Has there been any Scientific Evidence that The Great Flood of the Bible actually took Place???

Question

Has there been any compelling scientific or archaeological evidence that the great flood, Noah's ark etc actually took place???

Could the great flood be related to the myth of the destruction of atlantis civilisation in any way???

Answer 1

Considerable interest in the Flood has been generated by recent attempts to find the Ark in the Mt. Ararat area of easternmost Turkey. At the same time, those who date the Flood within known Near Eastern ancient history - about 3000 BC - have long been derided by many Bible scholars. Even some who believe the Bible to be historically true feel the date cannot be later than 10,000 - 12,000 BC, placing it well beyond the reach of any related archaeological or literary data for which dates are known.

There are important reasons for reexamining the evidence which points to a date closer to 3000 BC.

Genesis Genealogies
Unfortunately, many still accept William Henry Green's out-of-date interpretation of the patriarchal genealogies:

On these various grounds we conclude that the Scriptures furnish no data for a chronological computation prior to the life of Abraham; and that the Mosaic records do not fix and were not intended to fix the precise date either of the Flood or of the creation of the world (1890:303).
Green plainly says he has allowed for great genealogical gaps in order to accomodate scientific "facts" which seem to indicate a very old earth (1890:286). And his view has captured the fancy of several generations of theistic evolutionists. But Green's study is considerably flawed.

One study on the weaknesses of an approach like Green's begins on page 18 of Archaeology and Biblical Research, Vol. 6, #1, Winter 1993, under the title "The Bible, Science and the Ages of the Patriarchs" by Bert Thompson. (Contact Associates for Biblical Research for back issues of the magazine.)

Mesopotamian Evidence
Before we look at the evidence itself, the following by an eminent Assyriologist is significant:

There is, it is true, considerable vagueness and contradiction in cuneiform literature about the antediluvian traditions. This is not unexpected, even in the light of the latest discoveries. These now make it seem possible that a specific historic flood provided the original inspiration for the Mesopotamian versions of the deluge, and that this particular flood occurred about 2900 BC. At the same time, the beginnings of Sumerian literature (and thus of all literature) can now be traced back as far as the finds from Fara and Abu Salabikh, which I am inclined to date no later than 2600 or 2500 BC. Fara is the site of ancient Shuruppak, last of the antediluvian cities and home of the hero of the flood story. Abu Salabikh has not yet been identified with any ancient city, but its many literary tablets include a version of the "Instructions of Shuruppak" in which the father of the flood-hero appears under the name of his city. Thus the gap between the antediluvian period and its first reflexes in cuneiform literature has been narrowed down to three or four hundred years. This is no small achievement if we recall the three or four millennia that separated earlier estimates of the date of the Flood from the first limitations -- Hellenistic and Neo-Assyrian -- of native traditions about it (Hallo 1970:61-62).
Biblical "Cush" Is Sumerian "Kish"
In this section it will be important to realize that Egyptian history begins after 3000 BC. Egyptian prehistory, then, is probably very short, again substantiating little time since the great Flood.

Hebrew "Cush" of Genesis 10:6f. may be transliterated "Kish," which links this passage with well-known extrabiblical Sumerian history. In earliest times, the Hebrew letter vav was evidently interchangeable with yod. This is evidenced by the writer's explanation in Genesis 3:20 that hevah, Eve, means hayah, the "mother of all living" (Keil and Delitzsch 1975:106). Thus Biblical "Cush" or Kush with a vav, can be equated with Sumerian "Kish" with a yod.

That the name Cush was also to be found in Africa by Isaiah's time (Isaiah 20:3-5) is not questioned. In fact, that very movement may be tied to the genesis of the dynastic period in Egypt.

However, that Cush or Kish was first located in Mesopotamia is well attested (Genesis 2:13,14; 10:6-10). All of Cush's descendants lived in Mesopotamia, seat of the Sumerian kingdom of Kish.

