snelling", "name": "Andrew A. Snelling", "kind": "person", "summary": "Young-earth creationist geologist (Answers in Genesis) who has written against the Durupınar identification and NAMI's wood claims.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Snelling" ], "role": "Geologist" }, { "id": "george-jammal", "name": "George Jammal", "kind": "person", "summary": "Actor whose Ark story aired on CBS in 1993 and who later told the Los Angeles Times it was a hoax.", "links": [ "https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-30-ca-51222-story.html" ], "role": "Actor" }, { "id": "lorence-collins", "name": "Lorence G. Collins", "kind": "person", "summary": "Geologist at California State University, Northridge, who co-authored the 1996 paper calling the Durupınar formation a natural structure.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorence_G._Collins" ], "role": "Geologist" }, { "id": "ian-plimer", "name": "Ian Plimer", "kind": "person", "summary": "Australian geologist, then head of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, who sued Allen Roberts and Ark Search under the Trade Practices Act over their Ark claims.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Plimer", "https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15420850-800-ark-verdict-spells-ruin-for-geologist/" ], "role": "Geologist" }, { "id": "allen-roberts", "name": "Allen Roberts", "kind": "person", "summary": "Sydney-based lecturer who ran Ark Search and presented the Durupınar formation as Noah's Ark; respondent in Ian Plimer's 1997 case.", "links": [ "http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/1997/439.html", "https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15420850-800-ark-verdict-spells-ruin-for-geologist/" ], "role": "Lecturer, Ark Search" }, { "id": "porcher-taylor", "name": "Porcher L. Taylor III", "kind": "person", "summary": "University of Richmond professor who obtained release of 1949 US aerial photos of the \"Ararat anomaly\" under FOIA.", "links": [ "https://www.noahsarksearch.com/anomaly.htm" ], "role": "Researcher" }, { "id": "daniel-mcgivern", "name": "Daniel McGivern", "kind": "person", "summary": "Honolulu businessman who funded satellite imagery of the Ararat anomaly and announced a 2004 expedition.", "links": [ "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/03/research.science" ], "role": "Businessman" }, { "id": "ahmet-ali-arslan", "name": "Ahmet Ali Arslan", "kind": "person", "summary": "Turkish mountaineer named to lead Daniel McGivern's planned 2004 expedition.", "links": [ "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/03/research.science" ], "role": "Mountaineer" }, { "id": "andrew-yuen", "name": "Andrew Yuen Man-fai", "kind": "person", "summary": "Founder of Hong Kong's Media Evangelism, which announced Ark finds on Ararat in 2004 and 2010.", "links": [ "https://www.scmp.com/article/479283/hk-evangelists-join-list-noahs-ark-discoverers" ], "role": "Founder, Media Evangelism" }, { "id": "boaz-li", "name": "Boaz Li Chi-kwong", "kind": "person", "summary": "Hong Kong pastor who announced a 2004 Ark find on Ararat with Andrew Yuen.", "links": [ "https://www.scmp.com/article/479283/hk-evangelists-join-list-noahs-ark-discoverers" ], "role": "Pastor" }, { "id": "bob-cornuke", "name": "Bob Cornuke", "kind": "person", "summary": "Founder of the BASE Institute, which in 2006 reported an Ark \"candidate\" in Iran.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cornuke" ], "role": "Founder, BASE Institute" }, { "id": "arch-bonnema", "name": "Arch Bonnema", "kind": "person", "summary": "BASE Institute expedition member quoted on the 2006 Iran find.", "links": [ "https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2133311&page=1" ], "role": "BASE Institute expedition member" }, { "id": "murat-avci", "name": "Murat Avcı", "kind": "person", "summary": "Turkish geologist who published a 2007 engineering-geology study of the Durupınar feature and the Telçeker earthflow.", "links": [ "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10064-007-0084-3" ], "role": "Scientist" }, { "id": "eric-cline", "name": "Eric H. Cline", "kind": "person", "summary": "Archaeologist who criticised amateur \"discoveries\" of biblical objects, including Noah's Ark, in 2007.", "links": [ "https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/30/raiders_of_the_faux_ark/" ], "role": "Archaeologist" }, { "id": "ahmet-ertugrul", "name": "Ahmet Ertuğrul (\"Paraşüt\")", "kind": "person", "summary": "Turkish mountaineer and guide who said he located the wooden structure that NAMI announced in 2010.", "links": [ "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0428/Doubt-cast-on-Noah-s-ark-found-in-Turkey" ], "role": "Mountain guide" }, { "id": "yeung-wing-cheung", "name": "Yeung Wing-cheung", "kind": "person", "summary": "NAMI team member who presented the 2010 Ark claim in Hong Kong.", "links": [ "https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/noahs-ark-found-not-so-fast-6C10404024" ], "role": "NAMI team member" }, { "id": "randall-price", "name": "Randall Price", "kind": "person", "summary": "Archaeologist