Archaeologists: We Found Noah's Ark
Exploring more than 13,000 feet high in the rugged Elburz mountain range northwest of Tehran, a team of archaeologists from Texas believe they have found the remains of Noah's Ark. "I can't imagine what it could be if it is not the Ark," Arch Bonnema of the Christian-based Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration (Base) Institute, told ABC News.
The team found the object nestled on the side of a hill, but at first they didn't think it was the Ark. Still, they wondered--and hoped. "We found something that has my heart skipping a beat," archaeologist and team leader Robert Cornuke told ABC. "It wasn't impressive at first. Certainly didn't think it to be Noah's Ark. But when we got close, we were amazed. It looked similar to wood." On the downside, it wasn't all that distinctive since it looked very much like the deck of a modern boat.
The Bible gives the only clues:
--It is located in the mountains of Ararat, which theologians say is hundreds of miles long. Although many have thought the ark, if it were to be found at all, would be on Mount Ararat in Turkey, the Base Institute team says the Iranian location is consistent with the Bible's geographical evidence.
--The Ark is 300 cubits by 50 cubits, which is large enough to rival the size of a small aircraft carrier. This discovery fits that size and scale. "It is provocative to think that this could be the lost ark of Noah," Cornuke told ABC.
--The Ark is made of gopher wood. This is the big gotcha. No one knows what gopher wood is!
What they found is about 400 feet long and consists of rocks that look remarkably like blackened wood beams while other rock in the area is distinctively brown, according to a news release issued by the Base Institute. One visible piece is "cut" at a 90-degree angle. Even more intriguing, some of the wood-like rocks were tested just this week and actually proved to be petrified wood. Go to the Bible and you'll read that Noah sealed his ark with pitch, which is a black substance. Upon being cut open, one of these "rocks" also divulged a marine fossil that could have only originated undersea.
Why do so many want to find the ark? "There's this idea, if we can prove that the ark existed, then we can prove that the story existed, and more importantly, we can prove that God existed," Bruce Feiler, author of "Where God Was Born," explained to ABC.
Can it be proven that this really is Noah's Ark? The team took some of the physical evidence to labs in Texas and Florida for scientific analysis. Team leader Cornuke says he is cautiously--but enthusiastically--optimistic about the find.
2006-07-03 19:18:14 · 14 answers · asked by Doug B 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Several people have professed to have found the Ark in the past so this is nothing new. Every couple of years people pop up with a story like this. Nothing ever comes of it. Doubt anything will this time either.
2006-07-03 20:33:36 · answer #1 · answered by Sinthyia 7 · 12⤊ 3⤋
If...repeat, IF...it can be scientificially proven that what was found is truly the remains of Noah's ark, then yes it would provide a lot of proof that the biblical story is true. However, even if scientific dating proves that the remains are from the right time in the past, how can it be proven that they were built by Noah and actually held all the world's animals. Pretty tough to prove beyond any doubt whatsoever.
2006-07-03 19:23:39 · answer #2 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This probably refers to a web site which shows an artifact on Mt. Ararat in Turkey. Since there was never a worldwide flood (easily provable in at least half a dozen different ways), the relic isn't an ark; the evidence suggests that it is a medieval fortification.
2016-03-27 03:16:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
So they probably found a huge boat thing. The fact that they're archaeologists from "the CHRISTIAN-BASED BIBLE Archaeology Search and Exploration (Base) Institute" really destroys any credibility. IF THEY'RE CHRISTIAN NO SH*T THEY'RE GOING TO ASSUME IT'S THE *****NG ARK! With that out of the way, unless they find more compelling evidence i.e animal carcasses, noah's carcass, etc. then it just MIGHT be true.
2006-07-03 19:33:11 · answer #4 · answered by Redeemer,Savior,Deliverer-MARINE 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Hasn't this rumor been floating around for a few years now, usually in the form of a chain-email?
2006-07-03 19:22:00 · answer #5 · answered by dylanwalker1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The important part of the Bible is the morality it tries to teach.
Miracles do not prove morality.
Fake news stories don't either.
2006-07-03 19:27:21 · answer #6 · answered by scifiguy 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Don' t take me wrong about this, I am a believer, but it was said to have been found a few years ago.
Who is right?
2006-07-03 19:21:38 · answer #7 · answered by cheeky chic 379 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For christians that story was already told to us a long time ago. We are not surprised to now that. The truth is in the bible.
2006-07-03 19:23:56 · answer #8 · answered by jp 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The Biblical story of Noah's Ark is apocryphal. It's a retelling of the story of Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was a
written text that pre-existed the oral traditions of Judaism by about 700 years.
2006-07-03 19:24:48 · answer #9 · answered by m137pay 5 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Well it just goes to show that the bible really does exist.
2006-07-03 19:22:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