Cush is presented first and originally was connected with Babylonia and only later with Egyptian Kosh or Nubia. The Babylonian connection is very likely to be sought in the exceedingly ancient city-kingdom of Kish in lower Mesopotamia, resurrected by modern archaeology. From Kish the Babylonian emperors of the third millenium BC took their royal title as kings of the world. The home of the original Cushites was clearly on the lower Tigris and Euphrates, where Nimrod raised them to great power. Thence they spread into the southern peninsula of Arabia and eventually crossing the Red Sea, colonized African Nubia and Abyssinia. Original Asiatic Cush, however, was watered by the Gihon River in Babylonia (Unger 1954:83; also 1967:53).
The Sumerian King List (listing in order the earliest kings of Sumer) begins with Kish immediately after the Flood, and both the List and the Bible speak of several cities with the same names as having come from "Kish" and "Cush" respectively. George Roux says the kingdom of Kish began in approximately 2700 BC (1966:120). It is important, as H.W.F. Saggs points out, that when the city of Kish was excavated, the earliest level was only from the Jemdet Nasr period (ca 2800-2400 BC; 1962:51,60). M.E.L. Mallowan in "Noah's Flood Reconsidered" concluded the date must have been about 2700 BC (1964:82). Although Mallowan believed the flood to be only a local event, he nevertheless established its date from the available literature, which is exactly what we are trying to do.

The epic hero Gilgamesh was king of Uruk at about this time (ca 2700 BC) and, as the legend goes, was actually able to speak with a survivor of the Flood who had been on the Ark. (This would be impossible with a 10,000 BC date.) The experiences of Gilgamesh, coupled with the Sumerian King List (in which he is mentioned), suggest a Flood date close to the one we propose.

There are problems with our date, however. At several sites there was occupation, apparently, which preceded 3000 BC. Several so-called "flood levels" (at Ur, Jemdet Nasr, Fara, el-Obeid and other sites) were earlier thought to be the evidence for Noah's Flood. However, they can hardly be related to the great Flood (Bright 1942:32).

Some of the archaeological evidence is puzzling. However, it may be explained by the fact that, (as so often has been done), in the first place, dates that were much too high were assigned for early civilizations. George Roux describes the situation:

Proto-history has been divided into five great periods, each of them characterized by a distinctive cultural assemblage and named after the site where this assemblage was first identified. They are in order: The Hassuna-Samarra period; The Halaf period; The Ubaid period; The Uruk period; and The Jemdat-Nasr period. As we shall presently see, these divisions do not actually apply to the whole country under study. The first two cultures are restricted to the north, the last two are predominant in the south. Moreover, the reader should be warned that all is not as clear in practice as it is on paper, and that scholars are still divided on the question of the exact limit between the Uruk and the Proto-literate periods and even on the name which should be given to the latter (1966:61).

The chronology of early periods rests upon more fragile foundations. In theory, it should be possible to work out from king lists and dynastic lists, but these have often proved to be misleading. Not only do they show significant differences, but they contain a number of gaps or scribal errors, or they give as successive dynasties which, in fact, partly overlapped or were contemporaneous. One should not therefore be surprised to find different figures in different textbooks and occasional changes of opinion (1966:40).

Egyptian Evidence
There is no known Egyptian flood tradition in literature. However, there is important evidence from other literary indications and archaeology.

The First Dynasty of pharaohs, after 3000 BC, apparently corresponds to the arrival of a group of people from Mesopotamia who in a short time established a complete civilization. Arts, crafts, architecture, etc. of a high level suddenly (possibly in less than a hundred years) appeared all over Egypt. Was this from Mesopotamia? Many scholars think so (Edwards 1964:35-40; Emery 1961: 30-3; Frankfort 1956:124-37; Gardiner 1966:395-8; Kantor 1952; Roux 1966:80; Wilson 1956:37-41).

More important, much of lower Egypt at the founding of the First Dynasty was marshland, and today's deserts were pasturelands. This was true as late as the 5th and 6th Dynasties (Frankfort 1948:16, Kees 1961:17-24). None of the land north of Lake Moeris was above water (Herodotus 1954:104). This includes the whole Delta, meaning the shore was at least 150 miles inland (near Cairo) compared to its present position.

The first Pharaoh, Menes, is famous for making embankments, draining swamps and establishing Memphis, which became for millennia the capital of Egypt. As founder, he was its "Creator" and was deified in the person of the god "Ptah." The story of this is found in the Memphite Theology (Frankfort 1948:17-20, 24f., Wilson 1956:58-60). Indications of Lower (northern) Egypt as marsh is taken from tombs. This may have been during the period after the Flood while the remaining waters were drying up.