and, in 2010, director of the Center for Judaic Studies at Liberty University; he worked with NAMI's team in 2008.", "links": [ "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0428/Doubt-cast-on-Noah-s-ark-found-in-Turkey", "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0428/Doubt-cast-on-Noah-s-ark-found-in-Turkey" ], "role": "Archaeologist" }, { "id": "donald-mackenzie", "name": "Donald Mackenzie", "kind": "person", "summary": "Scottish Ark searcher who went missing on Ararat in 2010.", "links": [ "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11875315" ], "role": "Searcher" }, { "id": "norman-geisler", "name": "Norman Geisler", "kind": "person", "summary": "Southern Evangelical Seminary president who hosted presentations of NAMI's claims in 2015.", "links": [ "https://www.icr.org/article/noahs-ark-discovery-likely-sinking" ], "role": "Seminary president" }, { "id": "brian-thomas", "name": "Brian Thomas", "kind": "person", "summary": "Institute for Creation Research writer who questioned recent Ark discovery claims.", "links": [ "https://www.icr.org/article/did-someone-really-find-noahs-ark" ], "role": "Writer, Institute for Creation Research" }, { "id": "carl-feagans", "name": "Carl Feagans", "kind": "person", "summary": "Archaeologist and blogger (Archaeology Review) who wrote on Ark pseudoarchaeology.", "links": [ "https://ahotcupofjoe.net/2020/12/the-pseudoarchaeology-of-noahs-ark/" ], "role": "Archaeologist and blogger" }, { "id": "jodi-magness", "name": "Jodi Magness", "kind": "person", "summary": "Archaeologist at UNC Chapel Hill quoted by National Geographic on why Ark searches are not archaeology.", "links": [ "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture" ], "role": "Archaeologist" }, { "id": "faruk-kaya", "name": "Faruk Kaya", "kind": "person", "summary": "Vice rector of Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University who presented the 2023 Durupınar sample results.", "links": [ "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/" ], "role": "Researcher" }, { "id": "andrew-jones", "name": "Andrew Jones", "kind": "person", "summary": "Founder of Noah's Ark Scans, a US research group investigating the Durupınar formation.", "links": [ "https://www.noahsarkscans.com/research", "https://www.newsweek.com/noahs-ark-hunters-say-they-havent-found-ancient-wood-yet-12494934" ], "role": "Founder, Noah's Ark Scans" }, { "id": "william-crabtree", "name": "William Crabtree", "kind": "person", "summary": "Soil scientist with Noah's Ark Scans quoted on 2024 soil results.", "links": [ "https://www.foxnews.com/travel/researchers-find-compelling-evidence-possible-noahs-ark-remains-country" ], "role": "Researcher" }, { "id": "esref-atabey", "name": "Eşref Atabey", "kind": "person", "summary": "Geological engineer at Turkey's General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) who wrote a 2025 report on Durupınar.", "links": [ "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392866505" ], "role": "Scientist" }, { "id": "ken-ham", "name": "Ken Ham", "kind": "person", "summary": "Founder of Answers in Genesis.", "links": [ "https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2025/06/01/has-noahs-ark-been-found-for-real/" ], "role": "Founder, Answers in Genesis" }, { "id": "georgie-hagopian", "name": "Georgie Hagopian", "kind": "person", "summary": "Armenian-American who said in 1970 that he saw the Ark on Ararat as a boy.", "links": [ "https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH505_4.html" ], "role": "Witness" }, { "id": "harold-williams", "name": "Harold Williams", "kind": "person", "summary": "Adventist pastor who recounted the Haji Yearam Ark story in a 1952 letter.", "links": [ "https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH505_1.html" ], "role": "Narrator" }, { "id": "heraclius", "name": "Heraclius", "kind": "person", "summary": "Byzantine emperor reported to have climbed Mount Judi to visit the Ark site around 628–629.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Historical figure" }, { "id": "josephus", "name": "Flavius Josephus", "kind": "person", "summary": "First-century Jewish historian who wrote that Ark relics were shown in Armenia.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Historical source" }, { "id": "epiphanius", "name": "Epiphanius of Salamis", "kind": "person", "summary": "Fourth-century bishop who wrote that Ark remains were shown in \"Cardyaei\" (Corduene).", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Historical source" }, { "id": "hayton-of-corycus", "name": "Hayton of Corycus", "kind": "person", "summary": "Armenian historian who in 1307 reported \"something black\" on Ararat's summit said to be the Ark.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Historical source" }, { "id": "faustus-of-byzantium", "name": "Faustus of Byzantium", "kind": "person", "summary": "Fifth-century Armenian historian (P'awstos Buzand) who recorded the legend of Jacob of Nisibis and the Ark plank.