Archaeologist · Person
Archaeologist at Sivas Cumhuriyet University and head of the 2026 Durupınar Formation research project.
6 claimed · 8 disputed
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.
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.
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.
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.
↳ responds to Noah's Ark Scans says Atila confirms charred wood from Durupınar is at the lab for carbon-14 dating
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
↳ responds to Sivas Cumhuriyet University and Noah's Ark Scans run a 2026 field season at Durupınar
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.
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.
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.
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.