Radiocarbon Dating
Although the equipment used to date radioactive materials has become more sophisticated, basic problems originally discovered by Willard Libby, inventor of the C14 dating method, still pertain. Radiocarbon (C14) dating, calibrated using known dates of Egyptian artifacts, has proved accurate back to only about 2000 BC, according to the discoverer (Libby 1965:ix; for an application to Mesopotamia, see Mallowan 1968:7-8). This has created problems for radio carbon dating older than 4000 BP (Before Present). Dates earlier than that cannot be calibrated since there is no known historical material older than 5000 BP. Dr. Libby himself said:

The first shock Dr. Arnold and I had was that our advisors informed us that history extended back only 5000 years. We had initially thought that we would be able to get samples along the curve back to 30,000 years, put the points in, and then our work would be finished . . . We learned rather abruptly that these numbers, these ancient ages are not known; in fact, it is about the time of the first dynasty in Egypt that the last [earliest] historical date of any real certainty has been established (1958:531).
Further, dendrochronologically dated wood, when compared with C14 dates, has shown that C14 dates are about 500 years too low at 3900 BP; before that time, there is no accurate way to calibrate C14 dates (Pearson and Stuiver 1986).

River Deltas Begin Forming Worldwide About 3000 BC
One more important point needs to be mentioned. There was only one event in the history of man which was such a stupendous catastrophe as to make it possible for rivers worldwide to all begin flowing at about the same time -- 3000 BC. That event was the worldwide Flood in the time of Noah. When the waters on the landmass finally subsided into the deepened oceans, and rain began to fall, the rivers could commence to flow and begin depositing the sediments which now form their deltas.

Problems with an Early Date (10,000 BC)
If the Flood occurred as early as 10,000 BC, where is the 7000 year gap (10,000-3000 BC) in Scripture or, for that matter, in any of the literature of the Ancient Near East?
The descendants of "Cush" built actual cities (Genesis 10) whose foundations date less than 3000 BC in most cases. Cush was the grandson of Noah.
The ziggurats (the Tower of Babel?) are later than 3000 BC. There is no trace of anything like them in earlier civilizations. A little time obviously elapsed between the Flood and when they were built. But 7000 years? That is longer than the entire history of man. Look at the accomplishments of man and the population growth in only 5000 years! We have no basis for imagining a 7000 year gap.
The genealogies of Genesis 10 may be "stretched" one or two generations, but 7000 years makes them meaningless for genealogical purposes. They cease to be genealogies if huge gaps exist.
Conclusion
When literary documents are present to date an event, these must have precedence over and control scientific observations and dating which conflicts with the literary evidence. This is so in that ancient documents are eyewitness observations of the events recorded. And isn't this what science is all about?

Better to Doubt the Scholars Than to Doubt God's Word!

Answer 2

Several cultures that predated the Israelites (Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians) had flood myths which were likely borrowed by the Hebrews as they created their own origin myths.

There is lots of scientific evidence of lots of local floods throughout that part of the world. It is likely that a catastrophic flood of some sort gave rise to the legendary story, but there is no evidence of a worldwide flood as described in Genesis.

One of the most likely candidates for an impressive flood would have been after the recession of the last glaciers, when the Mediterranean began to rise, and reflooded what is now the Black Sea. This occured around 8000 BCE, fitting nicely as recent major flood event that would have been remembered through the generations at the dawn of civilization. It likely displaced tens, if not 100's of thousands of people.

Answer 3

Yes but not how it was wriiten.


It appears it was not world wide. just the creation of the balck sea exagerated in folktales from those who survived this massive disaster.

And a lot earlier then the Noah flood.


Look up Gilgamesh which was the story Noah was ripped off from


And the Gilgamesh story was written based on these folk tales , which were based on eyewitness accounts.



The dude who discovered the Titanic Bob Ballard has found a reasonable amount of evidence indicating that where the Black sea is today there used to be a big vally bigger then most countires and around Istambul the Bosperous ie the little bit of land between the Mediteranian and Black sea.


That bit of land was closed and formed a natural Damn ... A big one.


When the ice age ended and the seas rose it appeared the pressure broke down that thin bit of land resulting in the mother of all dam bursts ...