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ], "role": "Historical source" }, { "id": "quran", "name": "The Qur'an", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Islamic scripture; Sura 11:44 names al-Jūdī as the Ark's resting place. Listed as a source text, not an organisation in the usual sense.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Judi" ], "role": "Scripture" }, { "id": "archaeological-research-foundation", "name": "Archaeological Research Foundation", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US group that ran 1960s Ark expeditions, including the 1960 Durupınar survey.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ] }, { "id": "search-foundation", "name": "SEARCH Foundation", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US organisation that took over ARF's Ararat work and ran the 1969 expedition with Navarra.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ] }, { "id": "high-flight-foundation", "name": "High Flight Foundation", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Evangelical organisation founded by James Irwin that sponsored his Ararat expeditions.", "links": [ "https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-08-11-9103270881-story.html" ] }, { "id": "institute-for-creation-research", "name": "Institute for Creation Research", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Young-earth creationist organisation in Dallas; took part in the 1987 Ararat survey.", "links": [ "https://www.icr.org/article/did-someone-really-find-noahs-ark" ] }, { "id": "answers-in-genesis", "name": "Answers in Genesis", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Young-earth creationist ministry that has published critiques of Durupınar and NAMI claims.", "links": [ "https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2025/06/01/has-noahs-ark-been-found-for-real/" ] }, { "id": "sun-classic-pictures", "name": "Sun Classic Pictures", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Production company behind In Search of Noah's Ark (1976) and the 1993 CBS special.", "links": [ "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,978812,00.html" ] }, { "id": "cbs", "name": "CBS", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US television network that aired The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark in February 1993.", "links": [ "https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,978812,00.html" ] }, { "id": "ark-search", "name": "Ark Search Association", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Australian group associated with Allen Roberts' Durupınar lectures; respondent in the 1997 case.", "links": [ "http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FCA/1997/439.html" ] }, { "id": "us-defense-intelligence-agency", "name": "US Defense Intelligence Agency", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US military intelligence agency that released 1949 Ararat photos and an analysis to Porcher Taylor in 1995.", "links": [ "https://www.noahsarksearch.com/anomaly.htm" ] }, { "id": "cia", "name": "Central Intelligence Agency", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US intelligence agency whose imagery analysts reviewed Ararat imagery in 1992.", "links": [ "https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000839386.pdf" ] }, { "id": "insight-magazine", "name": "Insight on the News", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US news magazine that commissioned satellite images of the Ararat anomaly in 2000.", "links": [ "https://www.noahsarksearch.com/anomaly.htm" ] }, { "id": "media-evangelism", "name": "Media Evangelism", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Hong Kong Christian media group founded by Andrew Yuen; parent of the NAMI search effort.", "links": [ "https://www.scmp.com/article/479283/hk-evangelists-join-list-noahs-ark-discoverers" ] }, { "id": "noahs-ark-ministries-international", "name": "Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Hong Kong group that announced a wooden structure on Ararat as Noah's Ark in 2010.", "links": [ "https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0430/Chinese-explorers-stand-by-claim-of-Noah-s-Ark-find-in-Turkey" ] }, { "id": "base-institute", "name": "BASE Institute", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute, founded by Bob Cornuke.", "links": [ "https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2133311&page=1" ] }, { "id": "southern-evangelical-seminary", "name": "Southern Evangelical Seminary", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Charlotte, NC seminary that hosted NAMI-related presentations in 2015.", "links": [ "https://www.icr.org/article/noahs-ark-discovery-likely-sinking" ] }, { "id": "istanbul-technical-university", "name": "Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "University whose labs analysed Durupınar samples in the 2022–2023 project.", "links": [ "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/" ] }, { "id": "agri-ibrahim-cecen-university", "name": "Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University (AİÇÜ)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "University in Ağrı leading the \"Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark Research Team\" with İTÜ.", "links": [ "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/" ] }, { "id": "andrews-university", "name": "Andrews University", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Seventh-day Adventist university in Michigan named as a partner in the Durupınar research.", "links": [ "https://arkeonews.net/the-ruins-believed-to-belong-to-noahs-ark-date-back-to-5500-3000-years-bc/" ] }, { "id": "noahs-ark-scans", "name": "Noah's Ark Scans", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US-based independent research group, founded by Andrew Jones, that runs radar, drilling and soil studies at the Durupınar formation with Turkish university partners.", "links": [ "https://www.noahsarkscans.com/research", "https://www.newsweek.com/noahs-ark-hunters-say-they-havent-found-ancient-wood-yet-12494934" ] }, { "id": "mta", "name": "General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Turkey's state geological survey.", "links": [ "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392866505" ] }, { "id": "national-geographic", "name": "National Geographic", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Magazine and media brand.", "links": [ "https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/100428-noahs-ark-found-in-turkey-science-religion-culture" ] }, { "id": "skeptical-inquirer", "name": "Skeptical Inquirer", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Magazine of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.", "links": [ "https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-re-re-re-re-discovery-of-noahs-ark/" ] }, { "id": "talkorigins-archive", "name": "TalkOrigins Archive", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Website that catalogues and responds to creationist claims.", "links": [ "https://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CH/CH505_1.html" ] }, { "id": "new-eden", "name": "New Eden", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Los Angeles booklet series published by Floyd M. Gurley.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ] }, { "id": "associated-press", "name": "Associated Press", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US news agency.", "links": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searches_for_Noah%27s_Ark" ] }, { "id": "sivas-cumhuriyet-university", "name": "Sivas Cumhuriyet University (SCU)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Turkish university whose archaeology department leads the 2026 Durupınar Formation research project.", "links": [ "https://haberler.cumhuriyet.edu.tr/haber/18791-sivas-cumhuriyet-universitesi-onculugunde-yurutulen-durupinar-formasyonu-arastirmasi-dunya-bilim-cevrelerinin-odaginda" ] }, { "id": "cenker-atila", "name": "Cenker Atila", "kind": "person", "summary": "Archaeologist at Sivas Cumhuriyet University and head of the 2026 Durupınar Formation research project.", "links": [ "https://haberler.cumhuriyet.edu.tr/haber/18791-sivas-cumhuriyet-universitesi-onculugunde-yurutulen-durupinar-formasyonu-arastirmasi-dunya-bilim-cevrelerinin-odaginda" ], "role": "Archaeologist" }, { "id": "khosrow-bakhtar", "name": "Khosrow Bakhtar", "kind": "person", "summary": "Engineer and developer of BakhtarRadar, who ran the 2026 radar survey at Durupınar for Noah's Ark Scans.", "links": [ "https://noahsarkscans.substack.com/p/its-not-geological-preliminary-report" ], "role": "Radar engineer" }, { "id": "onder-bozkurt", "name": "Önder Bozkurt", "kind": "person", "summary": "Governor of Ağrı Province, Turkey.", "links": [ "https://www.haberturk.com/yasam/agri-valisi-bozkurt-tan-nuh-un-gemisi-aciklamasi-3916700" ], "role": "Provincial governor" }, { "id": "lead-stories", "name": "Lead Stories", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US fact-checking website.", "links": [ "https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2026/10/fact-check-fake-video-depicts-excavation-of-noahs-ark-on-mount-ararat-it-is-ai-generated.html" ] }, { "id": "dogruluk-payi", "name": "Doğruluk Payı", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Turkish fact-checking website.", "links": [ "https://www.dogrulukpayi.com/dogruluk-kontrolu/durupinar-formasyonundaki-bulgular-nuh-un-gemisini-mi-gosteriyor" ] }, { "id": "anadolu-agency", "name": "Anadolu Ajansı (Anadolu Agency)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Turkish state news agency; its Teyit Hattı unit publishes fact-checks.", "links": [ "https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/teyithatti/aktuel/video-agri-daginda-bulunan-nuhun-gemisini-mi-gosteriyor-/1820666" ] }, { "id": "tf1-info", "name": "TF1 Info", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "French news site of the TF1 group; publishes the VÉRIF' fact-check series.", "links": [ "https://www.tf1info.fr/sciences-et-innovation/verif-l-arche-de-noe-a-t-elle-ete-retrouvee-en-turquie-gare-a-ces-images-de-fouilles-qui-circulent-2469081.html" ] }, { "id": "al-jazeera", "name": "Al Jazeera", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Qatar-based news network; its Arabic site publishes open-source fact-checks.", "links": [ "https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2026/10/12/%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af-%d8%ad%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%aa-40-%d9%85%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%af%d8%a9-%d9%87%d9%84-%d8%b9%d8%ab%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89" ] }, { "id": "la-trobe-university", "name": "La Trobe University", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Australian university.", "links": [ "https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2026/release/wombat-robot-joins-search-for-noahs-ark" ] }, { "id": "robert-ross", "name": "Robert Ross", "kind": "person", "summary": "Associate Professor in Electronics Engineering at La Trobe University and designer of the WomBot and Gopher burrow robots.", "links": [ "https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2026/release/wombat-robot-joins-search-for-noahs-ark" ], "role": "Engineer" }, { "id": "nate-loper", "name": "Nate Loper", "kind": "person", "summary": "Author of a 2026 Answers Research Journal paper critically reassessing claims about the Durupınar formation.", "links": [ "https://answersresearchjournal.org/noahs-ark/reassessing-durupinar-formation/" ], "role": "Author" }, { "id": "lauren-witzke", "name": "Lauren Witzke", "kind": "person", "summary": "Film producer with Noah's Ark Scans.", "links": [ "https://x.com/LaurenWitzkeDE/status/2112679198829772937" ], "role": "Producer, Noah's Ark Scans" }, { "id": "iflscience", "name": "IFLScience", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Science news website.", "links": [ "https://www.iflscience.com/noahs-ark-or-just-a-big-mound-us-researchers-eye-up-a-strange-ship-shaped-ridge-in-turkey-79200" ] }, { "id": "tmmob-jmo", "name": "TMMOB Chamber of Geological Engineers (JMO)", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Turkish professional chamber of geological engineers, part of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB).", "links": [ "https://www.jmo.org.tr/genel/bizden_detay.php?kod=19755&tipi=17&sube=0" ] }, { "id": "ohav-cohen", "name": "Ohav Cohen", "kind": "person", "summary": "Israeli lawyer and researcher working with Noah's Ark Scans, interviewed by the Jerusalem Post in October 2026.", "links": [ "https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-912549" ], "role": "Lawyer, Noah's Ark Scans" }, { "id": "ancient-origins", "name": "Ancient Origins", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "Popular history and archaeology news website.", "links": [ "https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/durupinar-wood-carbon-dating-fact-check-00128323" ] }, { "id": "baptist-press", "name": "Baptist Press", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "News service of the Southern Baptist Convention, the US denomination's official press agency.", "links": [ "https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/optimism-caution-accompany-news-over-location-of-noahs-ark/" ] }, { "id": "jim-parker", "name": "Jim Parker", "kind": "person", "summary": "Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, interested in the Durupınar site since about 1988.", "links": [ "https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/optimism-caution-accompany-news-over-location-of-noahs-ark/" ], "role": "Professor, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary" }, { "id": "newsnation", "name": "NewsNation", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US cable news channel; its \"Unreported\" programme has featured Noah's Ark Scans staff.", "links": [ "https://www.newsnationnow.com/podcasts-newsnation/noahs-ark-update-wood-found-30-feet-underground-unreported/" ] }, { "id": "charisma", "name": "Charisma Media", "kind": "organisation", "summary": "US Christian magazine and website.", "links": [ "https://mycharisma.com/article/noahs-ark-new-evidence-brings-researchers-closer-to-an-answer/" ] } ], "sites": [ { "id": "mount-ararat", "name": "Mount Ararat", "aliases": [ "Ağrı Dağı", "Masis" ], "country": "Turkey", "lat": 39.7019, "lon": 44.2983, "summary": "Volcanic massif in eastern Turkey (5,137 m), widely but not universally identified with the biblical \"mountains of Ararat\"; the focus of most Ark searches since the 19th century." }, { "id": "durupinar", "name": "Durupınar formation", "aliases": [ "Durupınar site", "Nuh'un Gemisi", "Telçeker" ], "country": "Turkey", "lat": 39.4407, "lon": 44.2348, "summary": "Boat-shaped formation about 164 m long near Üzengili, roughly 29 km south of Ararat's summit; promoted by some as the Ark and described by geologists as a natural structure." }, { "id": "cudi-dagi", "name": "Cudi Dağı (Mount Judi)", "aliases": [ "Mount Judi", "al-Jūdī", "Qardu" ], "country": "Turkey", "lat": 37.3694, "lon": 42.3442, "summary": "Mountain near Cizre in Şırnak Province, identified in Syriac, Jewish and Islamic tradition (Qur'an 11:44, al-Jūdī) as the Ark's landing place." }, { "id": "takht-e-suleyman", "name": "Takht-e Suleyman (Alborz, Iran)", "aliases": [ "Takht-e Soleyman" ], "country": "Iran", "summary": "Peak in Iran's Alborz range where the BASE Institute reported an Ark \"candidate\" in 2006." } ] }