We are talking top of the range hollywood disaster movie here.


Creating a wall of water thats was equivalnt to multiple double figures of Niagra Falls flow...

Now that would be impressive nowadays and made the Asian Tunsamie look like a mouse surf wave.


You can kinda see how it would be seen as an act of pissed gods.

And in those days people did not travel far out of their village so theis flood would seem like it covered the world to whoever survived on some boat.


They have found evidence of setllements below the Black sea etc.

It could well be linked to the story of Atlantis which also maybe based on a natural disaster like a tidal wave destroying early cretian society which was very advanced in its time.


So much of this relgious nonsense is just primitive interpreation of disasters

Answer 4

These folklore accounts of the Deluge agree with some major features of the Biblical account: (1) a place of refuge for a few survivors, (2) an otherwise global destruction of life by water, and (3) a seed of mankind preserved. The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Chinese, the Druids of Britain, the Polynesians, the Eskimos and Greenlanders, the Africans, the Hindus, and the American Indians—all of these have their Flood stories. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Vol. 2, p. 319) states: “Flood stories have been discovered among nearly all nations and tribes. Though most common on the Asian mainland and the islands immediately south of it and on the North American continent, they have been found on all the continents. Totals of the number of stories known run as high as about 270 . . . The universality of the flood accounts is usually taken as evidence for the universal destruction of humanity by a flood and the spread of the human race from one locale and even from one family. Though the traditions may not all refer to the same flood, apparently the vast majority do. The assertion that many of these flood stories came from contacts with missionaries will not stand up because most of them were gathered by anthropologists not interested in vindicating the Bible, and they are filled with fanciful and pagan elements evidently the result of transmission for extended periods of time in a pagan society. Moreover, some of the ancient accounts were written by people very much in opposition to the Hebrew-Christian tradition.”—Edited by G. Bromiley, 1982.

Answer 5

Yes, fossil records show there have been at least 5 cataclysmic floods caused by raising water levels when earth has warmed up and just before each major ice age.

And yes, according to the history channel Plato got the idea of Atlantis from spoken history regarding the same flood that appears in the Bible

Answer 6

Yes, the evidence points to either a land barrier in prehistoric times between the Black sea and the Mediterranean, or an occurrence at the end of the ice age. There is debate about which sea flooded into the other, but there was an enormous amount of water transferred from one to the other.
Wikipedia reference and full discussion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_theory
There are lots of references for further reading.

Answer 7

Yes, there is evidence of a flood in ancient scripts as some of your answerers have indicated but not of the magnitude related in the Bible.

There are many accounts in the Bible, which employ a literary device used by Jewish Old and New Testament writers called Midrash. Midrash is the substantive of the Hebrew word darash which means to search, to investigate, to study and, also, to expound on the fruits of the research. The aim of Midrash is to draw from Scripture a lesson for the present.

Midrash could also be defined as a "reflection on Scripture in the light of the actual situation of God's people and of the developments of God's action on its history." It proposes to explain the meaning of Scripture in the light of the later historical experience of God's people. This kind of interpretation often opened the door to embellishments of the sacred accounts, anachronisms, and a freedom in handling and maneuvering the data of tradition that were at times a little too candid and certainly very imaginative.
Peace and every blessing!

Answer 8

Yes there is evidence of the great flood, Now the Mediterranean sea. No evidence of poor old Noah though.

Answer 9

Yes. Part of my degree course in Oceanography with the O.U several years ago, had a passage in one of the books showing the Mediterranean sea and the western Atlantic ocean shifting positions in terms of height.

The Med sank and forced water from the Atlantic through what would be now the Straights of Gibraltar into the Med; causing severe flooding.

At that time the Mediterranean area was the "known" world, so it would look like the whole world was covered in water.

NB. Any devout Christians who believe this answer goes against their fundamental beliefs ... Well you'll just have to forgive me!

Answer 10

Historians believe the Great Flood was where water overflowed from the from a water source (maybe the Mediterranean Sea) into an area of low land, which I believe is now the Dead Sea.

Answer 11

The flood is recorded in every ancient peoples writing. And it could be related in that God brought judgment on the earth and Atlantis, whether it was the same time I don't know but probably for the same reasons!
http://www.freedomcame.com/glory/